Rozengriënlied

"Rozengriënlied"

A page from Beethoven's original manuscript
Former national anthem of Rozengria
Also known as	"Voices of Rozengria"
Lyrics	Marie Alderleisten, 1865
Music	Ludwig van Beethoven, 1824 (arranged by Hendrik van Dijk, 1865)
Adopted	August 1865 (1865-08)
Relinquished	August 1975 (1975-08)
Audio sample
"Rozengriënlied" (instrumental) file help

"Rozengriënlied" was the national anthem of Rozengria between 1865 and 1975. The tune was that of "Ode to Joy", the Fourth Movement from Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which had been adopted as the official Anthem of Europe by the Council of Europe in 1972 (it remains the European Union's anthem today). The music used in Rozengria was an original sixteen-bar arrangement by Captain Hendrik van Dijk, the bandmaster of the Rozengrian African Rifles. A national competition was organised by the government to find an appropriate set of lyrics to match the chosen tune, and won by Marie Alderleisten of Verspeering.

Lyrics

The lyrics officially adopted were as follows:

Opstaan, stemmen van Rozengrië
God, zegen ons heilig land,
Spoor sterktegen onstvastigheid,
En in waarheids sporen streef.
Leid ons, heer, tot wijze beslissing,
Steeds vanner uw genade bewust.
Let ons hart altijd fonkelen,
Voor dit landet grootgebracht.

Opstaan, stemmen van Rozengrië
Van dit geëerd uw rozen trouw,
Weergalmend door trots Zambezi,
Weerklinkend oorlang vallein.
Stromend in de machtige Victoria,
Vrijheid gewaardeerd, west tot oost.
Let ons natie, prachtig en sterk,
Eeuwverdeigen wat ons baar.

Fall from use and legacy

"Rozengriënlied" remained in official usage for the rest of Rozengria's history, until its collapse in 1975 following the Rozengrian Civil War. The Zambian Rogue regime which emerged victorious strictly prohibited any performance of this national anthem.

Following the British overthrow of the Zambian Rogue in which former Rozengria oversaw it becoming the colony of Northern Rhodesia, the anthem experienced a resurge in popularity, although overtime the song has faded into obscurity through the tides of history.