Bože pravde
| English: God of Justice | |
|---|---|
| Боже правде | |
 Sheet music of the Serbian national anthem (for mixed choir) | |
National anthem of  Serbia | |
| Lyrics | Jovan Đorđević, 1872 |
| Music | Davorin Jenko, 1872 |
| Adopted | 1882[1] (Kingdom of Serbia) 1991 (Republic of Serbian Krajina) 1992 (Republika Srpska) 1997 (Joint Council of Municipalities) |
| Readopted | November 8, 2006 |
| Relinquished | 1919 (partially) 1945 (fully) 1995 (Republic of Serbian Krajina) 2008 (Republika Srpska) |
| Audio sample | |
 "Bože pravde" (instrumental, two verses)
| |
"Bože pravde" (Serbian Cyrillic: Боже правде, pronounced [bǒʒe prâːʋde], "God of Justice")[2] is the national anthem of Serbia, as defined by the Article 7 of the Constitution of Serbia.[3] "Bože pravde" was the state anthem of the Kingdom of Serbia until 1919 when Serbia became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes which was formed one year earlier. It was recommended by the Parliament of Serbia on 17 August 2004[2] and constitutionally adopted on 8 November 2006, after Serbia became a sovereign state again. The recommended text was made Law on 11 May 2009.[4] The original song was written in 1872 with music by Davorin Jenko and lyrics by Jovan Đorđević. It was then a piece for the theater play Marko kazuje na kome je carstvo (Marko names the Emperor), and its immense popularity with audiences prompted its adoption as the Serbian national anthem.
History[]
| National anthems of Serbia | ||||||||||
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While being the national anthem of the Kingdom of Serbia, it occasionally was referred to as the Serbian National Prayer[5] and the original lyrics contained a petition for the Serbian king. Various rulers of Serbia changed the words of the anthem to suit them. During the rule of Prince Milan I of Serbia, the words were "God, save Prince Milan" (knez Milana Bože spasi), which changed to King Milan when Serbia became a kingdom. Later it was tailored to Peter I and Alexander I as well.[6] During the time of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (which later became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), "Bože pravde" was part of its national anthem.
"Bože pravde" used as the Serbian national anthem utilizes slightly modified original lyrics, asserting that Serbia is no longer a monarchy — four verses are different. In three, "Serbian king" (srpskog kralja) is changed to "Serbian lands" (srpske zemlje) and in one, "God save the Serbian king" (srpskog kralja Bože spasi, literally "The Serbian king, O God, save") is changed to "O God, save; O God, defend" (Bože spasi, Bože brani) (in public performances, the verse "Our Serbia, O God, defend" (Srbiju nam, Bože brani) is occasionally used and the original lyrics are sung, with the sung finale being May you entreat our Serbian race (Moli ti se sаv naš rod)).
"Bože pravde" was also used as the regional anthem of the Republika Srpska, a constituency of Bosnia and Herzegovina until 2006, when it was ruled down by the country's constitutional court for being unconstitutional.[7] and the decision was upheld by the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska.[8]
In 1992, "Vostani Serbije" and "Marš na Drinu" were proposed as the regional anthem of Serbia along with "Bоže pravde".[9] The latter, promulgated by then-ruling Socialist Party of Serbia, even received a plurality of popular vote on referendum, but was never officially adopted.[10]
Lyrics[]
The full Serbian national anthem as officially defined consists of eight stanzas, but usually only the first two are performed on public occasions for reasons of brevity.[4]
| Serbian Cyrillic | Serbian Latin | English translation |
|---|---|---|
Боже правде, ти што спасе |