Hey, Slavs
| English: Hey, Slavs | |
|---|---|
 A Croatian language version print of the poem that would become the national anthem of Yugoslavia. | |
Former national anthem of  Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro Slovakia | |
| Also known as | "Hej, Slovenci" "Hej, Słowianie" |
| Lyrics | Samuel Tomášik, 1834 |
| Music | Composer unknown, 1820s |
| Adopted | 1977 (by Yugoslavia, provisionally) 1988 (by Yugoslavia, constitutionally) 1992 (by Serbia and Montenegro) |
| Relinquished | 1992 (by Yugoslavia) 2006 (by Serbia and Montenegro) |
| Audio sample | |
 "Hey, Slavs" (instrumental, one verse)
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"Hey, Slavs" is a patriotic song dedicated to the Slavs which was used as the national anthem of various countries during the 20th century.
Its lyrics were first written in 1834 under the title "Hey, Slovaks" ("Hej, Slováci") by Samuel Tomášik and it has since served as the ethnic anthem of the Pan-Slavic movement, organizational anthem of the Sokol physical education and political movement, and the national anthem of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. The song is also considered to be the unofficial second ethnic anthem of the Slovaks. Its melody is based on "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego", which has also been the national anthem of Poland since 1926, but the Yugoslav variation has a slower tempo, is more accentuated, and does not repeat the last four lines as it repeats the last two lines.[1]
Etymology[]
 | This section does not cite any sources. (November 2020) |
In Serbo-Croatian, which used both the Latin and the Cyrillic alphabets, the title "Hej, Slaveni" was written:
- Hej, Slaveni or Hej, Sloveni (in Latin)
- Хеј, Словени (in Serbian Cyrillic).
In Macedonian the song's title is "Ej, Sloveni" (Cyrillic: Еј, Словени), and in Slovene, it is "Hej, Slovani". The original title in Slovak was "Hej, Slováci".
Slovakia[]
| This section does not cite any sources. (November 2020) |
The song was written by the Slovak Lutheran pastor, poet and historian Samuel Tomášik while he was visiting Prague in 1834. He was appalled that German was more commonly heard in the streets of Prague than Czech. He wrote in his diary:
- "If mother Prague, the pearl of the Western Slavic world, is to be lost in a German sea, what awaits my dear homeland, Slovakia, which looks to Prague for spiritual nourishment? Burdened by that thought, I remembered the old Polish song Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, kiedy my żyjemy ("Poland has not yet perished as long as we live."). That familiar melody caused my heart to erupt with a defiant Hej, Slováci, ešte naša slovenská reč žije ("Hey, Slovaks, our Slovak language still lives")... I ran to my room, lit a candle and wrote down three verses into my diary in pencil. The song was finished in a moment." (Diary of Samuel Tomášik, Sunday, 2 November 1834)
He soon altered the lyrics to include all Slavs and "Hey, Slavs" became a widely known rallying song for Slav nationalism and Pan-Slavic sentiment, especially in the West Slavic lands governed by Austria. It was printed in numerous magazines and calendars and sung at political gatherings, becoming an unofficial anthem of the Pan-Slavic movement.
Its popularity continued to increase when it was adopted as the organizational anthem of the Sokol ("falcon") physical education movement, which was based on Pan-Slavic ideals and active across Austria-Hungary. In 1905, the erection of a monument to the Slovene poet France Prešeren in Ljubljana was celebrated by a large gathering of people singing "Hey, Slavs". During the First World War, the song was often used by Slavic soldiers from opposite sides of the front line to communicate common nationalist sentiment and prevent bloodshed.
In Slovakia, the song "Hey, Slovaks" has been considered the unofficial ethnic anthem of the Slovaks throughout its modern history, especially at times of revolution. Although after the First World War the song "Nad Tatrou sa blýska" became the official Slovak part in the national anthem of Czechoslovakia and then again in 1993 in anthem of independent Slovakia, "Hey, Slovaks" is still considered a "second" national anthem by many (usually more nationalistic) people. Contrary to popular assumption, there was no official state anthem of the clerofascist Slovak Republic (1939–45), though "Hej, Slováci" was used by the ruling party.
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Slovak variant Hej, Slováci, ešte naša
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English translation Hey, Slovaks, there still lives
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Yugoslavia[]
The first appearance of "Hey, Slavs" in Yugoslavia was during the Illyrian movement. Dragutin Rakovac translated the song, naming it "Hey, Illyrians" (Croatian: Hej, Iliri). Until the Second World War, the translation did not undergo many changes, except that the Illyrians became Slavs.[citation needed]
In 1941 the Second World War engulfed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The Axis powers invaded in early April, and the Yugoslav royal army disintegrated and capitulated in just two and a half weeks. Since the old Yugoslav anthem included references to king and kingdom, the anti-royalist Partisan resistance led by Josip Broz Tito and his Communist party decided to avoid it and opted for "Hey, Slavs" instead. The song was sung at both the first and second sessions of AVNOJ, the legislative body of the resistance, and it gradually became the de facto national anthem of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (new Yugoslavia).[citation needed]
The old state anthem was officially abandoned after liberation in 1945, but no new national anthem to replace it was officially adopted. There were several attempts to promote other, more specifically Yugoslav songs as the national anthem, but none gained much public support and "Hey, Slavs" continued to be used unofficially. The search for a better candidate continued up to 1988, while in 1977 the law only named the national anthem as "Hey, Slavs" as a temporary state anthem until a new one was adopted.[citation needed]
"Hey, Slavs", under its Serbo-Croatian title "Hej, Slaveni", was the national anthem of Yugoslavia for 48 years, from 1943 to 1992. With the formal adoption (inauguration) of Amendment IX to the Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the song "Hey, Slavs" gained constitutional sanction as the national anthem on November 25, 1988. After the 43 years of continued use as the de facto national anthem, the delegates simply brought the law in line with custom.[3]
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Hej Slaveni, još ste živi |