Nad Tatrou sa blýska

Nad Tatrou sa blýska is the national anthem of Slovakia. The song arose in 1844 during a campaign of the students of the Evangelic Lutheran Lyceum of Bratislava to the town of Levoča in protest against the deprival of Ľudovít Štúr by Hungarian authorities (for details see under Ľudovít Štúr).

The text was written by Janko Matúška in 1844 during the campaign, but the melody was taken from the folk song Kopala studienku (She was digging a little well). It became popular during the Slovak Volunteer campaigns of 1848/1849. However, it was published in print only in 1851. In 1920 the first verse became part of the Czechoslovak anthem, which consisted of the present-day Czech anthem Kde domov můj? followed by the first part of the present-day Slovak anthem. In 1993, the first two verses became the national anthem of independent Slovakia.

There are only two verses in the Slovak anthem.

Text

Nad Tatrou sa blýska

hromy divo bijú.

Zastavme ich bratia,

ved' sa ony stratia,

Slováci ožijú.

To Slovensko naše

posiaľ tvrdo spalo.

Ale blesky hromu

vzbudzujú ho k tomu,

aby sa prebralo.

Už Slovensko vstáva

putá si strháva

Hej rodina milá

hodina odbila,

žije matka Sláva

Ešte jedle rastú

na krivánskej strane

Kto jak Slovák cíti,

nech sa šable chytí,

a medzi nás vstane

Literal translation:

There is lightning over the Tatra,

thunderclaps are striking ferociously.

Let us stop them, brothers,

(you will see that) they will disappear,

the Slovaks will revive.

This, our Slovakia

has long been fast asleep.

But the lightning of the thunder

is rousing it

to wake up.

Already Slovakia is waking up,

throwing off its bonds

Hey dear family

the hour has ticked away

Mother Slavia is alive

Firs yet grow

on the slopes of Kriváň

Whoever is feeling like a Slovak,

let him take a sabre

and let him rise among us.

External Links

• Score and audio files on the website of Slovak president