Benin National Anthem
L'Aube Nouvelle
The New Dawn
1960
1960
Gilbert Jean Dagnon
Gilbert Jean Dagnon
🕊 Freedom 🤝 Unity 🌅 Hope 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage 🚩 Flag |
Key Facts
- 1. The anthem is performed in French, even though the majority of Benin's population speaks Fon, Yoruba, or other local languages as their first language.
- 2. Benin took its new name from the Bight of Benin, the bay on its coast, which is itself named after the historical Kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria, a different state from the Kingdom of Dahomey that had given the country its former name.
- 3. The first verse recalls the ancestors who fought with courage at the price of their blood, and the second explains the colours of the flag: green for the hope of renewal, red for the ancestors' courage, yellow for the richest of treasures.
Benin National Anthem Lyrics
[Refrain]
Enfants du Bénin, debout!
La liberté d'un cri sonore
Chante aux premiers feux de l'aurore;
Enfants du Bénin, debout!
Jadis à son appel, nos aïeux sans faiblesse
Ont su avec courage, ardeur, pleins d'allégresse
Livrer au prix du sang des combats éclatants.
Accourez-vous aussi, bâtisseurs du présent,
Plus forts dans l'unité, chaque jour à la tâche,
Pour la postérité, construisez sans relâche!
[Refrain]
Quand partout souffle un vent de colère et de haine,
Béninois, sois fier, et d'une âme sereine,
Confiant dans l'avenir, regarde ton drapeau!
Dans le vert tu liras l'espoir du renouveau,
De tes aïeux le rouge évoque le courage;
Des plus riches trésors le jaune est le présage.
[Refrain]
Tes monts ensoleillés, tes palmiers, ta verdure,
Cher Bénin, partout font ta vive parure.
Ton sol offre à chacun la richesse des fruits.
Bénin, désormais que tes fils tous unis
D'un fraternel élan partagent l'espérance
De te voir à jamais heureux dans l'abondance.
[Refrain]
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Analysis
EditorialAdopted when Dahomey (now Benin) gained independence from France in 1960. The anthem was kept when the country was renamed Benin in 1975 under the Marxist-Leninist government of Mathieu Kerekou; the words 'Dahomey' and 'Dahoméen' in its text were replaced by 'Bénin' and 'Béninois'. Gilbert Jean Dagnon, a Catholic priest, wrote both the lyrics and the music.
Learn More
Sources & References
- L'hymne national . Gouvernement de la République du Bénin
Source & Review
- Source status
- Official source verified
- Translation
- AI-assisted working translation
- Rights status
- Third-party rights may apply
- Last reviewed
- Editorial review
- Pending
- Editorial owner
- Nationalia
- Report a correction
- rights@nationalia.org