🕊 Freedom 🌿 Nature ⚔ Battle / War ✝ God / Faith | Majestic
Key Facts
1.The original lyrics were so anti-Spanish that they were replaced in 1847 to avoid diplomatic tensions with Spain
2.Ironically, the music was composed by a Spaniard, Ramon Carnicer, who was living in exile in London at the time
3.Only one verse and the chorus of the full poem are performed today, but the verse about Chile's landscapes is among the most poetic of any national anthem
Lyrics
Only the fifth verse and chorus are officially performed since 1941
Puro, Chile, es tu cielo azulado;
Puras brisas te cruzan también.
Y tu campo de flores bordado
Es la copia feliz del Edén.
Majestuosa es la blanca montaña
Que te dio por baluarte el Señor,
Y ese mar que tranquilo te baña
Te promete futuro esplendor.
Puro, Chile, es tu cielo azulado;
Puras brisas te cruzan también.
Y tu campo de flores bordado
Es la copia feliz del Edén.
Majestuosa es la blanca montaña
Que te dio por baluarte el Señor,
Y ese mar que tranquilo te baña
Te promete futuro esplendor.
[Coro]
Dulce Patria, recibe los votos
Con que Chile en tus aras juró:
Que o la tumba serás de los libres
O el asilo contra la opresión.
Ha cesado la lucha sangrienta;
Ya es hermano el que ayer invasor;
De tres siglos lavamos la afrenta
Combatiendo en el campo de honor.
El que ayer se doblegaba esclavo
Libre al fin y triunfante se ve;
Libertad es la herencia del bravo,
La Victoria se humilla a sus pies.
[Coro]
Alza, Chile, sin mancha la frente;
Conquistaste tu nombre en la lid;
Siempre noble, constante y valiente
Te encontraron los hijos del Cid.
Que tus libres tranquilos coronen
A las artes, la industria y la paz,
Y de triunfos cantares entonen
Que amedrenten al déspota audaz.
[Coro]
Vuestros nombres, valientes soldados,
Que habéis sido de Chile el sostén,
Nuestros pechos los llevan grabados
Y nuestros hijos los sabrán también.
Sean ellos el grito de muerte
Que lancemos marchando a lidiar,
Y viviendo con ellos la suerte
Consagremos la tumba o el altar.
[Coro]
Pure, Chile, is your blue sky;
Pure breezes cross you too.
And your field embroidered with flowers
Is a happy copy of Eden.
Majestic is the white mountain
That God gave you as a bulwark,
And that sea which peacefully bathes you
Promises you future splendor.
Pure, Chile, is your blue sky;
Pure breezes cross you too.
And your field embroidered with flowers
Is a happy copy of Eden.
Majestic is the white mountain
That God gave you as a bulwark,
And that sea which peacefully bathes you
Promises you future splendor.
[Chorus]
Sweet homeland, receive the vows
With which Chile swore at your altars:
That you will be either the tomb of the free
Or the refuge against oppression.
The bloody struggle has ceased;
He who yesterday was invader is now a brother;
Three centuries of affront we washed away
Fighting on the field of honor.
He who yesterday bowed as a slave
Is seen at last free and triumphant;
Freedom is the heritage of the brave,
Victory humbles itself at his feet.
[Chorus]
Raise, Chile, your unblemished brow;
You won your name in the fight;
Always noble, constant and valiant
The sons of the Cid found you.
May your free citizens peacefully crown
The arts, industry and peace,
And sing songs of triumph
That frighten the audacious despot.
[Chorus]
Your names, valiant soldiers,
Who have been Chile's support,
Our breasts carry them engraved
And our children shall know them too.
May they be the battle cry
That we hurl as we march to fight,
And living with them our fate
We consecrate the tomb or the altar.
[Chorus]
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Show full poemShow official version
Analysis
Editorial
The current lyrics were written by Eusebio Lillo in 1847, replacing the original anti-Spanish text by Bernardo de Vera y Pintado. The music by Spanish composer Ramon Carnicer dates to 1828. The anthem's current version was formally adopted in 1941, using only the fifth verse and chorus of Lillo's poem.
