Montenegro National Anthem
Oj svijetla majska zoro
Oh, Bright Dawn of May
2004
2004
Sekula Drljevic (original poem)
Žarko Mirković (after a traditional melody)
🌿 Nature ❤ Love of homeland 🏛 Identity 🕊 Freedom 💪 Resilience |
Key Facts
- 1. The words are fixed by law: Article 6 of the 2004 Law on State Symbols sets out all sixteen lines. At protocol events, however, a shortened instrumental version of about 1 minute 40 seconds is played; the complete anthem, over three minutes long, is performed only with a choir.
- 2. Sekula Drljevic collaborated with the Axis occupiers during World War II, first in Italian-occupied Montenegro and then in the Ustaše-ruled Independent State of Croatia. When the anthem was proposed in 2004, Patriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox Church asked the Montenegrin government in an open letter not to use the text, calling Drljevic a war criminal and a quisling.
- 3. How much of the text comes from Drljevic's poem 'Our Eternal Montenegro' is disputed: scholars' views range from only the last stanza to the whole anthem. At some local events only the first two stanzas, thought to come from the older folk song, are sung.
Montenegro National Anthem Lyrics
Oj svijetla majska zoro,
Majko naša Crna Goro,
Sinovi smo tvog stijenja
I čuvari tvog poštenja.
Volimo vas, brda tvrda,
I stravične vaše klance
Koji nikad ne poznaše
Sramotnoga ropstva lance.
Dok lovćenskoj našoj misli
Naša sloga daje krila,
Biće gorda, biće slavna
Domovina naša mila.
Rijeka će naših vala,
Uskačući u dva mora,
Glas nositi okeanu,
Da je vječna Crna Gora.
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Analysis
EditorialAdopted on 12 July 2004, while Montenegro was still in a state union with Serbia, it remained the anthem after independence in 2006. It grew out of a popular Montenegrin folk song, and its words are associated with a poem by Sekula Drljevic. The music, arranged by Žarko Mirković, is based on the traditional folk melody.
Learn More
Sources & References
- Zakon o državnim simbolima i Danu državnosti Crne Gore, član 6 (prečišćeni tekst) . Vlada Crne Gore (Službeni list RCG 47/2004, izmjene do 47/2019) (2004)
- Odluka o utvrđivanju notnog zapisa himne Crne Gore (muzika: Žarko Mirković) . Vlada Crne Gore (Službeni list RCG 58/2004) (2004)
- Državni simboli: Himna Crne Gore . Predsjednik Crne Gore
Source & Review
- Source status
- Legal 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