National Anthem Comparison
Dominican Republic vs Haiti
3
Shared themes
✗
Different moods
20
20 years apart
✓
Same continent
Comparison Analysis
Dominican Republic and Haiti, both North America nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Dominican Republic's "Dominican National Anthem" was written in 1883, while Haiti's "The Song of Dessalines" dates to 1903.
Both anthems share themes of freedom, flag and battle / war. Dominican Republic additionally explores independence and love of homeland, while Haiti also touches on ancestors / heritage and god / faith.
The emotional tones differ: Dominican Republic's anthem is defiant, while Haiti's is fierce.
Shared themes
Dominican Republic
🕊 Freedom 🗽 Independence 🚩 Flag ⚔ Battle / War ❤ Love of homeland
Haiti
🕊 Freedom ⚔ Battle / War 🚩 Flag 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage ✝ God / Faith
Shared themes:
🕊 Freedom 🚩 Flag ⚔ Battle / War
Metadata
| Dominican Republic | Haiti | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1883 | 1903 |
| Adopted | 1934 | 1904 |
| Lyricist | Emilio Prud'Homme | Justin Lhérisson |
| Composer | José Reyes | Nicolas Geffrard |
| Language | es | fr |
| Region | Caribbean | Caribbean |
Lyrics Side by Side
Dominican Republic
Himno Nacional Dominicano
Original
Quisqueyanos valientes, alcemos
Nuestro canto con viva emoción,
Y del mundo a la faz ostentemos
Nuestro invicto glorioso pendón.
¡Salve! el pueblo que, intrépido y fuerte,
A la guerra a morir se lanzó,
Cuando en bélico reto de muerte
Sus cadenas de esclavo rompió.
Ningún pueblo ser libre merece
Si es esclavo indolente y servil;
Si en su pecho la llama no crece
Que templó el heroísmo viril,
Mas Quisqueya la indómita y brava
Siempre altiva la frente alzará;
Que si fuere mil veces esclava
Otras tantas ser libre sabrá.
Translation
Brave Quisqueyans, let us raise
Our song with heartfelt emotion,
And before the face of the world let us display
Our unvanquished, glorious banner.
Hail, the people that, intrepid and strong,
Hurled itself into war to die,
When in a warlike challenge to the death
It broke its chains of slavery.
No people deserves to be free
If it is an indolent and servile slave;
If in its breast the flame does not grow
That tempered manly heroism.
But Quisqueya, the indomitable and brave,
Will always proudly raise her brow;
For if she were enslaved a thousand times,
As many times she would know how to be free.
Haiti
La Dessalinienne
Original
Pour le Pays, pour les Ancêtres
Marchons unis, marchons unis
Dans nos rangs point de traîtres
Du sol soyons seuls maîtres
Marchons unis, marchons unis
Pour le Pays, pour les Ancêtres
Marchons, marchons, marchons unis
Pour le Pays, pour les Ancêtres
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
Bêchons joyeux, bêchons joyeux
Quand le champ fructifie
L’âme se fortifie
Bêchons joyeux, bêchons joyeux
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
Bêchons, bêchons, bêchons joyeux
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
Pour le Pays et pour nos Pères
Formons des Fils, formons des Fils
Libres, forts et prospères
Toujours nous serons frères
Formons des Fils, formons des Fils
Pour le Pays et pour nos Pères
Formons, formons, formons des Fils
Pour le Pays et pour nos Pères
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
O Dieu des Preux, O Dieu des Preux
Sous ta garde infinie
Prends nos droits, notre vie
O Dieu des Preux, O Dieu des Preux
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
O Dieu, O Dieu, O Dieu des Preux
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
Pour le Drapeau, pour la Patrie
Mourir est beau, mourir est beau
Notre passé nous crie:
Ayez l’âme aguerrie
Mourir est beau, mourir est beau
Pour le Drapeau, pour la Patrie
Mourir, mourir, mourir est beau
Pour le Drapeau, pour la Patrie
Translation
For the Country, for the Ancestors,
Let us march united, let us march united.
In our ranks, no traitors!
Of the soil let us be the sole masters.
Let us march united, let us march united
For the Country, for the Ancestors,
Let us march, march, march united,
For the Country, for the Ancestors.
For the Forefathers, for the Homeland,
Let us till joyfully, let us till joyfully.
When the field bears fruit,
The soul grows stronger.
Let us till joyfully, let us till joyfully
For the Forefathers, for the Homeland,
Let us till, till, till joyfully,
For the Forefathers, for the Homeland.
For the Country and for our Fathers,
Let us raise sons, let us raise sons.
Free, strong and prosperous,
We shall always be brothers.
Let us raise sons, let us raise sons
For the Country and for our Fathers,
Let us raise, raise, raise sons,
For the Country and for our Fathers.
For the Forefathers, for the Homeland,
O God of the Valiant, O God of the Valiant!
Under your infinite protection,
Take our rights, our lives.
O God of the Valiant, O God of the Valiant!
For the Forefathers, for the Homeland,
O God, O God, O God of the Valiant,
For the Forefathers, for the Homeland.
For the Flag, for the Homeland,
To die is beautiful, to die is beautiful!
Our past cries out to us:
Have a battle-hardened soul!
To die is beautiful, to die is beautiful!
For the Flag, for the Homeland,
To die, to die, to die is beautiful,
For the Flag, for the Homeland.
Interesting facts
Dominican Republic
- 1. Under Law 210-19, everyone who hears the anthem performed at an event must stop walking, stand if seated and uncover their head; failing to do so counts as irreverence, punishable by 15 to 30 days in prison and a fine.
- 2. The idea came from composer José Reyes: after a copy of the Argentine national anthem reached him, he wanted to write one like it and asked Emilio Prud'Homme for the words. Prud'Homme recalled that the two talked it over and that Reyes later invited him home to hear the music.
- 3. The anthem was first performed on 17 August 1883 at an evening gathering of the press in the hall of the Esperanza Lodge in Santo Domingo; Prud'Homme revised the lyrics into their present form in 1897.
- 4. Radio and television stations are required by law to broadcast the anthem at noon on four patriotic days: Duarte Day (26 January), Independence Day (27 February), Restoration Day (16 August) and Constitution Day (6 November).
Haiti
- 1. The official words are in French, but a Haitian Creole version is sung too: at the Haitian Embassy in Washington's celebration of the flag's 215th anniversary in 2018, both versions were performed and many guests sang along.
- 2. Each of the five stanzas repeats its own call: "let us march united", "let us dig joyfully", "let us raise sons", "O God of the valiant" and, in the last, "to die is beautiful" for the flag and the homeland.
- 3. La Dessalinienne won a government competition held on the eve of the centenary of independence, beating "L'Artibonitienne" by the diplomat Louis Edouard Pouget; it was first sung in public in October 1903, and the title was suggested by the historian Clément Lanier.
- 4. Its legal status came later: a law voted by the Council of State on 5 August 1919, under President Dartiguenave, declared La Dessalinienne the "Haitian National Song".
Listen
Dominican Republic
Haiti
