Compare different anthems

National Anthem Comparison

Algeria vs Tunisia

2
Shared themes
Same mood
25
25 years apart
Same continent

Algeria

قَسَمًا

Kassaman (We Pledge)

Tunisia

حماة الحمى

Defenders of the Homeland

Comparison Analysis

Algeria and Tunisia, both Africa nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Algeria's "Kassaman (We Pledge)" was written in 1955, while Tunisia's "Defenders of the Homeland" dates to 1930.

Both anthems share themes of Battle / War and Freedom. Algeria additionally explores Independence, Revolution and Flag, while Tunisia also touches on Resilience.

Both anthems carry a Fierce tone, creating a similar emotional register despite their geographic distance.

Tunisia changed its national anthem in 1987, reflecting a shift in the nation's identity or political landscape.

Shared themes

Algeria

Battle / War 🗽 Independence 🕊 Freedom 🔥 Revolution 🚩 Flag

Tunisia

Battle / War 🕊 Freedom 💪 Resilience

Shared themes:

Battle / War 🕊 Freedom

Metadata

Algeria Tunisia
Written 1955 1930
Adopted 1962 1987
Lyricist Moufdi Zakaria Mustafa Sadik al-Rafii / Aboul-Qacem Echebbi
Composer Mohamed Fawzi Mohammed Abdel Wahab
Language ar ar
Region North Africa North Africa

Lyrics Side by Side

Algeria

قَسَمًا

Original

قَسَمًا بِالنَّازِلَاتِ الْمَاحِقَاتْ وَالدِّمَاءِ الزَّاكِيَاتِ الطَّاهِرَاتْ وَالْبُنُودِ اللَّامِعَاتِ الْخَافِقَاتْ فِي الْجِبَالِ الشَّامِخَاتِ الشَّاهِقَاتْ نَحْنُ ثُرْنَا فَحَيَاةٌ أَوْ مَمَاتْ وَعَقَدْنَا الْعَزْمَ أَنْ تَحْيَا الْجَزَائِرْ فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… نَحْنُ جُنْدٌ فِي سَبِيلِ الْحَقِّ ثُرْنَا وَإِلَى اسْتِقْلَالِنَا بِالْحَرْبِ قُمْنَا لَمْ يَكُنْ يُصْغَى لَنَا لَمَا نَطَقْنَا فَاتَّخَذْنَا رَنَّةَ الْبَارُودِ وَزْنَا وَعَزَفْنَا نَغْمَةَ الرَّشَّاشِ لَحْنَا وَعَقَدْنَا الْعَزْمَ أَنْ تَحْيَا الْجَزَائِرْ فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… يَا فِرَنْسَا قَدْ مَضَى وَقْتُ الْعِتَابْ وَطَوَيْنَاهُ كَمَا يُطْوَى الْكِتَابْ يَا فِرَنْسَا اِنَّ ذَا يَوْمُ الْحِسَابْ فَاسْتَعِدِّي وَخُذِي مِنَّا الْجَوَابْ اِنَّ فِي ثَوْرَتِنَا فَصْلُ الْخِطَابْ وَعَقَدْنَا الْعَزْمَ أَنْ تَحْيَا الْجَزَائِرْ فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… نَحْنُ مِنْ أَبْطَالِنَا نَدْفَعُ جُنْدًا وَعَلَى أَشْلَائِنَا نَصْنَعُ مَجْدًا وَعَلَى أَرْوَاحِنَا نَصْعَدُ خُلْدًا وَعَلَى هَامَاتِنَا نَرْفَعُ بَنْدًا جَبْهَةُ التَّحْرِيرِ أَعْطَيْنَاكِ عَهْدًا وَعَقَدْنَا الْعَزْمَ أَنْ تَحْيَا الْجَزَائِرْ فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… صَرْخَةُ الْأَوْطَانِ مِنْ سَاحِ الْفِدَا اِسْمَعُوهَا وَاسْتَجِيبُوا لِلنِّدَا وَاكْتُبُوهَا بِدِمَاءِ الشُّهَدَا وَاقْرَأُوهَا لِبَنِي الْجِيلِ غَدَا قَدْ مَدَدْنَا لَكَ يَا مَجْدُ يَدَا وَعَقَدْنَا الْعَزْمَ أَنْ تَحْيَا الْجَزَائِرْ فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا…

Translation

We swear by the lightning that destroys, By the streams of generous blood being shed, By the bright flags that wave, Flying proudly on the high mountains That we are in revolt, whether to live or to die, We are determined that Algeria should live, So be our witness, be our witness, be our witness! We are soldiers, for the sake of justice we revolted, And for our independence we waged war, When we spoke, nobody listened to us, So we have taken the noise of gunpowder as our rhythm And the sound of machine guns as our melody, We are determined that Algeria should live, So be our witness, be our witness, be our witness! O France, the time of reproof is over And we have closed it as a book is closed; O France, this is the day of reckoning So prepare to receive from us our answer! In our revolution is the end of empty talk; We are determined that Algeria should live, So be our witness, be our witness, be our witness! From our heroes we shall make an army come to being, From our dead we shall build up a glory, Our spirits shall ascend to immortality And on our shoulders we shall raise the standard. To the nation's Liberation Front we have sworn an oath, We are determined that Algeria should live, So be our witness, be our witness, be our witness! The cry of the motherland sounds from the battlefields. Listen to it and answer the call! Let it be written with the blood of martyrs And be read to future generations. Oh, glory, we have held out our hand to you, We are determined that Algeria should live, So be our witness, be our witness, be our witness!

Tunisia

حماة الحمى

Original

حُمَاةَ الحِمَى يَا حُمَاةَ الحِمَى هَلُمُّوا هَلُمُّوا لِعِزِّ الزَّمَنْ لَقَدْ صَرَخَتْ فِي عُرُوقِنَا الدِّمَا نَمُوتُ نَمُوتُ وَيَحْيَا الوَطَنْ لِتَدُو السَّمَاوَاتُ بِرَعْدِهَا لِتَرْمِ الصَّوَاعِقُ نِيرَانَهَا إِذَا مُتْنَا مُتْنَا فِدَا لِبِلَادِنَا وَنِعْمَ المَمَاتُ إِذَا مَا اشْتَكَى الوَطَنْ إِذَا الشَّعْبُ يَوْمًا أَرَادَ الحَيَاةْ فَلَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَسْتَجِيبَ القَدَرْ وَلَا بُدَّ لِلَّيْلِ أَنْ يَنْجَلِي وَلَا بُدَّ لِلقَيْدِ أَنْ يَنْكَسِرْ

Translation

O defenders of the homeland! Rally around to the glory of our time! The blood surges in our veins, We die, we die, so that the homeland may live! Let the heavens thunder, Let the thunderbolts hurl their fire, If we die, we die as sacrifice for our country, And what a fine death when the homeland calls. If the people one day will to live, Then destiny must surely respond, The darkness must surely lift, And the chains must surely be broken.

Interesting facts

Algeria

  • 1. Imprisoned by the French at Barberousse without paper, Zakaria wrote the lyrics on his cell wall using his own blood, according to the Algeria Press Service.
  • 2. The third stanza names France directly and warns of a 'day of reckoning'; for years, only the first verse was sung publicly to soften the diplomatic tension.
  • 3. In November 2008, Algeria amended Article 5 of its Constitution to declare the anthem 'immutable', binding all five stanzas to the country's revolutionary identity.
  • 4. A 2023 presidential decree under Abdelmadjid Tebboune revived the anti-France verse, mandating that all five stanzas be performed at official ceremonies attended by the president.

Tunisia

  • 1. Echebbi's famous line 'If the people one day will to live, destiny must obey' from the same poem became a rallying cry across the entire Arab world during the 2011 Arab Spring revolutions.
  • 2. Tunisia had a completely different anthem from 1958 to 1987, called 'Humat al-Hima' with different lyrics; the switch happened on the same night President Ben Ali took power in a bloodless coup.
  • 3. The anthem shares its composer, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, with the anthems of the United Arab Emirates and Libya, making Wahab's melodies heard at more UN sessions than those of almost any other single composer.

Listen

Algeria

Algeria - قَسَمًا

Tunisia

Tunisia - حماة الحمى

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