National Anthem Comparison
Gambia vs Sierra Leone
3
Shared themes
✗
Different moods
4
4 years apart
✓
Same continent
Gambia
For The Gambia Our Homeland
Sierra Leone
High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free
Comparison Analysis
Gambia and Sierra Leone, both Africa nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Gambia's "For The Gambia Our Homeland" was written in 1965, while Sierra Leone's "High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free" dates to 1961.
Both anthems share themes of unity, god / faith and freedom. Gambia additionally explores peace and diversity, while Sierra Leone also touches on love of homeland and ancestors / heritage.
The emotional tones differ: Gambia's anthem is solemn, while Sierra Leone's is majestic.
Shared themes
Gambia
🤝 Unity ✝ God / Faith ☮ Peace 🕊 Freedom 🌈 Diversity
Sierra Leone
🕊 Freedom ✝ God / Faith 🤝 Unity ❤ Love of homeland 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage
Shared themes:
🤝 Unity ✝ God / Faith 🕊 Freedom
Metadata
| Gambia | Sierra Leone | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1965 | 1961 |
| Adopted | 1965 | 1961 |
| Lyricist | Virginia Julie Howe | Clifford Nelson Fyle |
| Composer | Traditional (adapted by Jeremy Frederick Howe) | John Joseph Akar |
| Language | en | en |
| Region | West Africa | West Africa |
Lyrics Side by Side
Gambia
For The Gambia Our Homeland
Original
For The Gambia, our homeland,
We strive and work and pray,
That all may live in unity,
Freedom and peace each day.
Let justice guide our actions
Towards the common good,
And join our diverse peoples
To prove man's brotherhood.
We pledge our firm allegiance,
Our promise we renew;
Keep us, great God of nations,
To The Gambia ever true.
Sierra Leone
High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free
Original
High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free
Great is the love we have for thee;
Firmly united ever we stand,
Singing thy praise, O native land.
We raise up our hearts and our voices on high,
The hills and the valleys re-echo our cry;
Blessing and peace be ever thine own,
Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.
One with a faith that wisdom inspires,
One with a zeal that never tires;
Ever we seek to honour thy name,
Ours is the labour, thine the fame.
We pray that no harm on thy children may fall,
That blessing and peace may descend on us all;
So may we serve thee ever alone,
Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.
Knowledge and truth our forefathers spread,
Mighty the nations whom they led;
Mighty they made thee, so too may we
Show forth the good that is ever in thee.
We pledge our devotion, our strength and our might,
Thy cause to defend and to stand for thy right;
All that we have be ever thine own,
Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.
Interesting facts
Gambia
- 1. The melody comes from 'Foday Kaba Dumbuya', a traditional song of the Mandinka, the country's largest ethnic group
- 2. The song honours Foday Kaba Dumbuya, a 19th-century marabout (Muslim cleric) and one of the key figures of the Soninke-Marabout wars, who remains a controversial figure in Mandinka history
- 3. The tune was chosen through a national competition before independence; according to ethnomusicologist Roderic Knight, the winning entry was a version submitted by the kora virtuoso Jali Nyama Suso
Sierra Leone
- 1. Sierra Leone comes from the Portuguese Serra Leoa, 'Lion Mountains', the name given to the mountains of what is now the Freetown peninsula. It is traditionally credited to the explorer Pedro de Sintra in 1462, but historians dispute this, and an early account of his voyage explains the name not by the mountains' shape but by the lion-like roar of thunder around the summit
- 2. John Joseph Akar, who composed the music, later served as Sierra Leone's ambassador to the United States
- 3. Like neighboring Liberia, Sierra Leone was settled by freed slaves: about 400 arrived from Britain in 1787, and in 1792 about 1,200 Black Loyalists from Nova Scotia, former slaves who had sided with Britain in the American Revolution, founded Freetown
Listen
Gambia
Sierra Leone
