National Anthem Comparison
Guinea vs Senegal
2
Shared themes
✗
Different moods
2
2 years apart
✓
Same continent
Comparison Analysis
Guinea and Senegal, both Africa nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Guinea's "Liberty" was written in 1958, while Senegal's "Pluck Your Koras, Strike the Balafons" dates to 1960.
Both anthems share themes of unity and ancestors / heritage. Guinea additionally explores freedom and independence, while Senegal also touches on identity, diversity and peace.
The emotional tones differ: Guinea's anthem is defiant, while Senegal's is proud.
Shared themes
Guinea
🕊 Freedom 🗽 Independence 🤝 Unity 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage
Senegal
🤝 Unity 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage 🏛 Identity 🌈 Diversity ☮ Peace
Shared themes:
🤝 Unity 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage
Metadata
| Guinea | Senegal | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1958 | 1960 |
| Adopted | 1958 | 1960 |
| Lyricist | Fodéba Keita | Léopold Sédar Senghor |
| Composer | Fodéba Keita (after a traditional song) | Herbert Pepper |
| Language | fr | fr |
| Region | West Africa | West Africa |
Lyrics Side by Side
Guinea
Liberté
Original
Peuple d'Afrique
Le Passé historique
Que chante l'hymne de la Guinée fière et jeune
Illustre épopée de nos frères
Morts au champ d'honneur en libérant l'Afrique !
Le Peuple de Guinée prêchant l'unité
Appelle l'Afrique.
Liberté ! C'est la voix d'un Peuple
Qui appelle tous ses frères de la grande Afrique.
Liberté ! C'est la voix d'un peuple
Qui appelle tous ses frères à se retrouver.
Bâtissons l'unité africaine
Dans l'indépendance recouvrée.
Translation
People of Africa,
The historic past
Sung by the anthem of Guinea, proud and young,
Illustrious epic of our brothers
Who died on the field of honor freeing Africa!
The People of Guinea, preaching unity,
Calls out to Africa.
Liberty! It is the voice of a People
Calling all its brothers of great Africa.
Liberty! It is the voice of a people
Calling all its brothers to come together again.
Let us build African unity
In our regained independence.
Senegal
Pincez Tous vos Koras, Frappez les Balafons
Original
Pincez tous vos koras, frappez les balafons.
Le lion rouge a rugi.
Le dompteur de la brousse
D'un bond s'est élancé,
Dissipant les ténèbres.
Soleil sur nos terreurs, soleil sur notre espoir.
Debout, frères, voici l'Afrique rassemblée.
[Refrain]
Fibres de mon cœur vert,
Épaule contre épaule, mes plus que frères,
Ô Sénégalais, debout!
Unissons la mer et les sources,
Unissons la steppe et la forêt!
Salut Afrique mère.
Sénégal, toi le fils de l'écume du lion,
Toi surgi de la nuit au galop des chevaux,
Rends-nous, oh! rends-nous l'honneur de nos ancêtres,
Splendides comme ébène et forts comme le muscle,
Nous disons droits, l'épée n'a pas une bavure.
[Refrain]
Sénégal, nous faisons nôtre ton grand dessein:
Rassembler les poussins à l'abri des milans
Pour en faire, de l'est à l'ouest, du nord au sud,
Dressé, un même peuple, un peuple sans couture
Mais un peuple tourné vers tous les vents du monde.
[Refrain]
Sénégal, comme toi, comme tous nos héros,
Nous serons durs sans haine et des deux bras ouverts.
L'épée, nous la mettrons dans la paix du fourreau,
Car le travail sera notre arme et la parole.
Le Bantou est un frère, et l'Arabe et le Blanc.
[Refrain]
Mais que si l'ennemi incendie nos frontières
Nous soyons tous dressés et les armes au poing:
Un peuple dans sa foi défiant tous les malheurs,
Les jeunes et les vieux, les hommes et les femmes.
La mort, oui! Nous disons la mort mais pas la honte.
[Refrain]
Translation
Pluck all your koras, strike the balafons.
The red lion has roared.
The tamer of the bush
With one leap has sprung forward,
Dispelling the darkness.
Sun over our terrors, sun over our hope.
Arise, brothers, here is Africa assembled.
[Chorus]
Fibres of my green heart,
Shoulder to shoulder, my more than brothers,
O Senegalese, arise!
Let us unite the sea and the springs,
Let us unite the steppe and the forest!
Hail, Africa, mother.
Senegal, you the son of the lion's foam,
Sprung from the night at the gallop of horses,
Give us back, oh! give us back the honour of our ancestors,
Splendid as ebony and strong as muscle,
Upright, we declare: the sword bears no blemish.
[Chorus]
Senegal, we make your grand design our own:
To gather the chicks under shelter from the kites
To make of them, from east to west, from north to south,
Standing, one single people, a people without seam
But a people turned toward all the winds of the world.
[Chorus]
Senegal, like you, like all our heroes,
We shall be hard without hatred and with both arms open.
The sword, we shall place it in the peace of its sheath,
For work shall be our weapon and the spoken word.
The Bantu is a brother, and the Arab and the White.
[Chorus]
But should the enemy set fire to our borders
We shall all stand up, weapons in hand:
A people in its faith defying all misfortune,
The young and the old, the men and the women.
Death, yes! We say death but not dishonour.
[Chorus]
Interesting facts
Guinea
- 1. Guinea was the only French colony in Africa to reject de Gaulle's 1958 referendum, choosing immediate independence; France withdrew all support in retaliation
- 2. The anthem strongly emphasizes Pan-African solidarity, reflecting President Sékou Touré's vision of continental African unity
- 3. The melody comes from a popular song in honour of Alpha Yaya Diallo, the ruler of Labé who resisted French rule and was deported to Mauritania; before the 1958 referendum the griot Djély Mamadou Kandé reworked it to rally supporters of the 'No' vote
- 4. Fodéba Keita, who gave the song its present form, founded the troupe that became Les Ballets Africains, which played some 170 European cities in the early 1950s. After independence he served as a minister under Sékou Touré, but in 1969 he was arrested, held at Camp Boiro and executed
Senegal
- 1. Léopold Sédar Senghor, who wrote the lyrics, was elected to the Académie française in 1983, the first African to sit in it
- 2. The anthem directly references traditional instruments: the kora (a 21-string harp) and the balafon (a wooden xylophone), both central to West African griot culture
- 3. The 'red lion' in the anthem is Senegal's national symbol, and the country's football team is known as the Lions of Teranga
Listen
Guinea
Senegal
