National Anthem Comparison
Moldova vs Romania
2
Shared themes
✗
Different moods
69
69 years apart
✓
Same continent
Comparison Analysis
Moldova and Romania, both Europe nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Moldova's "Our Language" was written in 1917, while Romania's "Awaken, Romanian!" dates to 1848.
Both anthems share themes of identity and ancestors / heritage. Moldova additionally explores love of homeland, nature and resilience, while Romania also touches on freedom, battle / war and revolution.
The emotional tones differ: Moldova's anthem is proud, while Romania's is fierce.
Romania's anthem predates Moldova's by 69 years, having been written in 1848 compared to 1917.
Moldova changed its national anthem in 1994, reflecting a shift in the nation's identity or political landscape.
Shared themes
Moldova
🏛 Identity 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage ❤ Love of homeland 🌿 Nature 💪 Resilience
Romania
🕊 Freedom ⚔ Battle / War 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage 🔥 Revolution 🏛 Identity
Shared themes:
🏛 Identity 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage
Metadata
| Moldova | Romania | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1917 | 1848 |
| Adopted | 1994 | 1990 |
| Lyricist | Alexei Mateevici | Andrei Mureșanu |
| Composer | Alexandru Cristea | Anton Pann (attributed) |
| Language | ro | ro |
| Region | Eastern Europe | Eastern Europe |
Lyrics Side by Side
Moldova
Limba noastră
Original
Limba noastră-i o comoară
În adîncuri înfundată,
Un șirag de piatră rară
Pe moșie revărsată.
Limba noastră-i foc, ce arde
Într-un neam, ce fără veste
S-a trezit din somn de moarte,
Ca viteazul din poveste.
Limba noastră-i frunză verde,
Zbuciumul din codrii veșnici,
Nistrul lin, ce-n valuri pierde
Ai luceferilor sfeșnici.
Limba noastră-i limbă sfîntă,
Limba vechilor cazanii,
Care-o plîng și care-o cîntă
Pe la vatra lor țăranii.
Răsări-va o comoară
În adîncuri înfundată,
Un șirag de piatră rară
Pe moșie revărsată.
Translation
Our language is a treasure
Buried in the depths,
A string of rare jewels
Scattered across our land.
Our language is a fire, burning
In a people that, without warning,
Has awakened from a deathly sleep
Like the hero of a tale.
Our language is a green leaf,
The tumult of the eternal forests,
The gentle Dniester, in whose waves
The candlesticks of the stars are lost.
Our language is a holy language,
The language of old homilies,
Which the peasants weep over and sing
By their hearths.
A treasure will rise,
Buried in the depths,
A string of rare jewels
Scattered across our land.
Romania
Deșteaptă-te, române!
Original
Deșteaptă-te, române, din somnul cel de moarte,
În care te-adânciră barbarii de tirani!
Acum ori niciodată, croiește-ți altă soarte,
La care să se-nchine și cruzii tăi dușmani.
Acum ori niciodată să dăm dovezi la lume
Că-n aste mâni mai curge un sânge de roman,
Și că-n a noastre piepturi păstrăm cu fală-un nume
Triumfător în lupte, un nume de Traian!
Priviți, mărețe umbre, Mihai, Ștefan, Corvine,
Româna națiune, ai voștri strănepoți,
Cu brațele armate, cu focul vostru-n vine,
„Viața-n libertate ori moarte!“ strigă toți.
Preoți, cu crucea-n frunte căci oastea e creștină,
Deviza-i libertate și scopul ei preasfânt.
Murim mai bine-n luptă, cu glorie deplină,
Decât să fim sclavi iarăși în vechiul nost' pământ!
Translation
Awaken, Romanian, from your deathly sleep,
In which you were plunged by barbarous tyrants!
Now or never, forge yourself a different fate,
To which even your cruel enemies shall bow!
Now or never let us prove to the world
That in these hands there still flows a Roman's blood,
And that in our breasts we proudly bear a name
Triumphant in battles, a name of Trajan!
Behold, majestic shades, Michael, Stephen, Corvinus,
The Romanian nation, your great-grandchildren,
With armed hands, with your fire in their veins,
"Life in liberty or death!" they all cry out.
Priests, lead with the cross before you, for the army is Christian,
Its motto is liberty and its purpose most holy.
Better that we die in battle, in full glory,
Than be slaves once more upon our ancient land!
Interesting facts
Moldova
- 1. The anthem's words never name the language or the country: they praise 'our language' as a treasure, a burning fire, a green leaf and a holy language
- 2. Mateevici, an Orthodox priest, wrote the poem in 1917 while serving as a military chaplain in the Russian army on the Romanian front of World War I; it was first read out at a course for Moldovan teachers in Chișinău that June, and he died of typhus in August, aged 29
- 3. It replaced 'Deșteaptă-te, române!', which is also Romania's national anthem and which Moldova had adopted on 27 August 1991, the day it declared independence
- 4. The anthem uses five of the poem's twelve stanzas: the first, second, fifth, eighth and twelfth
Romania
- 1. The poem has 11 stanzas, and Law 75/1994 prescribes stanzas 1, 2, 4 and 11 for official performance; the omitted stanzas hold further calls to arms and historical allusions, such as 'the yataghan of the barbarous crescent'.
- 2. The anthem opens with a direct command to the listener, 'Awaken, Romanian, from the sleep of death', and urges 'now or never'.
- 3. The melody is generally credited to Anton Pann, a church chanter, music teacher and folklorist, although some testimonies name Mureșanu himself as its author. A report on a rally held in Râmnicu Vâlcea on 29 July 1848 says that Pann, 'music teacher', and several singers had set 'very beautiful verses' to a triumphant national tune.
- 4. Since 1998 Romania has marked 29 July as National Anthem Day, in memory of that rally, where the song is said to have been sung for the first time.
Listen
Moldova
Romania
