Anthem · 1848 · Europe
Deșteaptă-te, române!
The national anthem of Romania: a poem of the 1848 revolution by Andrei Mureșanu, sung to a melody by Anton Pann.
- Words
- Andrei Mureșanu
- Music
- Anton Pann
- Culture
- Romanians; the revolutionaries of 1848; the Romanian state
- Language
- Romanian
- Place
- Brașov, Romania
- Date
- 1848; first sung in late June 1848 in Brașov; national anthem of Romania since 24 January 1990
- Type
- Anthem
- The words
- Public domain (words by Andrei Mureșanu, published 1848; melody from Anton Pann's song "Din sânul maicii mele")
The story
"Deșteaptă-te, române!" ("Awaken Thee, Romanian!") began as a poem written during the revolution of 1848. Andrei Mureșanu published it that year under the title "Un răsunet" ("An Echo"), as a reply to Vasile Alecsandri's poem "Către Români" ("To Romanians"), later known as "Deșteptarea României" ("The Awakening of Romania"), from which he took many of his themes and motifs; the two poems are much alike. The original text was written in the Romanian Cyrillic alphabet. Mureșanu asked Gheorghe Ucenescu, a church singer of the Șcheii Brașovului quarter of Brașov, to find a melody for it; after Ucenescu sang him several secular tunes, Mureșanu chose instead a sentimental song by Anton Pann, "Din sânul maicii mele". It was first sung in late June 1848 in the streets of Șcheii Brașovului and at once became the anthem of the revolution. Nicolae Bălcescu called it the "Romanian Marseillaise".
It remained a favourite of Romanians and was sung during the country's major conflicts: at Romania's declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, in the First World War, and on the radio, very often, in the days after the coup of 23 August 1944, when Romania turned against Nazi Germany and joined the Allies. It was also used on solemn occasions in the short-lived Moldavian Democratic Republic of 1917–1918.
After the Communist Party abolished the monarchy on 30 December 1947, "Deșteaptă-te, române!" and other patriotic songs tied to the old regime were outlawed. Nicolae Ceaușescu's government later allowed it to be played and sung in public, but it was never the anthem of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was sung during the anti-communist revolution of December 1989, and on 24 January 1990 it became the national anthem, replacing the communist-era "Trei culori" ("Three Colours"). From 1991 to 1994 it was also the national anthem of Moldova, which then replaced it with "Limba noastră" ("Our Language").
The poem has eleven stanzas. By Romanian law the first, second, fourth and last are sung on official occasions; the full version is sung at major events such as the National Holiday on 1 December, with a 21-gun salute when the President is present, while short versions, as at sporting events, keep only the first stanza and the first half of the second. 29 July is observed each year as National Anthem Day.
What it says
A call to action: Romanians are urged to wake from a long sleep under oppression and seize their freedom now or never, taking courage from the memory of their ancestors and standing together as one nation. The mood is urgent and stirring.
The words
Deșteaptă-te, române, din somnul cel de moarte,Awake, Romanian, from the sleep of death,
În care te-adânciră barbarii de tiraniinto which barbarous tyrants have sunk you,
Acum ori niciodată croiește-ți altă soarte,now or never fashion yourself another fate,
La care să se-nchine și cruzii tăi dușmani.to which even your cruel enemies shall bow.
Acum ori niciodată să dăm dovezi în lumeNow or never let us give proofs to the world
Că-n aste mâni mai curge un sânge de roman,that in these hands there still flows a Roman blood,
Și că-n a noastre piepturi păstrăm cu fală-un numeand that in our breasts we keep with pride a name
Triumfător în lupte, un nume de Traian!triumphant in battles, the name of Trajan!
Înalță-ți lata frunte și cată-n giur de tine,Raise your broad brow and look around you,
Cum stau ca brazi în munte voinicii sute de mii;how the brave lads stand like firs on the mountain, hundreds of thousands;
Un glas ei mai așteaptă și sar ca lupi în stâne,they wait only for a call and they leap like wolves into the sheepfolds,
Bătrâni, bărbați, juni, tineri, din munți și din câmpii!old men, men, youths, young people, from the mountains and from the plains!
Priviți, mărețe umbre, Mihai, Ștefan, Corvine,Behold, great shades, Mihai, Ștefan, Corvinus,
Româna națiune, ai voștri strănepoți,the Romanian nation, your great-grandchildren,
Cu brațele armate, cu focul vostru-n vine,with arms bearing weapons, with your fire in their veins,
„Viață-n libertate ori moarte” strigă toți.“Life in liberty or death” all cry.
Show all 44 lines
Pre voi vă nimiciră a pizmei răutateYou were destroyed by the malice of envy
Și oarba neunire la Milcov și Carpați!and the blind disunion at the Milcov and the Carpathians!
Dar noi, pătrunși la suflet de sfânta libertate,But we, pierced to the soul by holy liberty,
Jurăm că vom da mâna, să fim pururea frați!swear that we will join hands, to be brothers for ever!
O mamă văduvită de la Mihai cel MareA mother widowed since Mihai the Great
Pretinde de la fii-și azi mână d-ajutori,asks of her sons today a helping hand,
Și blastămă cu lacrămi în ochi pe orișicare,and curses with tears in her eyes anyone at all
În astfel de pericul s-ar face vânzători!who in such a danger would turn traitor!
De fulgere să piară, de trăsnet și pucioasă,By lightning let him perish, by thunderbolt and brimstone,
Oricare s-ar retrage din gloriosul loc,whoever would draw back from the glorious place,
Când patria sau mama, cu inima duioasă,when the homeland or the mother, with tender heart,
Va cere ca să trecem prin sabie și foc!shall ask that we pass through sword and fire!
N-ajunge iataganul barbarei semilune,Is it not enough, the yataghan of the barbarous crescent,
A cărui plăgi fatale și azi le mai simțim;whose fatal wounds we still feel even today;
Acum se vâră cnuta în vetrele străbune,now the knout is thrust into our ancestral hearths,
Dar martor ne e Domnul că vii nu oprimim!but the Lord is our witness that alive we will not accept it [?]!
N-ajunge despotismul cu-ntreaga lui orbie,Is it not enough, despotism with all its blindness,
Al cărui jug de seculi ca vitele-l purtăm;whose yoke we have borne for centuries like cattle;
Acum se-ncearcă cruzii, cu oarba lor trufie,now the cruel ones try, in their blind arrogance,
Să ne răpească limba, dar morți numai o dăm!to rob us of our language, but only dead will we give it up!
Români din patru unghiuri, acum ori niciodatăRomanians from the four corners, now or never
Uniți-vă în cuget, uniți-vă-n simțiri!unite in thought, unite in feeling!
Strigați în lumea largă că Dunărea-i furatăCry out to the wide world that the Danube is stolen
Prin intrigă și silă, viclene uneltiri!through intrigue and force, cunning schemings!
Preoți, cu crucea-n frunte căci oastea e creștină,Priests, with the cross at the head, for the army is Christian,
Deviza-i libertate și scopul ei preasfânt.its motto is liberty and its aim most holy.
Murim mai bine-n luptă, cu glorie deplină,Better we die in battle, in full glory,
Decât să fim sclavi iarăși în vechiul nost’pământ!than be slaves again in our old land!
Original: Andrei Mureșanu (1848). Text from Wikisource; public domain.
The English is the Institute’s own translation, made from the original for this page.
Notes on the translation (15)
- line 1.2: 'barbarii de tirani' is literally 'the barbarians of tyrants', i.e. barbarous tyrants.
- line 1.3: 'croiește-ți' is 'cut out, fashion for yourself' (as a garment is cut).
- line 3.1: 'cată-n giur' is the older spelling of 'caută-n jur', 'look around'.
- line 3.4: 'juni' and 'tineri' both mean 'young (people)': 'juni' is the older, bookish word.
- line 4.1: Mihai is Michael the Brave, Ștefan is Stephen the Great, Corvine (vocative) is Corvinus, the name of the Hunyadi (John Hunyadi or his son Matthias Corvinus; the line does not say which).
- line 4.2: 'strănepoți' is 'great-grandchildren', here 'descendants'.
- line 5.1: 'Pre voi' is the older form of 'pe voi', 'you' (object).
- line 5.2: the Milcov is a river that formed the border between Wallachia and Moldavia; the Carpathians divided them from Transylvania.
- line 6.2: 'mână d-ajutori' is 'a helping hand' (literally 'a hand of help').
- line 6.3: 'blastămă' is the older form of 'blestemă', 'curses'.
- line 8.1: 'iataganul barbarei semilune' is 'the yataghan of the barbarous crescent': the Ottoman sword.
- line 8.3: 'cnuta' is the knout, the Russian whip.
- line 8.4: 'vii nu oprimim' as printed; read as 'vii n-o primim' ('alive we will not accept it'). Taken as one word, 'oprimim' would be 'we oppress', which gives no sense here.
- line 10.1: 'din patru unghiuri' is 'from the four corners'.
- line 11.4: 'nost'' is the elided 'nostru', 'our'.
Listen
On YouTube, from the channel Corul Madrigal. Pressing play loads YouTube’s player. Watch on YouTube
What it drew on
- Către Români, later Deșteptarea României (Vasile Alecsandri)the poem it answered, source of many of its themes
- Din sânul maicii mele (Anton Pann)same melody
People, places and events
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Deșteaptă-te, române!", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De%C8%99teapt%C4%83-te,_rom%C3%A2ne!
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Deșteaptă-te, române!. In Songs in History. https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/desteapta-te-romane
- MLA
- “Deșteaptă-te, române!.” Songs in History, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/desteapta-te-romane. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Deșteaptă-te, române!.” Songs in History. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/desteapta-te-romane.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Deșteaptă-te, române!’, Songs in History. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/desteapta-te-romane (Accessed: ).