Zdravljica

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France Prešeren and the first verse of the 7th stanza of Zdravljica on the future Slovenian 2 euro coin

Zdravljica (English: A Toast, Slovenian: Zdravljica) is a famous poem by France Prešeren. It was written in 1844 and has been Slovenia's national anthem since September 27 1989. The most famous is its 7^th stanza, for which Stanko Premrl composed a choral composition with the same name. Only the text of this 7^th stanza comprises the anthem of Slovenia. In form, the poem is a carmen figuratum, since the shape of each stanza resembles a wine cup.

1 Lyrics
2 History
3 Media
4 External links

[edit] Lyrics

Zdravljica from censored Prešeren's handwritting

Spet trte so rodile,	The vintage, friends, is over,
prijat'li, vince nam sladkó,	And here sweet wine makes, once again,
ki nam oživlja žile,	Sad eyes and hearts recover
srce razjásni in oko,	Puts fire into every vein.
ki utopi	Drowns dull care
vse skrbi,	Everywhere
v potrtih prsih up budi!	And summons hope out of despair.

Komú narpred veselo	To whom with acclamation
zdravljico, bratje! čmo zapét'?	And song shall we our first toast give?
Bog našo nam deželo,	God save our land and nation
Bog živi ves slovenski svet,	And all Slovenes where'er they live,
brate vse,	Who own the same
kar nas je	Blood and name,
sinov sloveče matere!	And who one glorious Mother claim.

V sovražnike 'z oblakov	Let thunder out of heaven
rodú naj naš'ga trešči gróm,	Strike down and smite our wanton foe!
prost, ko je bil očakov,	Now, as it once had thriven,
naprej naj bo Slovencov dom;	May our dear realm in freedom grow.
naj zdrobé	May fall the last
njih roké	Chains of the past
si spone, ki jim še težé!	Which bind us still and hold us fast!

Edinost, sreča, sprava	Let peace, glad conciliation,
k nam naj nazaj se vrnejo;	Come back to us throughout the land!
otrók, kar ima Slava,	Towards their destination
vsi naj si v róke sežejo,	Let Slavs henceforth go hand-in-hand!
de oblast	Thus again
in z njo čast,	Will honour reign
ko préd, spet naša bode last!	To justice pledged in our domain.

Bog žívi vas Slovenke,	To you, our pride past measure,
prelepe, žlahtne rožice;	Our girls! Your beauty, charm and grace!
ni take je mladenke,	There surely is no treasure
ko naše je krvi dekle;	To equal maidens of such race.
naj sinóv	Sons you'll bear,
zarod nov	Who will dare
iz vas bo strah sovražnikov!	Defy our foe no matter where.

Mladenči, zdaj se pije	Our hope now, our to-morrow -
zdravljica vaša, vi naš up;	The youths - we toast and toast with joy.
ljubezni domačije	No poisonous blight or sorrow
noben naj vam ne usmŕti strup;	Your love of homeland shall destroy.
ker po nas	With us indeed
bode vas	You're called to heed
jo sŕčno bránit klical čas!	Its summons in this hour of need.

Živé naj vsi naródi,	God's blessing on all nations,
ki hrepené dočakat dan,,	Who long and work for that bright day,
da, koder sonce hodi,	When o'er earth's habitations
prepir iz svéta bo pregnan,	No war, no strife shall hold its sway;
da rojak	Who long to see
prost bo vsak,	That all men free
ne vrag, le sosed bo mejak!	No more shall foes, but neighbours be!

Nazadnje še, prijatlji,	At last to our reunion -
kozarce zase vzdignimo,	To us the toast! Let it resound,
ki smo zato se zbrat'li,	Since in this gay communion
ker dobro v srcu mislimo;	By thoughts of brotherhood we're bound
dókaj dni	May joyful cheer
naj živí	Ne'er disappear
vsak, kar nas dobrih je ljudi!	From all good hearts now gathered here.

(Translation into English by Janko Lavrin)

[edit] History

The previous national anthem of Slovenia from 1945 to 1991 was Naprej, zastava slave and Yugoslav anthem was the Yugoslav Hej Slovani in Slovene.

Zdravljica was also performed in the early 1990s by the rock band Lačni Franz (Hungry Franz).

In 1844 censorship did not allow for the poem to be printed. Later Prešeren himself intended to include it in his Poezije (The Poetries), which is why he omitted the third strophe ("V sovražnike 'z oblakov / rodú naj naš'ga treši gróm") in order to save the rest. However, he was wrong, for censorship anticipated an overall Slavic mentality in the fourth strophe ("Edinost, sreča, sprava / k nam naj nazaj se vrnejo") and did not allow it. Prešeren believed the poem would be mutilated and therefore did not include it in Poezije. Zdravljica was printed in Novice (The News) on 26 April 1848, after the March Revolution of 1848 when censorship was abolished.