Pe-al nostru steag e scris Unire

"Pe-al nostru steag e scris unire" (Romanian: Unity is written on our flag) is a Romanian patriotic song dedicated to the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia established in 1859. The text was written by Andrei Bârseanu and the music was composed by Ciprian Porumbescu in 1880. Its tune is now used in the Albanian national anthem.[2]

E scris pe tricolor Unire[lower-alpha 1]

English: Unity is written on our flag
Former national anthem of  Romania
Lyrics	Andrei Bârseanu, 1880
Music	Ciprian Porumbescu, 1880
Adopted	1975
Relinquished	1977

The song was an official anthem for the fascist Party of the Nation, established in June 1940 by King Carol II as the basis for his totalitarian regime.[3] In 1975, after a national contest for a new anthem, Nicolae Ceaușescu made this song the national anthem of the Socialist Republic of Romania with lyrics modified by the PCR (Romanian Communist Party) to reference communism and title changed to "E scris pe tricolor Unire". However, since Albania already used the song since 1912, "Trei culori" ("Three colors") was adopted in 1977.[1]

On 28 January 2016, Romanian journalist George Roca published an article stating that the anthem of the Dutch city of Maastricht had been copied from "Pe-al nostru steag e scris Unire". Mestreechs Volksleed, adopted in 2002, had a great similarity to the Romanian song, so Roca compared both songs and the Albanian anthem. He said that, unlike the Albanians which were proud of the Romanian origin of their anthem, the Dutch "stole" the hymn even though they blocked Romania from entering the Schengen Area for corruption claims.[4] The controversy had a great impact on Romanian media, where news began to spread in several newspapers, as well as in Wikipedia. Months later, Roca declared satisfaction after seeing the effect that his article had had.[5]

Lyrics

Original lyrics (1880)

Pe-al nostru steag e scris unire, Unire-n cuget și simțiri Și sub măreața lui umbrire Vom înfrunta orice loviri Acel ce-n luptă grea se teme El însuși e rătăcitor, Iar noi uniți în orice vreme Am fost, vom fi învingători. Am înarmat a noastră mână Ca să păzim un scump pământ, Dreptatea e a lui stăpână, Iar domn e adevărul sfânt. Și-n cartea veșniciei scrie Că țări și neamuri vor pieri, Dar mândra noastră Românie Etern, etern va înflori.

On our flag it's written union, Union in thoughts and feelings And under its great shadow We'll face any hits. The one that in a fierce battle is afraid He himself is lost, But we, united any time We were, and will be victorious We armed our hand To guard a dear land Justice is its master And its Lord is the holy truth And on the book of history is written That states and nations will fall But our beloved Romania Forever, forever will flourish.

Lyrics modified by the PCR

Nicolae Ceaușescu made the lyrics of this song the national anthem of Romania, but since Albania already used it, it was replaced in 1977.[1]

The modified lyrics were the following:

E scris pe tricolor unire Pe roșul steag liberator Prin luptă sub a lor umbrire Spre comunism urcăm în zbor Acel ce-n luptă grea se teme Nu stă între învingători Iar noi, uniți în orice vreme Am fost, vom fi biruitori Viteji, străbunii apărară Pe dragul românesc meleag Noi nu aflăm dușmani în șară Primind prietenii cu drag În cartea Comunistă scrie Că asuprirea va pieri Prin noi, iubita Românie Mereu, în veci va înflori Stăpân pe-al său destin, poporul De viață dreaptă făurar Clădește falnic viitorul Urmând partidul unitar Tu, Românie socialistă În lume, mândră vei sui În era nouă comunistă Etern, etern vei dăinui

Unity is written on the tricolour On liberator’s red flag Through battles beneath their shade To communism we climb in flight He who grows afraid in battle Is not among the conquerors But we, united in all weather Have been and shall be victorious Bravely, our ancestors defended The dear Romanian land In our country, we have no enemies We accept our friends with love In the communist book it is written Exploitation shall reach its end Through us, beloved Romania Will flourish in eternity Masters of their destiny, the people Are forging a correct life Building a glorious future Following the uniting party You, socialist Romania In the world, shall proudly climb In the new communist era Eternally you shall thrive

Notes

1. The name of the song was changed from "Pe-al nostru steag e scris Unire".[1]

References

1. Petru Bălan, Cristian (2008). Imnurile de stat ale ţărilor din Uniunea Europeană (in Romanian). p. 112. ISBN 9737400941.
2. "Himni kombëtar". 2009-10-26. Archived from the original on 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
3. Gheorghe Stoica, "Agârbiceanu la Tribuna – Cluj. 1938–1940", in Tribuna Documenta, Issue 1, 2004, p. VII
4. Roca, George (28 January 2016). "Pe-al vostru steag e scris Unire!?". Gândacul de Colorado (in Romanian).
5. Roca, George (31 July 2016). "O privire sinoptică asupra imnul României". Gândacul de Colorado (in Romanian).

External links

• "Pe-al nostru steag e scris Unire" on YouTube