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Dievs, svt Latviju!
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Wikipedia article
"'" (; "God Bless Latvia!") is the national anthem of Latvia. Created in 1873 as a patriotic song, it did not gain official status until 1920.
History and composition
The music and lyrics were written in 1873 by Krlis Baumanis, a teacher who was part of the Young Latvian nationalist movement. It has been speculated that Baumanis may have borrowed part of the lyrics from a popular song that was sung to tune of "God Save the Queen", modified them and set them to music of his own. Baumanis's lyrics were different from the modern ones: he used the term "Baltics" synonymously and interchangeably with "Latvia" and "Latvians", so "Latvia" was actually mentioned only at the beginning of the first verse. Later, the term "Latvia" was removed and replaced with "Baltics" to avoid a ban on the song. This has led to the misapprehension that the term "Latvia" was not part of the song until 1920, when it was chosen as national anthem, and the word "Baltics" was replaced with "Latvia".
During the annexation of Latvia by the Soviet Union, the singing of "Dievs, svt Latviju!" was banned. The Soviet republic of Latvia had its own anthem. "Dievs, svt Latviju!" was restored as the state anthem of Latvia on 15 February 1990, a very short period before Latvian independence was restored on 4 May.
The anthem's tune was modernized with a new F-major version that is used since 2014; formerly, a G-major version was used on LTV's sign-on and sign-offs daily from 2011 to 2013. However, the G-major version was still played on any occasion. The current version played on LTV for their sign-on and sign-offs daily is in the key of B-flat major.
Lyrics
{| class="wikitable"
!Latvian original
!IPA transcription
!English translation
|- style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;"
|
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Our dear fatherland,
Do bless Latvia,
Oh, do bless it!
Where Latvian daughters bloom,
Where Latvian sons sing,
Let us dance in happiness there,
In our Latvia!
|}
Other uses
Latvian 2 euro coins bear the inscription around the edge.
See also
* Krlis Baumanis
* Flag of Latvia
* Coat of arms of Latvia
* Anthem of the Latvian SSR
Notes
References
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