HUNGARIAN LYRICS

Isten, áldd meg a magyart  
Jó kedvvel, böséggel,  
Nyújts feléje védö kart,  
Ha küzd ellenséggel;  
Bal sors akit régen tép,  
Hozz rá víg esztendöt,  
Megbünhödte már e nép  
A multat s jövendöt!  
 
Öseinket felhozád  
Kárpát szent bércére,  
Általad nyert szép hazát  
Bendegúznak vére.  
S merre zúgnak habjai  
Tiszának, Dunának,  
Árpád hös magzatjai  
Felvirágozának.  
 
Értünk Kunság mezein  
Ért kalászt lengettél,  
Tokaj szölövesszein  
Nektárt csepegtettél.  
Zászlónk gyakran plántálád  
Vad török sáncára,  
S nyögte Mátyás bús hadát  
Bécsnek büszke vára.  
 
Hajh, de büneink miatt  
Gyúlt harag kebledben,  
S elsújtád villámidat  
Dörgö fellegedben,  
Most rabló mongol nyilát  
Zúgattad felettünk,  
Majd töröktöl rabigát  
Vállainkra vettünk.  
 
Hányszor zengett ajkain  
Ozmán vad népének  
Vert hadunk csonthalmain  
Gyözedelmi ének!  
Hányszor támadt tenfiad  
Szép hazám kebledre,  
S lettél magzatod miatt  
Magzatod hamvvedre!  
 
Bújt az üldözött s felé  
Kard nyúl barlangjában,  
Szerte nézett s nem lelé  
Honját a hazában,  
Bércre hág és völgybe száll,  
Bú s kétség mellette,  
Vérözön lábainál,  
S lángtenger fölette.  
 
Vár állott, most köhalom,  
Kedv s öröm röpkedtek,  
Halálhörgés, siralom  
Zajlik már helyettek.  
S ah, szabadság nem virúl  
A holtnak véréböl,  
Kínzó rabság könnye hull  
Árvánk hö szeméböl!  
 
Szánd meg isten a magyart  
Kit vészek hányának,  
Nyújts feléje védö kart  
Tengerén kínjának.  
Bal sors akit régen tép,  
Hozz rá víg esztendöt,  
Megbünhödte már e nép  
A multat s jövendöt! 


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ENGLISH TRANSLATION
 
God Bless the Hungarians 
With good cheer and prosperity.
Extend a protective arm
If they fight the enemy.
Torn by misfortune for long,
Give them happy years.
These people have expiated
The past and the future.

By Thy help our fathers gained 
Kárpát's proud and sacred height; 
Here by Thee a home obtained 
Heirs of Bendegúz, the knight. 
Where'er Danube's waters flow 
And the streams of Tisza swell 
Árpád's children, Thou dost know, 
Flourished and did prosper well. 
 
For us let the golden grain 
Grow upon the fields of Kún, 
And let Nectar's silver rain 
Ripen grapes of Tokay soon. 
Thou our flags hast planted o'er 
Forts where once wild Turks held sway; 
Proud Vienna suffered sore 
From King Mátyás' dark array. 
 
But, alas! for our misdeed, 
Anger rose within Thy breast, 
And Thy lightnings Thou did'st speed 
From Thy thundering sky with zest. 
Now the Mongol arrow flew 
Over our devoted heads; 
Or the Turkish yoke we knew, 
Which a free-born nation dreads. 
 
O, how often has the voice 
Sounded of wild Osman's hordes, 
When in songs they did rejoice 
O'er our heroes' captured swords! 
Yea, how often rose Thy sons, 
My fair land, upon Thy sod, 
And Thou gavest to these sons, 
Tombs within the breast they trod! 
 
Though in caves pursued he lie, 
Even then he fears attacks. 
Coming forth the land to spy, 
Even a home he finds he lacks. 
Mountain, vale - go where he would, 
Grief and sorrow all the same - 
Underneath a sea of blood, 
While above a sea of flame. 
 
'Neath the fort, a ruin now, 
Joy and pleasure erst were found, 
Only groans and sighs, I trow, 
In its limits now abound. 
But no freedom's flowers return 
From the spilt blood of the dead, 
And the tears of slavery burn, 
Which the eyes of orphans shed. 
 
Pity, God, the Magyar, then, 
Long by waves of danger tossed; 
Help him by Thy strong hand when 
He on grief's sea may be lost. 
Fate, who for so long did'st frown, 
Bring him happy times and ways; 
Atoning sorrow hath weighed down 
All the sins of all his days.  

-------------------------

Hungary

Words by:Ferenc Kölcsey
Music by:Ferenc Erkel
Adopted:1844

The title of the Hungarian anthem is often given as the first line of the
anthem,"Isten, áldd meg a magyart", but rather the title is simply 'Himnusz'
which means 'Anthem' in English. But the poem has a subtitle: 'A magyar nép
zivataros századaiból' meaning approximately 'From the Stormy Past of the
Hungarian People'. Kölcsey, who wrote his poem in 1823, sets the poem in the
17th century when Hungary was torn into three parts: the independent Hungarian
principality in Transsylvania, the Turkish occupied central Hungary and the
remaining Austrian royal (Habsburg) areas in the north and the west. The anthem
was adopted in 1844, even while Hungary was still a part of the Austro-
Hungarian_Empire.

Also widely used in Hungary, but not an official national anthem, is the song
"Szozat", which can be described as the "national song" and is often sung in
national celebrations.

Special thanks to:Luke Gilmore for some of this information.

See also: Hungary_(?-1823).
