SESOTHO LYRICS

Lesotho fatse la bo ntat'a rona,
Har'a mafatse le letle ke lona.
Ke moo re hlahileng,
Ke moo re holileng,
Rea la rata.
 
Molimo ak'u boloke Lesotho,
U felise lintoa le matsoenyeho.
Oho fatse lena,
La bo ntat'a rona,
Le be le khotso. 

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION
 
Lesotho, land of our Fathers,
You are the most beautiful country of all.
You give us birth,
In you we are reared
And you are dear to us.

Lord, we ask You to protect Lesotho.
Keep us free from conflict and tribulations.
Oh, land of mine,
Land of our Fathers,
May you have peace.

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Lesotho
"Lesotho Fatse La Bo Ntat'a Rona"

Words by:François Coillard
Music by:Ferdinand-Samuel Laur
Adopted:1967 (retroactive to 1966)

Both the melody and the lyrics of this anthem come from European sources (in
the case of the melody, not even composed to be the anthem of Lesotho). As
such, there is debate in the country about the anthem, not only because the
melody and lyrics were by foreigners, but also because the lyrics do not fit
the melody perfectly. However, the anthem has been kept since it was first
adopted, even surviving a coup in 1987 where the flag was changed.

The melody was from a Swiss songbook from around 1823. The composer was
Ferdinand-Samuel Naegeli (later known as Ferdinand-Samuel Laur). The song that
was later used as the Lesothan anthem was titled "Freiheit" (Freedom). Despite
being from a Swiss songbook, the musical style is similar to that of anthems of
other nations in the area in the "Eastern_folk" style, leading me to believe
the melody was "Africanized" sometime after it was first introduced to the
country.

The lyrics were by a French missionary to the area named François Coillard.
Coillard grew up near the French-Swiss border, close to the area where Laur's
songbook was released, so Coillard probalby knew of the melody from there. The
anthem first appeared in a Lesothan collection of songs for high schools in
1869.

The anthem originally had five verses, but by the 20th century, onlky the first
and last verses were used, the mmiddle verses, written to abolish traditional
customs and religions, were deemed inappropriate.

The anthem was adopted in 1967 by a royal decree, which was backdated to
Independence Day, October 4, 1966.

MUSIC
