God Bless Our Homeland Ghana
English: "This Is Our Own Native Land" | |
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The lyrics of "God Bless Our Homeland Ghana" above a orchestral reduction sheet music of the National Symphony Orchestra Ghana.
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National anthem of Ghana |
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Lyrics | Michael Kwame Gbordzoe ("God Bless Our Homeland Ghana") Ephraim Amu ("Yɛn Ara Asaase |
Music | Philip Gbeho ("God Bless Our Homeland Ghana") Ephraim Amu ("Yɛn Ara Asaase Ni") |
Adopted | 1957 ("God Bless Our Homeland Ghana") 2003 ("Yɛn Ara Asaase Ni") |
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Instrumental sample
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Vocal sample
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Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
"God Bless Our Homeland Ghana" (Akan: "Yɛn Ara Asaase Ni") is the national anthem of Ghana. The anthem "God Bless Our Homeland Ghana" was originally written and composed by Philip Gbeho and adopted in 1957 and the national patriotic anthem of Ghana "Yɛn Ara Asaase Ni" was originally written and composed by Ephraim Amu and adopted in 2003.
Contents
Lyrics
Original lyrics
The current text was chosen some time after the 1966 coup in Ghana. Philip Gbeho’s text that was discarded at that time started with:
Lord God our Father we pray thee,
Be thou our guide in all our ways,
May we unite together, proclaim the dawn of our new day!
Children of Ghana arise and uphold your cause
And blaze the trail of freedom far and wide,
O God our Father harken to our call
and bring us peace here in our fatherland.
Current lyrics
The current lyrics of the "God Bless Our Homeland Ghana" national anthem that has been in use since the 1970s were written by Michael Kwame Gbordzoe while a student within the framework of a national competition,[1] and the lyrics of the national patriotic anthem of Ghana "Yɛn Ara Asaase Ni" were musically composed in Akan by Ephraim Amu, the title meaning "This Is Our Own Native Land",[1][2][3] and is accompanied by Ghana's national pledge.
Thus, the lyrics of Ghana’s national anthem "God Bless Our Homeland Ghana",[1] and the lyrics of Ghana’s national patriotic anthem "Yɛn Ara Asaase Ni" written and sung in Akan are as follows:[1][2][3]
God Bless Our Homeland Ghana[1] | Yɛn Ara Asaase Ni (Akan lyrics)[1][2][3] | Yɛn Ara Asaase Ni (English translation)[3] |
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First stanza | ||
And make our nation great and strong, |
Ɛyɛ aboɔden de ma yεn, |
This is our own native land; |
Second stanza | ||
To thee we make our solemn vow: |
Ne apɛ-sɛ-me-nko-minya, Chorus 2x: Ɔman no, sɛ ɛbɛyɛ yie o! |
Or useless greed for material things, And bad lifestyles are destroying our nation, and disgracing it. Chorus 2x: Whether or not this nation prospers! |
Third stanza | ||
and one with Africa advance; |
Ne ɔbrakyew de ɛsɛe, ɔman na ɛbɔ no ahohora; Ɔman no, sɛ ɛbɛyɛ yie o! |
Obedience and respect; Whether or not this nation prospers! |
Thus, although Philip Gbeho’s composition is still being used, the current lyrics beginning "God Bless our Homeland Ghana" do not originate from him.
Michael Kwame Gbordzoe, who became a scientist by profession, has drawn the attention of the Ghana Government to the fact that although his lyrics have been adopted for the country’s national anthem since the 1970s, there has so far been no official Ghana Government recognition for his work, which may be attributed to the abrupt changes in regimes in Ghana in the past.[4][5]
Messages were sent to various Ghanaian government agencies, and was also discussed on air at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Uniiq FM programme PTGlive, on 9 March 2008.
National Pledge Of Ghana
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The National Pledge Of Ghana is the National Pledge (Oath of allegiance) to the Republic of Ghana, and is recited immediately after "God Bless Our Homeland Ghana" and "Yɛn Ara Asaase Ni".
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Who Owns The Ghana National Anthem", GhanaWeb, 18 August 2009.
- ↑ "German-based Ghanaian says he wrote lyrics of anthem and pledge", Modern Ghana, 4 April 2009.
External links
- Ghana: "Yεn Ara Asase Ni (De facto National Anthem of Ghana) with Translation" - audio of the de facto national anthem and national patriotic anthem of Ghana, with information and lyrics
- Ghana: "God Bless Our Homeland Ghana" - audio of the national anthem of Ghana, with information and lyrics
- Ghana national anthem, instrumental version
- Ghana national anthem, vocal version
- "Hail the name of Ghana" - MIDI Instrumental