High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free

"High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free" is the national anthem of Sierra Leone.

High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free
National anthem of  Sierra Leone
LyricsClifford Nelson Fyle, 1961
MusicJohn Akar (arranged by Logie E. K. Wright), 1961
Adopted1961
Preceded by"God Save The Queen"
Audio sample
"High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free" (instrumental, one verse)
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Details

It was written by Clifford Nelson Fyle and composed by John Akar. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1961 when the country became independent replacing "God Save The Queen".[1] The Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991, makes it the responsibility of every citizen of Sierra Leone to "respect its ideals and its institutions"[2] including the national anthem.

It consists of three verses, each ending with the phrase "Land that we love, our Sierra Leone."

Lyrics
High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free
First verse

High we exalt thee, realm of the free;
Great is the love we have for thee;
Firmly united ever we stand,
Singing thy praise, O native land.
We raise up our hearts and our voices on high,
The hills and the valleys re-echo our cry;
Blessing and peace be ever thine own,
Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.

Second verse

One with a faith that wisdom inspires,
One with a zeal that never tires;
Ever we seek to honour thy name,
Ours is the labour, thine the fame.
We pray that no harm on thy children may fall,
That blessing and peace may descend on us all;
So may we serve thee ever alone,
Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.

Third verse

Knowledge and truth our forefathers spread,
Mighty the nations whom they led;
Mighty they made thee, so too may we
Show forth the good that is ever in thee.
We pledge our devotion, our strength and our might,
Thy cause to defend and to stand for thy right;
All that we have be ever thine own,
Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.[3]

References
  1. Anthony Karim, Kamara (2008-05-28), Change the Sierra Leone national Anthem, Sierra Leone: Cocorioko Newspaper, retrieved 2008-06-29
  2. Government of Sierra Leone, Constitution of the Republic of Sierra Leone - 1991 (PDF), Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Encyclopedia, retrieved 2008-06-29
  3. Clifford Nelson, Fyle, The National Anthem (PDF), Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Encyclopedia, retrieved 2008-06-29
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