La Dessalinienne


"La Dessalinienne" is the national anthem of Haiti. It was written by Justin Lhérisson and composed by Nicolas Geffrard.

Etymology

"La Dessalinienne" is named in honor of Haiti's revolutionary leader and first ruler Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

History

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Haitian Revolution, a competition was held for a national anthem in 1903. The poetic words of Justin Lhérisson and martial composition of Nicolas Geffrard won over the judges, which led to its official adoption as the national anthem in 1904.
The 1903 premiere of the composition was sung by Auguste de Pradines, also known as Kandjo.
As a one verse rendition can be relatively short, a common way to lengthen a performance is to perform an abridged arrangement consisting of the first verse immediately followed by the last one.

Unofficial variant

There is a Haitian Creole version that was created by Raymond A. Moise. Ansy Dérose, a Haitian singer, helped popularize it. Although it became widely accepted, the 1987 Haitian Constitution makes no mention of this particular version.

Lyrics