Brazil National Anthem — Hino Nacional Brasileiro

The anthem opens with a vivid historical image: the "placid banks of the Ipiranga" hearing the "resounding cry of a heroic people" — a reference to the moment in 1822 when independence from Portugal was proclaimed beside that stream. From there it becomes a hymn to liberty won by a "strong arm".

Duque-Estrada's poem is famously ornate, layering grand, sometimes archaic imagery of the sun of freedom, the beloved homeland and a people ready to defy death for their independence. It is less a call to arms than a proud, romantic portrait of the nation and the ideals it was founded on.

Francisco Manuel da Silva composed the melody in 1831, and it served as an unofficial patriotic tune for decades. Duque-Estrada wrote his poem in 1909, and a lightly adapted version was formally adopted as the anthem's lyrics by presidential decree in 1922, during the centenary of independence. A full performance covers two long stanzas.

The Brazilian anthem is renowned as one of the most musically demanding in the world, with a sweeping range and dense, poetic text that many Brazilians know by heart. It is a fixture at football matches, where crowds famously continue singing a cappella after the music stops.

The "Hino Nacional Brasileiro" (Brazilian National Anthem) is the national anthem of Brazil, one of the world's national anthems. Its melody dates to 1831; the current lyrics, a poem by Joaquim Osório Duque-Estrada, were made official in 1922.

Both music and words are long out of copyright and in the public domain. The anthem is known for its rich, elaborate language and wide melodic range.