Dutch National Anthem - "Het Wilhelmus" (NL/EN) || FOREIGN REACTS

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Intro 00:00
Reaction 01:08
Dutch National Anthem - "Het Wilhelmus" (NL/EN)
#dutch
#netherlands
#foreignreacts

[@fvantpadje]

You have to understand that this national anthem is the oldest of the world and was used as war song during the eighty year war against the Spain so that mean that the song is older than the Netherlands. The religion played a big role during this war so this is actually a Psalm. Also the flag is from that time and was from origin with the colour orange used in that same war (1568-1648)

[@jgowner6076]

It is not the oldest, but the oldest in use*

[@zulawoo]

It's sarcastic propaganda to tell the king of spain to fuck off. That's about as Dutch as it gets.

[@rmyikzelf5604]

And it didn't become the official national anthem of the Netherlands until 1932. But it is indeed the oldest song that had the purpose of a national anthem. The music is likely even older and probably a French popular song. The words were written as a protest/propaganda/insult to aid in getting popular support for the rebellion against the Spanish crown.

[@moosploum6689]

yes then there were 21 verses now we only sing the first 5

[@christinarodriguez7508]

@@moosploum6689 1st and 6th

[@laziojohnny79]

The Dutch flag served as model for the French flag and many others including the Russian flag, which in itself served as model for flags of countries like Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia and Slovakia, too name a few.

[@zulawoo]

It's the oldest tri-color yep

[@dutchskyrimgamer.youtube2748]

The Dutch flag is also the model for the USA and indirectly South Africa

[@laziojohnny79]

@@dutchskyrimgamer.youtube2748 The American flag is very debatable and quite frankly I doubt it, they were a British colony and partly a French one, so they could've took the colors from those countries and used red and white for the 13 original colonies and for obvious reasons choose blue and white for the stars representing the states. Nevertheless the Dutch influence on the US in it's early days was massive and highly undervalued.

[@Verenigd_Dietsland]

quite literally directly south africa the red white and blue in the flag stands for the Dutch Boers@@dutchskyrimgamer.youtube2748

[@GabberPinda]

Fun fact: The Netherlands has the oldest and longest National anthem in the world 🌎

[@foreignreacts]

Woah 😮

[@rmyikzelf5604]

It's the oldest song written to serve the purpose of a national anthem. It only became the official national anthem in 1932.

[@dutchskyrimgamer.youtube2748]

​@@foreignreacts15 couplets in total.

[@mavadelo]

The Anthem contains 15 verses. The first letters of each verse form the name Willem van Nazzov, which is the old Dutch name for Willem van Nassau. It is written from the perspective of William. (Hence the mentioning of bloodline and the reason for the mentioning of the King of Spain). Dutch people either love the Anthem or hate it and want it replaced.

[@lbergen001]

So True!!

[@ganymedes62]

On most occasions, they only play 1 verse, the first one. On special occasions they'll add the 6th one, usually royal coronations, weddings or funerals. Imagine having to sit through all 15 verses whenever a Dutch person would win a medal or at the start of an international game ... you'd go nuts 🙂 Of course, taking pity on the rest of the world, we settle for just one verse, much like they do in the US, where the national anthem is actually more elaborate, too. (And if you didn't know that, you should have paid more attention at school.)

[@DenUitvreter]

It's a originally a propaganda song from the 1570's for the rebellion, written by a friend of his. Willem used to be steward to the king of Spain for the Netherlands, he was a German noble (Nassau) who had inhereted the title prince of Orange (which is in Southern France). He came to lead the rebellion because he wanted freedom of religion while the king send the Spanish Inquisition to kill all protestants and bad catholics. Besides the fighting, Willem also kept making the legal case that the king was out of order and not him, with some solid arguements. He tried to stop him being a tyrant but finally gave up reasoning with the zealot, resulting in the DOI that declared the king had left the legitimate throne of the Netherlands by being a tyrant and not respecting to inalienable rights of the people, like to serve god according to their own conscience and being served by the king. So that's how he has always honoured the king of Spain. He's kind of explaining himself, yes I did rebel and want to go back to my domains in the Netherlands, but it was not treason because I just stood up for the rights the Dutch had but were ignored by the king.

[@rmyikzelf5604]

William himself didn't do much of the leading of the revolt. He was assassinated in 1584. Most of the fighting was led by his son Maurits.

[@DenUitvreter]

@@rmyikzelf5604 Yes, his son became the stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, so instead of steward to the king stadtholder was now 'steward' to the Staten, the pre-existing Dutch parliaments. In that capacity he was the commander of the army that by then fought a full blown independence war. So a rebellion and a revolt became a war somewhat around the time of Willem's murder. Maurits was a brilliant general while his father was more of a diplomat who unified the provinces and both catholics and protestants behind the revolt.

[@flo7069]

What a beatiful anthem, reminds me of church music because of the organ ^^ lovely greetings from germany to my neighbours and my fellow american friend

[@foreignreacts]

It’s wonderful 😁

[@laziojohnny79]

@@foreignreacts Dutchie here, I recommend listening to the German anthem, one of my favourites next to Italy's anthem and the French one.

[@stygma799]

@@laziojohnny79 Have you listened to the DDR anthem? I would have that preffered as the german anthem as we have today, because I think it would better describe germany in the modern times.

[@AudieHolland]

@@stygma799 I have :-)

[@qwertyuiopzxcfgh]

The anthem is actually included in the standard protestant church song books here (as "gezang 411") because of its strong religious undertones, so you're actually spot-on :)

[@foetsie85]

the dutch national anthem is one of the oldest in the world,only japan had one but it was more of a poem and not a anthem.the wilhelmus was used as a battle song in the 80 years war.

[@Maverick21491]

Correction , The French have a copy of the Dutch flag , not the other way around !! The French flag was based on the Dutch flag !

[@AudieHolland]

Explanation of the first verse: 1. Willem was Count of Nassau, which is in Germany. Therefore, of German blood. The Fatherland = The Low Countries. 2. Loyal to the Fatherland, speaks for itself. He also inherited some land in France, the principality of Orange. 3. Which is why he's also Prince of Orange. He was appointed Stadtholder for a few Dutch states (like a Lieutenant Governor for the king, who was the king of Spain). The Low Countries, which are now modern The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg, were part of the Spanish branch of the Habsburg Empire. When the revolt against Spanish started, the Dutch did not intend to break away from Spain altogether, they were hoping for a compromise that meant freedom of religion and limited self rule. The revolt was against the tyrannical local Spanish government, but not against the king. 4. That is why: the king of Spain I have always honoured.

[@SwirlingSoul]

It is ancient. The text has been changed recently too, as I've learned it a little different in the 70's. But that's okay. To me, Dutchie.... it will always invoke feelings of nostalgia, and at the same time feel depressive as ever. It's so sloooooooooowwwww. My goodness, give it a beat and a tempo, thank you! It could sound so much happier. Listen to the Italian Anthem.... It's played often at F1, and EVERYONE knows it and is so happy when it's played... I know it better than my own anthem, lol.

[@ronaldderooij1774]

You have to know the history of the early years of William of Orange AND the early years of the 80 year war of the Dutch independence to understand the text of these 3 verses and of the other 12 verses. Remeber that it was written at the end of the 16th century and it is therefore the oldest national anthem with lyrics in the world. There is some discussion about the national anthem (especially the last verse) being out of touch with the times as the majority of the Dutch nowadays do not believe in a higher power (God) anymore.

[@joffryvangrondelle]

Well a big minority still believes, better the other bigger par should do. if we check all opinions every day we down have anything left anymore at the end of the week..

[@intellectualnerd4544]

The Dutch anthem is also one of my favourites.It is very solemn.I also like the Spanish anthem which has no words but there is one which had words under the dictorship of General Franco and not used anymore because of how touchy feeling some spaniards are about it.Here is the Franco era anthem kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5aXoWZ5pLOdrJI There is a proposed one with words which I will leave here for you to listen to.I also live the French,Belgian,Irish anthem which are also nice and military.The two Danish anthems,Norwegian,German and Swiss anthem are also nice.Not to shade you Americans but I do like the former Anthem Hail Columbia(Now which is played for the VP) than the Star spangled banner.I like the military sound of that Majestic.Check them out

[@pietergreveling]

This is just a small part of the anthem! And it was written and sang in the 16th century up to the 20th century, and only in 1932 it became the National Anthem! It's written because of the revolt against Spain. The text is about William of Orange, who rebelled in the second half of the sixteenth century against the legitimate Spanish king who then ruled the Netherlands. The text provides a justification for why William took up arms against his legitimate monarch of Philip II of Spain. The text reads that William of Orange has always been loyal to his homeland, but that King Philip II was a cruel tyrant. Willem had to take up arms to liberate the Netherlands from this cruel ruler. ✌🏼

[@gustavodiniz6156]

Felipe ll no fue un tirano, fue su gobernador, el "Duque de Alba". Guillermo de Oranje es un Traidor.

[@marcelschellekens6386]

The French do not always want to acknowledge this, but the French flag descends from the Dutch flag. and is (by some criteria) the oldest flag in the world. just like the dutch national anthem. the japanese text of their national anthem is older but had no music that was a poem.

[@olivierolivier6080]

? ? ?

[@olivierolivier6080]

the french flags derives directly from the colors of Paris which is blue and red (you can see it on the actual flag of Paris) and the old french flag which 100% white. After the revolution it was decided to mix both.

[@marcelschellekens6386]

@@olivierolivier6080 you see, "According to Eve Devereux, the French flag was based on that of the Netherlands before Napoleon conquered the Netherlands in 1810" You do know that one doesn't exactly exclude the other, right? the paris colors are red and blue. the first French flag is red white blue on its side. it is not until 1794 that this becomes blue white red. this first flag was simultaneously a reference to paris and the first european country to overthrow the tyranny of a single reigning king. the "White is for the king argument" is a bit of a drag. since the French had pretty much had it with the king.

[@joeribaars5481]

the french copyed our homework and then changed it just a little.

[@Dutch_Man68]

This is the entire anthem normally we only sing verses 1 and 6

[@foreignreacts]

Understandable

[@Kimberly-si9mf]

ngl this is the first time i'm listening to the national anthem in full with lyrics 😂 i dont come any further than 2 lines usually hhh

[@MLWitteman]

The Dutch flag originated during the Dutch Revolt in the 16th century, also called the 80 years War. And that’s also the period when the national anthem was written, making it the oldest national anthem in the world. The French flag however, originated in the French Revolution. So dating back to the late 18th century. About the national anthem itself: "Wilhelmus" originated in the Dutch Revolt, the nation's struggle to achieve independence from the Spanish Empire. It tells of the Father of the Nation William of Orange who was stadholder in the Netherlands under the King of Spain(sort of like a governor). In the first person, as if quoting himself, William speaks to the Dutch about both the revolt and his own, personal struggle: to be faithful to the king, without being unfaithful to his conscience: to serve God and the Dutch. In the lyrics William compares himself with the biblical David who serves under the tyrannic king Saul. As the merciful David defeats the unjust Saul and is rewarded by God with the kingdom of Israel, so too William hopes to be rewarded with a kingdom. William was and remained a life-long Roman Catholic but he was sympathetic to Calvinism and may have secretly converted to it later in life. Both "Wilhelmus" and the Dutch Revolt should be seen in the light of the 16th century Reformation in Europe and the resulting persecution of Protestants by the Spanish Inquisition in the Low Countries. Militant music proved very useful not only in lampooning Roman clerks and repressive monarchs but also in generating class-transcending social cohesion. In successfully combining a psalmic character with political relevancy, "Wilhelmus" stands as the pre-eminent example of the genre.

[@-_YouMayFind_-]

I love the version André Rieu made of the Wilhelmus. I like the lyrics

[@baby28girl]

So as a 26 year old dutchie i have only sung this song 2 times in my life. I don't even know all the words 🤔

[@grootsyt]

bijna geen enkele Nederlander kent het hele lied uit zijn hoofd, er zijn 15 coupletten ofzo xD. Daarnaast zijn we niet erg nationalistischdus je zingt het inderdaad niet erg vaak.

[@ONCE_A_MOA_ALWAYS_A_MOA]

​@@grootsyt ik ken alleen de eerste en de 6de een beetje

[@whoiskcwhat]

The translation is wrong: "ben ik van Duitsen bloed means "Am I from German blood" a very big difference and the root of the whole anthem,

[@j.p.vanbolhuis8678]

The text is actually an "apologie" i.e. a defense. In each couplet you look at the text and deduce the accusation. As for "Duitschen Bloed" (or German Blood) and the "koning van hispanje" (king of spain) Those are retorts to the accusation that he was a foreign meddler. The reply is that he is member of the HRE (Holy Roman Empire, of which the netherlands were part, so he was not foreigner). Then he contrasts that to the foreigner king of spain. That king of spain is also a reply of the accusation that he was a rebel. The reply is i always honoured him, but he did not adhere to our laws. And that is why we wrote the "plakaat van Verlatinge" (or declaration of separation), because the King of Spain was the King of Spain but only ruled the netherlands because he was count of Holland, Duke of Gelre, etc, etc, etc. So when gouverning the Netherlands he would have to use the local law, and not spanish laws. When i tried to impose spanish manners and laws on the netherlans he was committing illegal acts and therefore lost his right to rule.

[@s.b.907]

1:50 Same colours, we have horizontal stripes, the French vertical. 😉

[@gerrylanter8109]

I can't help it, but a Dutch national anthem were the second sentence states: "Am I of German blood" I have always found rather ridiculous (that the hero in question really was of German blood is irrelevant; after all, though almost all Royal Houses (even though William of Orange was no king) were of German blood, you wont hear anything about their German blood in any National Anthem outside the Dutch one.

[@depressedutchman]

Although in my national anthem says I should trust god, I am atheist (most of the country is) But it is indeed a nice part of the lyrics. Use me for good god For me it would be, i wil exist to do good

[@pokemongranny1]

There is a mistranslation in the first sentence. Duitsen bloed should be translated as German blood as William was originally from a German royal house. And Duits is the Dutch word for German, many other languages call it something similar.

[@VetteGeleBanaan]

Duitsland wasn't a thing back then

[@rmyikzelf5604]

No, no, no. Duitsen bloet does not refer to Germany at all (the country didn't even exist for a few more centuries) it refers to Diets or Duits in the sense of the people of the area then known as Dietsland or Duitsland which was part of the 'low countries ' and included the modern-day Netherlands . This is also why the English refer to people from the Netherlands as Dutch to this day. In the anthem it is just the common word used in the late 1500's for people from the northern and Eastern regions of 'the low countries' (de nederlanden). The low countries also included modern-day Belgium and parts of what is now Germany and France.

[@6117buddha]

Huge translation mistake in already the firts line. So bad😞 duitse bloed should be translated to german blood. Not dutch blood. Im done.

[@DutchLabrat]

Well.... Dutch, Duits, Diets, Deutsch, etc, are all cognates of the same origin. It is was the name germanic tribes have been calling themselves since before Roman times. (from Old German diutisc, lit. Of the people) Also in modern English usage the term German refers mostly to the modern state of Germany that did not even exist yet when Het Wilhelmus was written. So German would definitely be wrong, that meaning did not exist back then! On the other hand in English Dutch referred back then to Low Germany which was roughly the Low Countries, Rheinland Pfalz, Eiffel, etc... Hence Pennsylvanian Dutch, who came from the Pfalz.... So yeah, if you get really picky and linguistic about it Dutch is the better translation while German only confuses modern English speakers.

[@6117buddha]

@@DutchLabrat ok helder.

[@Vincrand]

​@@DutchLabrat The parts of the Netherlands that were part of the Roman Empire were called Germania Inferior. So term German could be used. Germany is named after the Germanic people, not the other way around.

[@6117buddha]

Maar toen het volkslied geschreven werd, noemde we ons, allang al geen Duits meer toch? In reply to Jeroen metselaar

[@DutchLabrat]

​@@6117buddha : Yes we did! Germany (Duitsland) as a separate country only came centuries later! What is now Germany, Poland, Austria etc... was a patchwork of small kingdoms, Grand Duchies and whatnot loosely bound in the Holy Roman Empire. People from the Low Countries considered them from *that* culture, not related to the far away king in Spain.. The King of Spain was an outsider, Willem was from Dillenburg, Duits, like us!

[@AudieHolland]

We only ever play the first verse during official ceremonies.

[@VetteGeleBanaan]

and the 6th.

[@nero7469]

I've always wondered why the Dutch removed the orange and made it red on their flag

[@Linda-hs1lk]

Many Dutch can't sing along because the lyrics are quite complicated. Very old Dutch. Still like it though.

[@Linda-hs1lk]

I don't even know the second verse, it's never been used.

[@TerryVogelaar]

Our national anthem is the oldest, but there definitely are better ones. Greg Shapiro, an American comedian who is living in the Netherlands for 25 years, did a great analysis of it. You should definitely check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rF7ZpJ2IlMt0hbc

[@krakendragonslayer1909]

When I see that 3200 years old "royal" surname Nassau / Nasser / Nazarbayev (or however Dio Nissos evolved since then in various cultures), I always get frustrated against all the goat-belivers.

[@The_radiodemon.]

I gotta tell you pretty much all normal sitisens of oure great country only know the first 2 parts of the song 🙄

[@lbergen001]

Nice video and comments. 👍👍 and if you salut, do it with your right hand....

[@foreignreacts]

Thank you Not sure if it was my right or left hand.

[@miran4471]

I prefer the old Dutch Patriotic War Song : Merck toch hoe sterck! This song is great for the anthem! 😉🌷

[@miran4471]

And watch " Merck toch hoe sterck"Jos van der Kooy / Westerkerk Amsterdam. 🙂🌷

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

Next : learn the words so we can hear you sing it without looking at the text.... 😉

[@kellyvandijk3269]

Did you watch,,Geografie now the Netherlands?

[@foreignreacts]

Yes check the Netherlands playlist on the channel!

[@kellyvandijk3269]

@@foreignreacts I did, I did not find it.😁

[@DenUitvreter]

Geography Now missed the existence of the Dutch Republic entirely and refused to acknowledge that in the correction video, they call Willem van Orangje the first king. So that's not going to shed any light on the anthem.

[@kellyvandijk3269]

@@DenUitvreter it’s just a question.

[@anavazquez6218]

it’s the oldest national anthem in THE world. it was written in the perspective of the dutch king at the time who was put in power by the spanish king as he ruled over the netherlands at the time.

[@alexialu4224]

Why don't you react to the European Union anthem? (Yes we have an anthem, we don't use it much but it's very beautiful)

[@keessuijkerbuijk6192]

As the cursed EU is not a country, there is no anthem. Just a piece of music. And I hope it never will!

[@alexialu4224]

@@keessuijkerbuijk6192 I guess we can call it the anthem of Europe (as it was declared in 1972) if that doesn't trigger you as much. Moreover, if Beethoven's Symphony number 9 is "just a song" I guess the world is really going downhill ahaha

[@keessuijkerbuijk6192]

@@alexialu4224 Beethoven never knew, that the piece he was composing, was to be chosen by Eurofiles as the illegal anthem of a non state. They (The eurofiles) and thier followers can pretend it is an anthem, but wishing so, wil not make it so!