Chant de Ralliement or The Rallying Song is the national anthem of Cameroon. It was used on an unofficial basis beginning in 1948 before independence, and officially adopted in 1957. The music was composed by René Djam Afame, who also wrote the lyrics along with Samuel Minkio Bamba and Moïse Nyatte Nko’o. The lyrics were changed in 1978.
Click here to listen to the National Anthem of Cameroon
English Translation
O Cameroon, Thou Cradle of our Fathers,
Holy Shrine where in our midst they now repose,
Their tears and blood and sweat thy soil did water,
On thy hills and valleys once their tillage rose.
Dear Fatherland, thy worth no tongue can tell!
How can we ever pay thy due?
Thy welfare we will win in toil and love and peace,
Will be to thy name ever true!
Chorus
Land of Promise, land of Glory!
Thou, of life and joy, our only store!
Thine be honour, thine devotion,
And deep endearment, for evermore.
From Shari, from where the Mungo meanders
From along the banks of lowly Boumba Stream,
Muster thy sons in union close around thee,
Mighty as the Buea Mountain be their team;
Instil in them the love of gentle ways,
Regret for errors of the past;
Foster, for Mother Africa, a loyalty
That true shall remain to the last.
Chorus