The "Chant de Ralliement" ("Rallying Song"), also called "Ô Cameroun berceau de nos ancêtres" ("O Cameroon, Cradle of Our Forefathers"), is the national anthem of Cameroon.
Lyrics
Because Cameroon is officially a bilingual country, there are official lyrics in both French and English. The song has also been unofficially translated into at least ten local indigenous languages.
I
Ô Cameroun berceau de nos ancêtres,
Va debout et jaloux de ta liberté.
Comme un soleil ton drapeau fier doit être
Un symbole ardent de foi et d'unité.
Que tous tes enfants du nord au sud,
de l'est à l'ouest soient tout amour,
Te servir que ce soit leur seul but,
Pour remplir leur devoir toujours.
Refrain:
Chère patrie, terre chérie,
Tu es notre seul et vrai bonheur,
notre joie et notre vie,
À toi l'amour et le grand honneur.
II
Tu es la tombe où dorment nos pères,
Le jardin que nos aïeux ont cultivé.
Nous travaillons pour te rendre prospère,
Un beau jour enfin nous serons arrivés.
De l'Afrique sois fidèle enfant
Et progresse toujours en paix,
Espérant que tes jeunes enfants
T'aimeront sans bornes à jamais.
Refrain
I
O Cameroon, cradle of our ancestors,
Go, upright and protective of your freedom.
Like a sun, your proud flag must be
An ardent symbol of faith and unity.
May all your children, from North to South
From East to West, be all love,
May serving you be their only goal
To fulfil their duty always.
Chorus:
Dear Fatherland, cherished land,
You are our one and true happiness.
Our joy and our life
To you, love and great honour.
II
You are the grave where our fathers sleep,
The garden that our ancestors have cultivated.
We work to make you prosperous
One fine day we will finally get there.
Be Africa's faithful child
And always progress in peace
Hoping that your young children
Will love you without bounds forever.
Chorus
I
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.
II
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.