"Sansoen Phra Barami" (; ; ) is the current royal anthem of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It was a de facto national anthem of

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

before 1932.

History

The first song to be used as royal anthem and de facto national anthem of Thailand appeared in the reign of King

Mongkut Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868. The reign of Mongkut was marked by significant modernization ini ...

of Rattanakosin Kingdom. In 1851, two former British military officers named Captain Impey and Lieutenant Thomas George Knox served with the Siamese Army. They trained the troops of King Mongkut and the Second King Pinklao with British military tradition. So, they adopted the anthem "

God Save the King "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is ''de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of national anthems of New Zealand, two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle ...

" as honor music for the king of Siam. Phraya Srisunthonwohan (Noi Āchāryānkura) wrote Thai lyrics for this anthem later and named it as " Chom Rat Chong Charoen", which means "long live the great king". In 1871, King

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...

visited

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and Batavia (now

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

) in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

; it appeared that Siam used the same anthem with Great Britain, who ruled over Singapore at that time. It was necessary that Siam must have a new unique tune for using as the royal anthem and de facto national anthem. A group of Siamese traditional musicians had selected a Thai song named " Bulan Loi Luean" which was the royal composition of King

Rama II Phutthaloetla Naphalai (born Chim; 24 February 1767 or 1768 – 21 July 1824), also known by his regnal name Rama II, was the second King of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 1809 to 1824. In 1809, Itsarasunthon succeeded his father R ...

for use as the new anthem. King Chulalongkorn later ordered Christopher Hewetson, a Dutch bandmaster who served in the Royal Siamese Army, to arrange the song in western style for performing by the military band. According to a research of Sugree Charoensuk, an associate professor from

Mahidol University Mahidol University is an autonomous university, autonomous public university, public research university in Thailand. The university was founded as part of Siriraj Hospital in 1888. It was first called the University of Medical Science in 1943, ...

, the melody of this anthem may be the same tune with another anthem named " Sansoen Sua Pa" which had been used as the anthem of the Wild Tiger Corps since 1911. History about the royal anthem of Siam after 1871 are ambiguous, and evidence is rare to find. An evidence of music composition of the royal anthem of Siam appeared again in 1888 when a sheet music of the Siamese national anthem, arranged by the Ukrainian composer Pyotr Schurovsky, was printed in Russia. The main melody of the song in that sheet music is the same tune of "Sansoen Phra Barami" in present time. According to a research of Sugree Charoensook, Pyotr Shchurovsky was the composer of the music of "Sansoen Phra Barami", to serve as Siam's national anthem. Prince Narisara Nuvadtivong later composed various lyrics of "Sansoen Phra Barami" for using in the Royal Siamese Army, in all Siamese schools and in Siamese traditional music bands. Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse also composed a version of lyrics for used in the Royal Siamese Navy. In 1913, King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and pro ...

decided to relinquish all lyrics of "Sansoen Phra Barami" that mentioned before and revised it to current version only. "Sansoen Phra Barami" was the de facto national anthem of Siam from 1888 until 1932, when it was replaced by " Phleng Chat Siam"''.'' It is still used as the royal anthem of Thailand today. In 1940, the Thai government under the administration of Prime Minister

Plaek Phibunsongkhram Plaek Phibunsongkhram; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964) was a Thai military officer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1957. He rose to power as a leading member of the Kh ...

issued the 8th Thai cultural mandate, concerning the lyrics of "Sansoen Phra Barami", which were shortened and the word "Siam" replaced with "Thai" (see below). After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, these lyrics were quietly abandoned due its unpopularity, and reverted to the version that revised by King Vajiravudh in 1913. The sound recording of "Sansoen Phra Barami" was recorded for the first time ever on the Edison

wax cylinder Phonograph cylinders (also referred to as Edison cylinders after its creator Thomas Edison) are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their heyday (c. 1896–1916), a name which ...

Carl Stumpf Carl Stumpf (; 21 April 1848 – 25 December 1936) was a German philosopher, psychologist and musicologist. He is noted for founding the Berlin School of experimental psychology. He studied with Franz Brentano at the University of Würzburg be ...

, an

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

from the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. In that recording, the anthem was performed by Boosra Mahin Theater Group, a Siamese theater group visiting Berlin in 1900.

Usage of the anthem

The royal anthem is performed during state occasions, as well as when a high-ranking member of the royal family is present for a function. In addition, the royal anthem is still played before the beginning of each film in movie theatres, as well as before the commencement of the first act in plays, musicals, concerts, and most other live performances of music or theatre in Thailand. The anthem is also played at the

sign-on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonwealth countries exce ...

and

closedown A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonwealth countries exce ...

of television and radio programming; for example, in 2008,

7HD Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

aired a with pictures of King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

from his birth to his 80th birthday in 2007. Radio Thailand (or NBT) also broadcast the sign-off with the anthem at 24:00 every night. In 2019, the

Royal Thai Government Gazette The ''Royal Gazette'' (; ) is the government gazette, official journal of Thailand (formerly Siam). The gazette was first published in 1858 at the behest of King Mongkut (Rama IV) as a channel for his government to communicate its information to ...

has published the Royal Office Regulation on Performing Honors Music of B.E. 2562. This regulation is detailed about using the royal anthem and other honors music for the king and members of the Thai royal family in several occasions. According to this regulation, The royal anthem "Sansoen Phra Barami" should be performed for the following: * The

King of Thailand The monarchy of Thailand is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government of Thailand (formerly ''Siam''). The king of Thailand (, historically, ''king of Siam''; ) is the head of state and head of the ruling Chakri dynasty. ...

* Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother * The Queen of Thailand * Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Princess Royal * Heirs-apparent to the throne * Royal remains * Some Thai Royal Standards when hoisted or shown:- ** Royal Standard of Thailand ** Standard of Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother ** Standard of the Queen of Thailand ** Standard for Senior members of the Royal Family (Standard of the Princess Mother) ** Standard of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Princess Royal ** Standard of the Crown Prince of Thailand

Lyrics

The following are the current lyrics of "Sansoen Phra Barami", which was revised by King Vajiravudh in 1913.

Official lyrics

Abridged lyrics during World War II

Ancient drama lyrics

School lyrics

Co-ed school

Boys' school

Girls' school Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, same-sex education, same-gender education, and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in se ...

Military lyrics

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...
version

Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy (Abbreviation, Abrv: RTN, ทร.; , ) is the Navy, naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known as the father of the Royal N ...
version

Notes

References

External links

nationalanthems.info
* fro
The Thai Government Public Relations Department

Sign off video of PRD's Television of Thailand (Present NBT Digital 2HD)
* - A website dedicated to Thai national culture and the Royal Anthem (Thai language) {{Authority control Royal anthems Historical national anthems Monarchy of Thailand Thai patriotic songs Asian anthems Compositions in E-flat major