Since I covered a little bit about immigration in my last post, now might be a good time to introduce you to the Dutch National Anthem: Het Wilhelmus.  You aren’t required to know it for any official purpose, but it wouldn’t hurt to be able to sing along during the World Cup this summer.

I would be completely remiss if I didn’t mention that it is the oldest national anthem in the world, which the Dutch are particularly proud of.  I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention that it contains a whopping fifteen stanzas.  But don’t worry, you’re really only required to remember the first and sixth stanzas.

The following video of the national anthem shows the lyrics to the song as it plays.  If you are really interested in the complete version of the lyrics, you should have a look at the Wikipedia page (direct link to the Wikipedia lyrics chart), where there is a fantastic chart with the original Dutch lyrics, the contemporary Dutch lyrics, the English lyrics meant to fit the melody, and the English translation of the original Dutch version.  It’s the most informative chart I’ve been able to find for you.