Just to prepare you adequately for the final of the world championship, we'll provide you with some background info on the Dutch national anthem :-), or "het volkslied" (the people's song), as we call it.
The Dutch national anthem is called "Het Wilhelmus", lit.: The William (song). The anthem was first written down in 1574, making it the oldest national anthem in the world (only the lyrics of the Japanese anthem are older..) The Wilhelmus wasn't always our anthem. it was 'promoted' national anthem in 1932.
The song is written actually quite ingeniously. It's a so called acrostic: the first letters of the fifteen (!) verses spell out the name Willem van Nassov (also known as William the Silent). Normally, only the first verse is sung, sometimes followed by the sixth (which was popular during the second World War).
And now…the lyrics of the first verse - including translation:
| Wilhelmus van Nassouwe ben ik, van Duitsen bloed, den vaderland getrouwe blijf ik tot in den dood. Een Prinse van Oranje ben ik, vrij, onverveerd, den Koning van Hispanje heb ik altijd geëerd. |
William of Nassau am I, of Dutch blood. Loyal to the fatherland I will remain until I die. A prince of Orange am I, free and fearless. The king of Spain I have always honoured. |
Note that "…Duitsen bloed…" originates from "…Dietschen bloed…" see also Extra of DWOTD Reikhalzend.
For more info on "Het Wilhelmus", check out Wikipedia, here [Dutch] and here [English]. Hup Holland Hup!!! 🙂