“Hey, Slavs“ is a patriotic song dedicated to the Slavic peoples ….which was used as the national anthem of various countries during the 20th century….as its lyrics were first written in 1834 under the title “Hey, Slovaks“ (“Hej, Slováci”) by Samuel Tomášik….and it has since served as the ethnic anthem of the Pan-Slavic movement….organizational anthem of the Sokol physical education and political movement….and the national anthem of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. The song is also considered to be the unofficial second ethnic anthem of the Slovaks. Its melody is based on “Mazurek Dąbrowskiego”….which has also been the national anthem of Poland since 1926….while the Yugoslav variation has a slower tempo….is more accentuated…..and does not repeat the last four lines….as it repeats the last two lines.
As seen in this video herewith….“Hey, Slav” is sung by the members of the gold medal winning men’s water polo team from Yugoslavia at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
