After winning its independence in 1818 in a bloody war against Spain led by Bernardo O’Higgins, a national anthem was commissioned by the new government. Lyrics written by Argentine poet and freedom fighter Bernardo de Vera y Pintado during the war were adopted. In 1819, once the lyrics were written, a melody was sought for the anthem, during this period the words were briefly used to the melody of the Argentine anthem. On August 20, 1820 (although some sources claim it to be in September, 1819) a work (sheet music with Spanish lyrics) by Manuel Robles Guitérrez was first used. At first the anthem proved to be popular but by 1828 had waned in popularity. The government then requested that Ramon Carnicer i Batlle (a Chilean composer of Catalan descent) compose new music for the anthem, using Bernardo de Vera’s text, which is the music still being used today for the anthem.
Once the melody was replaced, it was decided to replace the text as well to remove the anti-Spanish sentiments from the lyrics. In 1847, the young poet Eusebio Lillo wrote a new text to Carnicer’s melody, however he kept the chorus from the original anthem. Today, the chorus and fifth verse of Lillo’s poem make up the official national anthem of Chile.
Following the coup d’etat by Augusto Pinochet in 1973, the military junta dictated that two verses would be used along with the chorus: the fifth verse was retained, and the third verse, which extolled Chile’s army, was then added as the second official verse. It was a common act of protest by detractors to remain silent during the second verse. When democracy was restored in 1990, the government removed the military verse and restored the anthem as it was before the coup; today, supporters of the past military government still sing the third verse.
Special thanks to: Jo Hyo-roe for the sheet music.