The music and lyrics were written in 1873 byKārlis Baumanis, a teacher who was part of theYoung Latvian nationalist movement.[1] It is thought that Baumanis was inspired by a popular song "Dievs, svētī Kurzemi/Vidzemi" (lit.'God BlessKurzeme/Vidzeme', which was modified depending on the region it was used in) that was sung to the tune of "God Save the King". Baumanis's lyrics were different from the modern ones: he used the term "Baltics" synonymously and interchangeably with "Latvia" and "Latvians", so "Latvia" was actually mentioned only at the beginning of the first verse. Later, the term "Latvia" was removed and replaced with "Baltics" to avoid a ban on the song. This has led to the misapprehension that the term "Latvia" was not part of the song until it was chosen as national anthem on June 7, 1920, and the word "Baltics" was replaced with "Latvia".[2][3][4]
The anthem's tune was modernized with a newF-major version that has been used since 2014; formerly, aG-major version was used onLTV's sign-on and sign-offs daily from 2011 to 2013. However, the G-major version was still played on any occasion (especially and notably, during times of mourning). The current version played on LTV for their sign-on and sign-offs daily is in the key ofB-flat major.
^"Darba apraksts".LIIS mūzikas lapas (in Latvian). Latvijas Izglītības informatizācijas sistēma. Archived fromthe original on May 12, 2007. RetrievedMay 27, 2007.
^Dr. art. Arnolds Klotiņš (November 13, 1998)."Latvijas svētās skaņas (Part I)" (in Latvian). Latvijas Vēstnesis.Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. RetrievedOctober 13, 2012.
^Dr. art. Arnolds Klotiņš (November 17, 1998)."Latvijas svētās skaņas (Part II)" (in Latvian). Latvijas Vēstnesis. RetrievedOctober 13, 2012.
