Thai National Anthem

Phleng Chat Thai

English: 'Thai National Anthem'
เพลงชาติไทย
Official sheet music of "Phleng Chat Thai", published by the National Identity Board, Office of the Prime Minister, in accordance with the Cabinet Resolution dated 30 December 2003
National anthem of Thailand
Also known as	เพลงชาติสยาม (English: 'Siamese National Anthem'[a])
Lyrics	Luang Saranupraphan, 1939
Music	Phra Chenduriyang, 1932
Adopted	1934 (original name and lyrics) 1939 (current name and lyrics)
Readopted	1949
Relinquished	1946
Preceded by	"Sansoen Phra Barami" (as national anthem)
Audio sample
United States Navy Band instrumental rendition. file help

The Thai National Anthem,^[b] also simply referred to as the National Anthem,^[c] is the national anthem of Thailand. It was officially adopted in its current form on 10 December 1939. It replaced "Sansoen Phra Barami" as the civilian anthem in 1932 (the latter is still used as the royal anthem of Thailand). The melody was composed by Phra Chenduriyang (Peter Feit), and the official lyrics were written by Luang Saranupraphan.

Prior to 1939, when Thailand was internationally known as "Siam", 2 different lyrical versions were used—each one by different authors.

According to an autobiography of Phra Chenduriyang (a royal music advisor to the Thai court) written in 1954, he was asked by Luang Nithetkolakit (หลวงนิเทศกลกิจ), his friend in the Royal Siamese Navy, to write a new song for used as the "national anthem of Siam" and this song should be similar to La Marseillaise, the French national anthem.^[1] Phra Chenduriyang refused this request because he was a loyal liegeman of the king. Moreover, Sansoen Phra Barami, the Siamese royal anthem, was still used as de facto national anthem of Siam and this request was not made by order of the Siamese government. Although his friend still asked repeatedly, Phra Chenduriyang tried to dodge the request because he knew that new anthem may intricate to some political movement due to rumor of the coup d'état in that time.^[2]

About 5 days after the coup d'état, or the so-called "revolution", in June 1932, Luang Nithetkolakit now revealed that he was a member of the People's Party. He regretted that the party has no proper song to used as a new anthem for their success revolution, and asked Phra Chenduriyang again to write the new national anthem. The request in this time was made by the new power of the regime in Siam so Phra Chenduriyang must reluctantly composed the anthem. He promised for the new anthem in 7 days and completed it in 6 July 1932 during the tram ride from Tha Tien to Bang Khun Phrom for going to do his regular job at Suan Misakawan, near Dusit Palace. He arranged the new anthem in the tune vaguely similar to the national anthem of Poland, Poland Is Not Yet Lost, for the Royal Siamese Navy Orchestra and also asked to no reveal his name as the composer. ^[2]

However, After the Royal Siamese Navy Orchestra play the melody of "Siamese national anthem" for the first time at Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall in next week, the newspaper Srikrung had reported about this event and reveal the name of Phra Chenduriyang as the composer. So, as he predicted earlier, Phra Chenduriyang was reprimanded by his commander, the Minister of the Palace, that he arbitrarily made the new national anthem. Although Phraya Manopakornnitithada. the new Prime Minister, explained later that it was the idea of him and members of the parliament to made the new national anthem and the song was still not officially adopted yet, Phra Chenduriyang still got a punishment in October 1932 by laid off from his job for 30 years long working as a government official and reentered in the job with a half of his salary that he used to get earlier (another half of his old salary was his pension deduction).^[2]

(Left) Khun Wichitmatra (Sa-nga Kanchanakhaphan), author of the original lyrics of Siamese National Anthem. (Right) Sheet music of "Phleng Chat" with the original unofficial lyrics penned by Khun Wichitmatra.

As for the lyrics of the national anthem of, the conspirators of Khana Ratsadon approached Khun Wichitmatra to compose them. The lyrics he composed, titled "Phleng Chat Sayam" (Thai: เพลงชาติสยาม), were two stanzas long, each verse have 8 verses. It is assumed that they were completed no later than August 29, 1932, as musical notes with lyrics were discovered printed by Srikrung Printing House, which was dated on that day.^[3]  Although this song was popular with the general public, it was not officially declared as the national anthem and was passed down among Thai people without anyone knowing its clear origin. It appears that there was a copy of Khun Wichitmatra's national anthem lyrics submitted to a competition for the official national anthem lyrics by another people in 1933, claiming that he was the composer.

Due to some lines mentioned about seizing the power (refers to the Siamese revolution of 1932), the original unofficial lyrics were therefore banned by the Siamese government because it was feared that they would incite unrest and lead to a coup against the current government. These lines were revised for the official lyrics of the national anthem competition in 1934 (shown in bold texts).

In 1934, the Siamese government held a competition for new official national anthem lyrics. The National Anthem Selection Committee was in charge, chaired by Prince Wan Waithayakon, with other members including Phra Riem Wiratchaphak, Phra Chenduriyang, Luang Chamnan Nitikaset, Changwang Thua Pathayakosol, and Mr. Montri Tramote. The competition offered two versions of the national anthem: a Thai-style anthem (composed by adapting traditional Thai music) and a Western-style anthem. The results of the competition were as follows:

The National Anthem Selection Committee decided that "Mahanimit," composed by Changwang Thua Pathayakosol (จางวางทั่ว พาทยโกศล), was the winning entry. Changwang Thua adapted "Tranimit," a significant Thai classical piece, into a Western-style arrangement. "Tranimit" is considered a master piece, used in important ceremonies such as teacher-worship ceremonies, to invoke teachers, deities, and blessings. Therefore, its auspicious meaning makes it suitable as the Thai national anthem.

The government broadcast the piece on radio for a period, but when the National Anthem Selection Committee was about to submit the winning entry to the Cabinet for official approval, they met and agreed that the national anthem's sacred nature, combined with the use of two existing songs, would diminish its sacredness. Ultimately, they decided not to submit the chosen Thai-style national anthem to the Cabinet for official approval.^[4]

(Left) Chan Khamwilai, author of the 3rd and 4th verses for the lyrics of Siamese National Anthem. (Right) Sheet music of "Phleng Chat" in 1934, in use with the lyrics of Khun Wichitmatra and Chan Khamvilai until 1939.

The National Anthem Selection Committee recommended the melody composed by Phra Chenduriyang as the official national anthem in the Western style. For the lyrics, they selected the winning entry, a revised version by Khun Wichitmatra, and added a version written by second prize winner Mr. Chan Khamwilai (ฉันท์ ขำวิไล).^[5][6] The Cabinet officially approved these lyrics as the official national anthem on August 20, 1934.^[7]

Both Khun Wichitmatra and Mr. Chan's lyrics were composed in the eight-line verse form (klon suphap), consisting of four stanzas, each with four lines. Therefore, each entry had 16 lines, bringing the total length of the lyrics to 32 lines. Singing all four stanzas would take approximately 3 minutes and 52 seconds (averaging 35 seconds per section, including the instrumental intro). At that time, most Thais preferred to sing only Khun Wichitmatra's version, and later, the song was no longer sung, remaining only as an instrumental piece.

The 1st and 2nd stanzas were written by Khun Wichitmatra. This is a revised version from the original unofficial lyrics in 1932 (shown in bold texts).

The 3rd and 4th stanzas were written by Chan Khamwilai.

In 1935, the government of Phraya Phahonphonphayuhasena issued regulations regarding the performance of the Royal Anthem and National Anthem, dated February 4, 1935 (effective February 15 of the same year). These regulations stipulated two versions of the performance: a full-length version and a shortened version. For the National Anthem, the shortened version was to be played at public ceremonies, social gatherings, and especially at regular events. The full-length version was to be used only at major ceremonies.^[8]

The abridged version of the national anthem used in this instrumental rendition consists of the last two lines of lyrics, which are typically played as the introduction to the anthem. This short piece is approximately 10 seconds long and does not include any vocal accompaniment.^[1]

Facsimiles of Thai cultural mandate Volume 6, concerning lyrics of the Thai National Anthem.

In 1939, when the name of the country was changed from Siam to Thailand, a competition was launched to create new lyrics, with those by Luang Saranupraphan winning. According to the condition of this competition, the lyrics were shorten from 16 lines to 8 lines and mentioned the new name of the country but still use the melody composed by Phra Chenduriyang. New lyrics of the Thai national anthem was officially adopted by the Thai cultural mandate Volume 6 on 10 December 1939.

Thai prime minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram ordered the anthem to be played every day at 08:00 and 18:00 (8 AM and 6 PM, UTC+07:00), and ordered the populace to stand up to show respect for the nation. Nowadays, the morning and evening anthems correspond to the hoisting and lowering of the national flags in public areas (e.g. schools, workplaces, public buildings), respectively; hence, the anthem is broadcast by both radio and television channels twice per day from 1980s.

It is a common social expectation in Thailand for everyone to stop what they are doing and stand at attention to pay homage to the anthem played, which is placed twice a day, at 08:00 and again at 18:00. During the anthem's course, the national flag is also hoisted up (at 08:00) or down (at 18:00) at applicable flag poles. Should there be any occurrence in which the flag is to be hoisted at half-mast, the flag is to be raised the pole's full height first, before being reduced to half-mast (to hoist during the day) or to fully hoist down (for the night).

Students in school assemble before raised flag and sing the national anthem at 08:00 every school day, and students who are late for this assemble are traditionally marked as late. The National Anthem is also played at government offices, especially in military camps and police stations, and also include public spaces such as local bus stations.

According to the practice dates during the Plaek Phibunsongkhram era, those who did not observe the custom by standing in silence during the anthem were subject to a fine of up to 2,000 baht and not more than one year in prison, but this law has since been abolished.^[10] Thus, at present, there is no longer any compulsion to stand upright and respect the national flag. But most people still voluntarily do so.^[11] It is nonetheless still mandatory for military and police personnel to assemble and salute the National Flag and Anthem, as mandated by code of conduct.

In media outlets, right before the national anthem would be played (at designated times), some prelude media are played. These media include a prelude song known as "พม่าประเทศ", or a recital of importance (as listed above), or a time announcement, or any combinations.

Commonly, television stations play only the recital, and radio channels play all of the above media sets.

• "Sansoen Phra Barami", the Thai national anthem officially used before 1932, and still used as the country's royal anthem.
• Thaification

English Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Thai National Anthem

Thai Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Lyrics of Thai National Anthem (1934)

• Recordings of the National and Royal Anthem of Thailand and others honor musics from Thai Government Public Relations Department
• Thailand: Phleng Chat Thai - Audio of the national anthem of Thailand, with information and lyrics
• เพลงชาติไทย (Thai National Anthem)
• Phleng Chat Thai (เพลงชาติไทย) - Thai National Anthem (on Television) (2019) on YouTube (in Thai)
  • The common music video for the Thai national anthem, made by the Royal Thai Government, which has been adopted by all Thai TV channels since July 2019. The recital of importance is also included.
• English lyrics to the Thai National Anthem
• A website dedicated to information on Thai National Anthem (Thai Language)