The song, as "A Soldier's Song", was composed "early in 1910 or late in 1909", with words by Peadar Kearney, and music by his childhood friend and neighbour Patrick Heeney, who had collaborated on songs since 1903. Kearney assisted Heeney in setting the refrain. Heeney composed it with his melodeon. Seán Rogan, later of the Irish Citizen Army, may also have helped with the music, and first wrote it in musical notation. Kearney wrote much of the text in the Swiss Café at the corner of O'Connell Street and North Earl Street.

"Amhrán na bhFiann" (Irish pronunciation: [ˈəuɾˠaːn̪ˠ n̪ˠə ˈvʲiən̪ˠ]), called "The Soldier's Song" in English, is the national anthem of Ireland. The music was composed by Peadar Kearney and Patrick Heeney, the original English lyrics written by Kearney, and the Irish-language translation, now usually the version heard, by Liam Ó Rinn. The song has three verses, but only the choral refrain is used as the national anthem.

The Presidential Salute, played when the President of Ireland arrives at an official engagement, consists of the first four bars of the national anthem immediately followed by the last five.

The song was very popular during Italian unification and the following decades. However, after the Kingdom of Italy's 1861 proclamation, the republican and Jacobin connotations of "Fratelli d'Italia" were difficult to reconcile with the new state's monarchic constitution. The kingdom chose instead "Marcia Reale" (Royal March), the House of Savoy's official anthem, composed by order of King Charles Albert of Sardinia in 1831.

After the Second World War, Italy became a republic. On 12 October 1946, it chose "Il Canto degli Italiani" as a provisional national anthem. The song would retain this role as de facto anthem of the Italian Republic, and after several unsuccessful attempts, gained de jure status on 4 December 2017.

"Il Canto degli Italiani" - "The Song of Italians") is a patriotic song written by Goffredo Mameli and set to music by Michele Novaro in 1847, currently used as the national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as the "Inno di Mameli". "Mameli's Hymn"), after the author of the lyrics, or "Fratelli d'Italia" (Italian: [fraˈtɛlli diˈtaːlja]; transl. "Brothers of Italy"), from its opening line. The piece, in 4/4 time signature and B-flat major key, has six strophes, and a refrain sung after each. The sixth group of verses, almost never performed, recalls the first strophe's text.

"Dievs, svētī Latviju" is the national anthem of Latvia. Created in 1873 as a patriotic song, it did not gain official status until 1920.

The music and lyrics were written in 1873 by Kārlis Baumanis, a teacher who was part of the Young Latvian nationalist movement. It is thought that Baumanis was inspired by a popular song "Dievs, svētī Kurzemi/Vidzemi" (lit. 'God Bless Kurzeme/Vidzeme', which was modified depending on the region it was used in) that was sung to the tune of "God Save the King".

The first public Lithuanian performance of the anthem took place in Vilnius in 1905, and it became the official national anthem in 1919, a year after Lithuania declared its independence.

The original lyrics, beginning Oberst am jungen Rhein, were written in the 1850s. The song may be grouped with the German "Rhine songs", i.e. songs that celebrate the River Rhine as part of the German national patrimony, opposing the French territorial claims on the left river bank.

"Oben am jungen Rhein" is the national anthem of Liechtenstein. Written in the 1850s, it is set to the melody of the British anthem, "God Save the King", which in the 19th century had been used for a number of anthems of German-speaking nations, including those of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Switzerland.

"Ons Heemecht" (formerly "Ons Hémecht", pronounced [ons ˈheːməɕt]; lit. 'Our Homeland') is the national anthem of Luxembourg. Written by Michel Lentz in 1859 and set to music by Jean Antoine Zinnen in 1864, it is performed at national celebrations, while the grand ducal anthem "De Wilhelmus" is performed at entrances or exits of members of the Grand Ducal Family.

Luxembourgish poet Michel Lentz wrote the poem Ons Heemecht in 1859, and it was set to music by Luxembourgish composer Jean Antoine Zinnen in 1864. The song was first performed in public in Ettelbruck, a town at the confluence of the Alzette and Sauer rivers (both of which are mentioned in the song), on 5 June 1864.

"L-Innu Malti" ('The Maltese Hymn') is the national anthem of Malta. It was written in the form of a prayer to God. Officially adopted in 1964 upon independence from the United Kingdom, the music was composed by Robert Samut, and the lyrics were written by Dun Karm Psaila.

The anthem is played during all the official duties of the President of Malta, the Prime Minister of Malta and other important governmental personalities. It is played during all important national activities.

"Hymne Monégasque" (Monégasque: "Inu Munegascu"; English: "Monégasque Anthem"), also known as "A Marcia de Muneghu" ("The March of Monaco"), is the national anthem of Monaco. It was originally adopted in 1848 with French lyrics by Théophile Bellando de Castro and music by Bellando and Castil-Blaze. The current official lyrics, which are in Monégasque, were written in 1931 by Louis Notari, while the current musical arrangement was composed in 1914 by Léon Jehin.

In 1896, a new arrangement for piano composed by Monégasque composer Charles Albrecht was published by Tihebaux in Paris and titled "Air National de Monaco". In 1897, Decourcelle, a publisher in Nice, printed a new version of Albrecht's composition numbered 429 and titled "Hymne National de Monaco"

"Denes nad Makedonija" (Macedonian: Денес над Македонија, pronounced [ˈdɛnɛs nat makɛˈdɔnija]; lit. 'Today over Macedonia') is the national anthem of North Macedonia. Todor Skalovski composed the music and Vlado Maleski wrote the lyrics of the song in the early 1940s. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1992, almost a year after the state's independence from Yugoslavia. Before its adoption as a national anthem, it was used as the regional anthem of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, a constituent state of Yugoslavia, before it became the national anthem of the Republic of North Macedonia.

The lyrics of "Denes nad Makedonija" are reflective of a military marching song, which is fitting given its connection to the Yugoslav Macedonian theatre of the Second World War. They are not a call to arms for Macedonians; instead, the hymn uses imagery to take the person singing it back to the time the anthem was written and purports that they themselves were engaging in combat at the time.^[3] The lyrics previously alluded to the concepts of mothers and motherhood (specifically in the second stanza). This is in line with the national anthems – both past and present – of other Southeast European countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Jedna si jedina"), Croatia ("Horvatska domovina"), and Montenegro ("Oj, svijetla majska zoro"). It discussed how mothers mourn for their fallen sons, who died fighting for the rights and liberty of their country. They are comforted for their loss by being reminded of the bravery of their sons and the nobleness of the cause for which they died. Although this theme has been described as a "standard anthemic device", it was subsequently expunged from the official words of the state anthem. The lyrics which also mention the inter-generational and inter-gender unity in the fight for rights are omitted.

“A Portuguesa” was written in response to the British ultimatum in 1890 to Portugal regarding territorial control of Africa. Anywhere there was protests against the monarchy as a result, “A Portuguesa” could be heard. The song still echoes the original intent, the verses and especially the chorus speak of a call to arms, the third verse speaks of “insults” and “embarrassment” (which is how the Portuguese saw the British ultimatum), and the original last line of the chorus read “Contra os bretões marchar, marchar” (Against the British we march, we march!). With the success of the Republicans in ousting the monarchy and replacing them with a democratic government in 1910, “A Portuguesa” was approved as a national anthem shortly after; it is the first verse and chorus that is usually presented as the anthem.

In 1956, there were a number of variations of the anthem, not just in its melodic line but also in the instrumentation. Recognizing this, the government named a commission charged with determining the official version of “A Portuguesa.” This commission prepared a proposal which, approved by the Council of Ministers on 16 July 1957, remains in effect to this day.

A Portuguesa" (pronounced [ɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ]; lit. 'The Portuguese') is the national anthem of Portugal. It was composed by Alfredo Keil and written by Henrique Lopes de Mendonça during the resurgent nationalist movement ignited by the 1890 British Ultimatum to Portugal concerning its African colonies. Used as the marching song of the failed republican revolt of 31 January 1891, in Porto, it was adopted as the national anthem of the newborn Portuguese Republic in 1911, replacing "Hino da Carta", the anthem of the deposed constitutional monarchy.