"Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" (German: [ˈɡɔt ɛʁˈhaltə ˈfʁants dən ˈkaɪzɐ]; lit.

In its original version it was paired with lyrics by Lorenz Leopold Haschka and served as a patriotic song, expressing devotion to Francis II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

These later versions include works of classical music, Christian hymns, alma maters, and the "Deutschlandlied", the present national anthem of Germany.

When the Father of Harmony returned to his beloved Kaiserstadt,[a] he related these impressions to that real friend, connoisseur, supporter and encourager of many a great and good one of Art and Science, Freiherr van Swieten, Prefect of the I. R. Court Library, who at the time was at the head of the Concert Spirituel (supported by high aristocracy) and likewise Haydn's particular patron.

Also, such a song could be used in the fight then taking place with those forcing the Rhine; it could be used in a noble way to inflame the heart of the Austrians to new heights of devotion to the princes and fatherland, and to incite to combat, and to increase, the mob of volunteer soldiers who had been collected by a general proclamation.

Freiherr van Swieten hastily took counsel with His Excellency, the then President of Lower Austria, Franz Count von Saurau [de] ... and so there came into being a song which, apart from being one of Haydn's greatest creations, has won the crown of immortality.

It is also true that this high-principled Count used the most opportune moment to introduce a Volksgesang,[b] and thus he called to life those beautiful thoughts which will delight connoisseurs and amateurs here and abroad.

He immediately ordered the poet Lorenz Haschka to draft the poetry and then requested our Haydn to set it to music.

In January 1797, this double task was resolved, and the first performance of the Song was ordered for the birthday of the Monarch.Saurau himself later wrote: I had a text fashioned by the worthy poet Haschka; and to have it set to music, I turned to our immortal compatriot Haydn, who, I felt, was the only man capable of creating something that could be placed at the side of ... "God Save the King".

This hypothesis has never achieved unanimous agreement, the alternative being that Haydn's original tune was adapted by the people in various versions as folk songs.

Irrespective of the original source, Haydn's own compositional efforts went through multiple drafts, discussed by Rosemary Hughes in her biography of the composer.

[4] Hughes reproduces the draft fragment given below (i.e., the fifth through eighth lines of the song) and writes: "His sketches, preserved in the Vienna National Library, show the self-denial and economy with which he struggled to achieve [the song's] seemingly inevitable climax, pruning the earlier and more obviously interesting version of the fifth and sixth lines, which would have anticipated, and so lessened, its overwhelming effect."

The original version of the song (see autograph score, above) included a single line for voice with a rather crude piano accompaniment, with no dynamic indications and what David Wyn Jones calls "an unevenness of keyboard sonority".

[5] This version was printed in many copies (two different printers were assigned to the work) and sent to theatres and opera houses across the Austrian territories with instructions for performance.

that our good Papa was astonished about it himself and said he hadn't played the Song like that for a long time and was very pleased about it and felt well altogether till evening at 5 o'clock then our good Papa began to lament that he didn't feel well...[8] Elssler goes on to narrate the composer's final decline and death, which occurred on 31 May.

Later composers in the Western classical canon have repeatedly quoted or otherwise employed Haydn's tune, as is demonstrated by the following chronological list.

There were versions of the hymn in several languages of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (e.g., Czech, Croatian, Slovene, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Polish, Italian).

When the last Emperor, Charles I, died in 1922, monarchists created an original stanza for his son Otto von Habsburg.

The hymn was revived in 1929 with completely new lyrics, known as "Sei gesegnet ohne Ende", which remained the national anthem of Austria until the Anschluss.

[15] Long after Haydn's death, his melody was used as the tune for Hoffmann von Fallersleben's poem Das Lied der Deutschen (1841).

[17] In the ordinary nomenclature of hymn tunes, the melody of "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" is classified as 87.87D trochaic metre.

Laß in seinem Rate Sitzen Weisheit, Klugheit, Redlichkeit; Und mit Seiner Hoheit Blitzen Schalten nur Gerechtigkeit!

May his Laurels ever blooming Be by Patriot Virtue fed; May his worth the world illumine And bring back the Sheep misled!

Mächtig durch des Glaubens Stütze führ' Er uns mit weiser Hand!

Laßt uns Seiner Väter Krone schirmen wider jeden Feind; 𝄆 Innig bleibt mit Habsburgs Throne Österreichs Geschick vereint.

Laßt uns fest zusammenhalten, In der Eintracht liegt die Macht; Mit vereinter Kräfte Walten Wird das Schwere leicht vollbracht, Laßt uns Eins durch Brüderbande Gleichem Ziel entgegengehn!

An des Kaisers Seite waltet, Ihm verwandt durch Stamm und Sinn, Reich an Reiz, der nie veraltet, Uns’re holde Kaiserin.

5 [an dɛs ˈkaɪ̯.zɐs ˈzaɪ̯.tə ˈval.tət |] [iːm fɛɐ̯.ˈvant dʊɐ̯ç ʃtam ʊnt zɪn ‖] [ʁaɪ̯ç an ʁaɪ̯ts deːɐ̯ niː fɛɐ̯.ˈʔal.tət |] [ʊns ʁə ˈhɔːl.də ˈkaɪ̯.zeː.ʁɪn ‖] [vas als ˈglʏk t͡suː høːçst gə.ˈpʁiː.zən |] [ʃtʁøːm aʊ̯f ziː deːɐ̯ ˈhɪ.məl aʊ̯s ‖] 𝄆 [haɪ̯l fʁant͡s ˈjoː.zɛf haɪ̯l e.ˈliː.zən |] [ˈzeː.gən ˈhaps.ˌbʊɐ̯ks ˈgan.t͡sm̩ haʊ̯s ‖] 𝄇