MAASTRICHT ANTHEM

Yes, you have been in our hearts,
Maastricht, throughout the centuries.
We always kept loving you,
and shared sorrow and joy with you.
We listened to the old stories about you,
sitting "on horseback" on granddad's knees.
Our eyes were shining with joy because of your glory,
or filled with tears because of your times of emergency.

And whoever wants to praise your beauty, 
in a language which sounds like singing,
let him in the new Maastricht way
together with us sing about his old Maastricht.
We used to sing about you in all times,
our mothers used to sing next our cradles,
and whenever we felt really satisfied,
they used to sing a song about Maastricht.

You are the flower of the Dutch countryside,
grown on the grave of Saint Servaas.
You deserve that we see you twice:
mirrored in the surface of the river Maas.
The whitest among the bright stars
is shining upon you with its soft rays.
And, to preserve you in your pure character,
an angel is keeping guard over you.

How often were you forced to surrender,
but you always kept your crown upright.
And you stayed without injury
because we stayed true to you.
Therefore, let us hold each other's hands
and bend our eyes to the light of the stars.
And whenever our eyes will grow dim, when we are dying,
old Maastricht will pray for us.

original text in Maastricht dialect: Alfons Olterdissen
music: Guus Olterdissen