by Christine Marais
Although involved in many wars, there is no indication that Greece, Persia, Rome or the Ottoman Empire ever had or needed national anthems. When we look at their history, they conquered countries and overtook people but once settled, they pretty much allowed them to go on with their lives with little interference. They conquered the land but not the nations.
The mere concept of national anthem appears to coincide with the fairly recent creation of artificial borders through slicing and dicing of existing land worldwide and through arbitrary partitioning of existing ethnic groups by the Occident, either as a result of wars of conquests, colonization and cultural obliteration or, much more recently, as a result of revolutions, wars of independence and the reclaiming of their identity.
It is as though the concept of national anthem (which originated in the West) served to fill an identity vacuum and create some sense a unity among people who, otherwise, might historically and geographically have had very little in common other than being trapped together within artificial borders they never chose for themselves and which were imposed on them by sheer force and violence. Attack, conquer, divide, obliterate, partition, reshape and remold.
In today’s geopolitical climate, lyrics of national anthems give a very good indication of countries’ psychology and mindset. As an example, France’s, Turkey’s and the US’ are among the most violent, jingoist and goriest ones. France’s actions in Africa in the past 40 years are appalling: Chad, Ivory Coast, Libya, Central Africa, Mali, the list is almost endless. Turkey’s involvement with ISIS, Syria, Iraq and Iran have been fully documented and the US have been involved in more wars in 235 years and killed and destroyed more populations than all other countries combined. Violence is a means to an end and it is in their psyche.
Remarkably, the lyrics of the national anthems of the countries currently most ostracized and demonized (Russia, China and Iran) are nowhere as aggressive and belligerent. Russia’s praise its people, its country, its history, its heritage, its resilience and its moral strength. So do those of Iran and China with one caveat: their country is theirs and they will defend it to death if necessary.
People’s mind is formed by language. Children learn to express themselves by using the vocabulary they hear and even though they may not fully understand their meaning, singing along a very descriptive anthem loaded with images of blood, sacrifice, martyrdom, killings, bombs and such is bound to leave an imprint and negatively affect their perception of other populations.
Likewise, I expect that depicting determination, steadfastness and courage without undue belligerence or hostility will teach children those same qualities.
Had the US considered what nations such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Syria, Iraq and many other countries stood for prior to attempting to destroy them (the US have not won a single war since WWI), millions of lives would have been spared.
| The Soviet National Anthem / Гимн СССР |
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mp3(1944) mp3(1977) mp3(English) midi Video (subtitles) |
The mere concept of national an
| 1944 | (mp3) | |||
| Союз нерушимый республик свободных Сплотила навеки Великая Русь. Да здравствует созданный волей народов Единый, могучий Советский Союз!Славься, Отечество наше свободное, Дружбы, народов надежный оплот! Знамя советское, знамя народное Пусть от победы, к победе ведет! |
Soiuz nerushimyj respublik svobodnykh Splotila naveki Velikaia Rus. Da zdravstvuet sozdannyj volej narodov Edinyj, moguchij Sovetskij Soiuz!Slavsia, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoe, Druzhby, narodov nadezhnyj oplot! Znamia sovetskoe, znamia narodnoe Pust ot pobedy, k pobede vedet! |
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| Сквозь грозы сияло нам солнце свободы, И Ленин великий нам путь озарил. Нас вырастил Сталин – на верность народу На труд и на подвиги нас вдохновил.Славься, Отечество чаше свободное, Счастья народов надежный оплот! Знамя советское, знамя народное Пусть от победы к победе ведет! |
Skvoz grozy siialo nam solntse svobody, I Lenin velikij nam put ozaril. Nas vyrastil Stalin – na vernost narodu Na trud i na podvigi nas vdokhnovil.Slavsia, Otechestvo chashe svobodnoe, Schastia narodov nadezhnyj oplot! Znamia sovetskoe, znamia narodnoe Pust ot pobedy k pobede vedet! |
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| Мы армию нашу растили в сраженьях, Захватчиков подлых с дороги сметем! Мы в битвах решаем судьбу поколений, Мы к славе Отчизну свою поведем!Славься, Отечество наше свободное, Славы народов надежный оплот! Знамя советское, знамя народное Пусть от победы к победе ведет! |
My armiiu nashu rastili v srazheniakh, Zakhvatchikov podlykh s dorogi smetem! My v bitvakh reshaem sudbu pokolenij, My k slave Otchiznu svoiu povedem!Slavsia, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoe, Slavy narodov nadezhnyj oplot! Znamia sovetskoe, znamia narodnoe Pust ot pobedy k pobede vedet! |
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| 1977 | (mp3) | |||
| Союз нерушимый республик свободных Сплотила навеки Великая Русь. Да здравствует созданный волей народов Единый, могучий Советский Союз!Славься, Отечество наше свободное, Дружбы народов надёжный оплот! Партия Ленина – сила народная Нас к торжеству коммунизма ведёт! |
Soiuz nerushimyj respublik svobodnykh Splotila naveki Velikaia Rus. Da zdravstvuet sozdannyj volej narodov Edinyj, moguchij Sovetskij Soiuz!Slavsia, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoe, Druzhby narodov nadiozhnyj oplot! Partiia Lenina – sila narodnaia Nas k torzhestvu kommunizma vediot! |
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| Сквозь грозы сияло нам солнце свободы, И Ленин великий нам путь озарил, На правое дело он поднял народы, На труд и на подвиги нас вдохновил.Славься, Отечество наше свободное, Дружбы народов надёжный оплот! Партия Ленина – сила народная Нас к торжеству коммунизма ведёт! |
Skvoz grozy siialo nam solntse svobody, I Lenin velikij nam put ozaril, Na pravoe delo on podnial narody, Na trud i na podvigi nas vdokhnovil.Slavsia, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoe, Druzhby narodov nadiozhnyj oplot! Partiia Lenina – sila narodnaia Nas k torzhestvu kommunizma vediot! |
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| В победе бессмертных идей коммунизма Мы видим грядущее нашей страны И Красному знамени славной Отчизны Мы будем всегда беззаветно верны!Славься, Отечество наше свободное, Дружбы народов надёжный оплот! Партия Ленина – сила народная Нас к торжеству коммунизма ведёт! |
V pobede bessmertnykh idej kommunizma My vidim griadushchee nashej strany I Krasnomu znameni slavnoj Otchizny My budem vsegda bezzavetno verny!Slavsia, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoe, Druzhby narodov nadiozhnyj oplot! Partiia Lenina – sila narodnaia Nas k torzhestvu kommunizma vediot! |
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| English translation (of the 1944 version) | (mp3) | |||
| United forever in friendship and labour, Our mighty republics will ever endure. The Great Soviet Union will live through the ages. The dream of a people their fortress secure.
Through days dark and stormy where Great Lenin lead us
We fought for the future, destroyed the invaders,
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| English translation (of the 1977 version) | ||||
| Unbreakable Union of freeborn Republics, Great Russia has welded forever to stand. Created in struggle by will of the people, United and mighty, our Soviet land!
Through tempests the sunrays of freedom have cheered us,
In the victory of Communism’s immortal ideal,
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https://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/sounds/lyrics/anthem.htm
RUSSIAN ANTHEM
Official lyrics
| Russian | Transliteration | English translation |
| Россия — священная наша держава, Россия — любимая наша страна. Могучая воля, великая слава — Твоё достоянье на все времена!Припев: Славься, Отечество наше свободное, Братских народов союз вековой, Предками данная мудрость народная! Славься, страна! Мы гордимся тобой!От южных морей до полярного края Раскинулись наши леса и поля. Одна ты на свете! Одна ты такая — Хранимая Богом родная земля!ПрипевШирокий простор для мечты и для жизни Грядущие нам открывают года. Нам силу даёт наша верность Отчизне. Так было, так есть и так будет всегда!Припев |
Rossiya — svyashchennaya nasha derzhava, Rossiya — lyubimaya nasha strana. Moguchaya volya, velikaya slava — Tvoyo dostoyanye na vse vremena!Chorus: Slavsya, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoye, Bratskikh narodov soyuz vekovoy, Predkami dannaya mudrost narodnaya! Slavsya, strana! My gordimsya toboy!Ot yuzhnykh morey do polyarnogo kraya Raskinulis nashi lesa i polya. Odna ty na svete! Odna ty takaya — Khranimaya Bogom rodnaya zemlya!ChorusShirokiy prostor dlya mechty i dlya zhizni. Gryadushchiye nam otkryvayut goda. Nam silu dayot nasha vernost Otchizne. Tak bylo, tak yest i tak budet vsegda!Chorus |
Russia—our sacred state, Russia—our beloved country. A mighty will, a great glory Are yours forever for all time!Chorus: Be glorious, our free Fatherland, Ancient union of brotherly people, Wisdom of the ancestors of the given people! Be glorious, country! We are proud of you!From the southern seas to the polar region Lay our forests and our fields. You are one in the world! You are one of a kind, Native land protected by God!ChorusWide spaces for dreams and for living Are open to us by the coming years. Our faith in our Fatherland gives us strength. So it was, so it is, and so it will always be!Chorus |
AMERICAN ANTHEM
Lyrics
O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave![26]
Cover of sheet music for “The Star-Spangled Banner”, transcribed for piano by Ch. Voss, Philadelphia: G. Andre & Co., 1862
Additional Civil War period lyrics
In indignation over the start of the American Civil War, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.[27] added a fifth stanza to the song in 1861, which appeared in songbooks of the era.[28]
When our land is illumined with Liberty’s smile,
If a foe from within strike a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor that dares to defile
The flag of her stars and the page of her story!
By the millions unchained who our birthright have gained,
We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained!
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
While the land of the free is the home of the brave.
GERMAN ANTHEM
Lyrics and translation[edit]
The following provides the lyrics of the “Lied der Deutschen” as written by Hoffmann von Fallersleben.
Only the third stanza is currently the Federal Republic of Germany’s national anthem.[7]
| Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Über alles in der Welt, Wenn es stets zu Schutz und Trutze Brüderlich zusammenhält. Von der Maas bis an die Memel, Von der Etsch bis an den Belt, |: Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, Über alles in der Welt! :| |
Germany, Germany above all else, Above all else in the world, when, for protection and defense, it always stands brotherly together. From the Meuse to the Memel, From the Adige to the Belt, |: Germany, Germany above all else, Above all else in the world! :| |
| Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang Sollen in der Welt behalten Ihren alten schönen Klang, Uns zu edler Tat begeistern Unser ganzes Leben lang. |: Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang! :| |
German women, German loyalty, German wine and German song Shall retain in the world Their old beautiful chime And inspire us to noble deeds During all of our life. |: German women, German loyalty, German wine and German song! :| |
| Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Für das deutsche Vaterland! Danach lasst uns alle streben Brüderlich mit Herz und Hand! Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Sind des Glückes Unterpfand; |: Blüh’ im Glanze dieses Glückes, Blühe, deutsches Vaterland! :| |
Unity and justice and freedom For the German fatherland! Towards these let us all strive Brotherly with heart and hand! Unity and justice and liberty Are the foundation of happiness; |: Flourish in the radiance of this happiness, Flourish, German fatherland! :| |
BRITISH ANTHEM
William Hickson’s alternative version[edit]
William Hickson’s alternative (1836) version includes the following verses, of which the first, third, and fourth have some currency as they are appended to the National Anthem in the English Hymnal. The fourth verse was sung after the traditional first verse at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee National Service of Thanksgiving in 2002 and during the raising of the Union Flag during the closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
God bless our native land!
May heaven’s protecting hand
Still guard our shore:
May peace her power extend,
Foe be transformed to friend,
And Britain’s rights depend
On war no more.
O Lord, our monarch bless
With strength and righteousness:
Long may she reign:
Her heart inspire and move
With wisdom from above;
And in a nation’s love
Her throne maintain
May just and righteous laws
Uphold the public cause,
And bless our isle:
Home of the brave and free,
Thou land of liberty,
We pray that still on thee
Kind heaven may smile.
Not in this land alone,
But be God’s mercies known
From shore to shore:
Lord make the nations see
That men should brothers be,
And form one family
The wide world over
Official peace version[edit]
A less militaristic version of the song, titled “Official peace version, 1919”, was first published in the hymn book Songs of Praise in 1925.[33] This was “official” in the sense that it was approved by the British Privy Council in 1919.[22] However, despite being reproduced in some other hymn books, it is largely unknown today.[34]
God save our gracious Queen
Long live our noble Queen
God save The Queen!
Send her victorious
Happy and glorious
Long to reign over us
God save The Queen!
One realm of races four
Blest more and ever more
God save our land!
Home of the brave and free
Set in the silver sea
True nurse of chivalry
God save our land!
Of many a race and birth
From utmost ends of earth
God save us all!
Bid strife and hatred cease
Bid hope and joy increase
Spread universal peace
God save us all!
ISRAEL ANTHEM
Hatikvah’s Lyrics in English Transliteration and Translation:
Transliteration:
Kol od ba’le’vav p’nima,Nefesh yehudi ho’miyah.
U’lefa-atei mizrach kadimah,
Ayin le’Tziyyon tzofiyah.
Od lo avda tikva-teinu,
Ha’tikvah bat sh’not al-payim
Lih-yot am chofshi b’ar-tzeinu
Eretz Tziyyon v’Yerushalayim.
Translation:
As long as within our hearts
The Jewish soul sings,
As long as forward to the East
To Zion, looks the eye –
Our hope is not yet lost,
It is two thousand years old,
To be a free people in our land
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
IRAN ANTHEM LYRICS
Upwards on the horizon rises the Eastern Sun,
The sight of the true Religion.
Bahman – the brilliance of our Faith.
Your message, O Imam, of independence and freedom
is imprinted on our souls.
O Martyrs! The time of your cries of pain rings in our ears.
Enduring, continuing, eternal,
The Islamic Republic of Iran.
ANTHEM LYRICS IN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
Sar Zad Az Ufuq Mihr-i Hawaran
Furug-i Dida-yi Haqq-bawaran
Bahman – Farr-i Iman-i Mast
Payamat Ay Imam Istiqlal. Azadi-naqs-i Gan-i Mast
Sahidan – Picida Dar Gus-i Zaman Faryad-i Tan
Payanda Mani Wa Gawidan
Gumhuri-yi Islami-i Iran
Thank you very much for the history about anthems, and especially for the words for the Russian anthem. I have loved the music of the Russian anthem for a long time, and found it very inspiring, even without understanding the words. Now I have both. Thank you.
You missed the Marseilles crowned with the last lingering line of “soiled blood overflowing the furrows of earth ” Had to learn that one in French class…brrrr….never quite lost the image . Maybe that is why France really never has done the multicultural melting pot very well.
The real killer imagery replete with religious self righteousness for Americans is Battle Hymn of the Republic….arrrgh. Now those images are gruesome as befitted the wholesale mass slaughter of the (un) Civil War. Yep, call on an Old Testament G-d!.. “Mine eyes have seen the glory ( gory) of the coming of the Lord” ( oh are we in for it now!) 4 traumatizing stanzas later and all you want to do is croak Amazing Grace, drink warm milk and tuck yourself in.
There are those who always have advocated ” America, the Beautiful” to be the national anthem–at least it is easier to sing even if its final line, ” And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea”, does reflect an intention more than a reality sometimes.
From wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Marseillaise
“La Marseillaise” (French pronunciation: [la maʁsɛjɛːz]) is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled “Chant de guerre pour l’Armée du Rhin” (“War Song for the Rhine Army”).
The Marseillaise was a revolutionary song, an anthem to freedom, a patriotic call to mobilize all the citizens and an exhortation to fight against tyranny and foreign invasion. The French National Convention adopted it as the Republic’s anthem in 1795. It acquired its nickname after being sung in Paris by volunteers from Marseille marching to the capital. The song is the first example of the “European march” anthemic style. The anthem’s evocative melody and lyrics have led to its widespread use as a song of revolution and its incorporation into many pieces of classical and popular music.
As the French Revolution continued, the monarchies of Europe became concerned that revolutionary fervor would spread to their countries. The War of the First Coalition was an effort to stop the revolution, or at least contain it to France. Initially, the French army did not distinguish itself, and COALITION ARMIES INVADED FRANCE. On 25 April 1792, baron Philippe-Frédéric de Dietrich, the mayor of Strasbourg, requested his guest Rouget de Lisle compose a song “THAT WILL RALLY OUR SOLDIERS FROM ALL OVER TO DEFEND THEIR HOMELAND THAT IS UNDER THREAT”.[1] That evening, Rouget de Lisle wrote “Chant de guerre pour l’Armée du Rhin”[2] (English: “War Song for the Army of the Rhine”)
…
The song’s lyric reflects the invasion of France by foreign armies (from Prussia and Austria) that were under way when it was written. Strasbourg itself was attacked just a few days later.
Here is the problem: but for a country thoroughly destroyed from within through the revolution (which the entire world knew had happened), no external force would have been able to attack it at that exact time. So, that awful Marseillaise might have been officially borne from a war but said war would never have been possible unless the country had already been divided to the breaking point.
“It is as though the concept of national anthem (which originated in the West) served to fill an identity vacuum and create some sense a unity among people who, otherwise, might historically and geographically have had very little in common other than being trapped together within artificial borders they never chose for themselves and which were imposed on them by sheer force and violence. Attack, conquer, divide, obliterate, partition, reshape and remold.”
Destroyed from within, destroyed from without. What will it take for people to understand that strength and unity come from within and nothing can overcome it? There’s a reason Syria won’t cave in. Russia won’t cave in. Vietnam didn’t cave in. China won’t cave in. Even Afghanistan won’t cave in (after 14 years). Here are the lyrics of Afghanistan’s (2006):
This land is Afghanistan,
it is the pride of every Afghan
The land of peace, the land of sword,
each of its sons is brave
This is the country of every tribe,
The land of Balochs and Uzbeks
Pashtuns and Hazaras,
Turkmens and Taji
With them, there are Arabs and Gujjars,
Pamiris, Nuristanis
Brahuis, and Qizilbash,
also Aimaqs and Pashais
This land will shine for ever,
like the sun in the blue sky
In the chest of Asia,
it will remain as heart for ever
We will follow the one God
We all say, “Allah is the greatest!”,
we all say, “Allah is the greatest!”,
we all say, “Allah is the greatest!”
Do we read conquest? Rockets? Blood? Expansion? No. We read resilience and unity. Humanity has turned a corner. War is out. Unity is in, whatever the price. Different game: the one with the biggest weapons has lost.
wow, that’s a beautiful anthem…the best in the world !!
Thank you for this item, I bookmarked it.
I always sing to myself the CCCP anthem (Stalin version preferred).
Here is a nice video which starts with Govorit Moskwa before the anthem:
Государственный Гимн СССР (Сталинский – 1950)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO8eNBo3Ce4
Unfortunately however no reason to sing in happiness, but the next saddening R.I.P :((
Was is a natural death? Or Milosevic style? https://inserbia.info/today/2014/01/is-slobodan-milosevic-alive-or-dead/
Russian Ambassador To UN Vitaly Churkin Has “Died Suddenly” In New York
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-20/russian-ambassador-un-vitaly-churkin-suddenly-dies-work-new-york
The USA is packed with Ukrainian agents.
The former The Ukraine is now a CIA Deathstar.
… we should be careful to analyze Russian/Soviet anthem, 44 77 version is not that much different.
But english translation is surprisingly quite different from each other and far away what is in original in both cases..
worth to notice:
so called Stalin antem:
– does not mention communism and not even socialism and party as well
– at the end in mention soviet* and national flag
1977, added communism and party..
both version mention Russia as central of Soviet Union
I think that your post is near-nonsense and has entirely missed the point which is that international sports federations have been taken over by petty, scheming vandals and are now a part of the entertainment arm of the CIA.
I assume, from your peculiar, fractured take on history that you are Ukrainian.
I suggest you look to your own absurd anthem which starts with the words: “Has the Ukraine completely died yet.” The answer of course is “Yes”.
Judging from his name it sounds like one of the countless forced renamings from original Russian into artificial Ukrainian.
A “country” which justifies its existance by having renamed all “Igor” to “Ihor” and all “Olga” to “Olha” i.t.d. (not even covering the reanamed cities/villages/settlements yet)
.. and if your post was intended to me, I will try to explain again.
English only speaker should be careful to judge text of Soviet/Russian anthem based on english translation, as it perfectly shows you can not correctly translate one language/civilization meaning to another.
If you read original and compare with english translation it is simply in many ways far of original.
It is understandable because it is translated as song, but because it is such important text, it would be better to use translation closer to original text. Especialy if we comparing meaning of text.
Союз нерушимый республик свободных
Сплотила навеки Великая Русь. 1944/1977
no way means what is in translation:
United forever in friendship and labour,
Our mighty republics will ever endure.
Put it bluntly two english translations for soviet anthem differ greatly, and both are in many ways far away from original…
I am not native russian speaker, but many english only speakers have no chance to see difference..
Aye, well said. I believe the first national anthem created was the British “God Save The King – Queen” depending on the current ruling monarch. Before the Americans adopted the Star Spangled Banner they had a national song that used the same music as God Save the King, different lyrics. Canada’s original anthem, “The Maple Leaf Forever” had a wonderful tune which should have been kept with amended new lyrics. The Maple Leaf lyrics catalogued the British defeat of the French and British Canadian heritage which of course upset the large Francophone population within Canada.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uXWBR_Ht2Y
Sorry, Maple Leaf Forever was never Canada’s national anthem. Like O Canada was originally, it was a patriotic song from the late 1800’s. God Save the Queen/King was the original official anthem as post-Confederation Canada was still part of the British Empire (and to this day, technically still has the British monarch as head of state and military commander-in-chief). When my parents emigrated from Britain shortly after WW2, they were not required to hold Canadian citizenship to have all Canadian rights until the 1980’s.
Since 1939 O Canada was the defacto national anthem, but was not legally/officially so until 1980 by an Act the Canadian Parliament (during the patriation of the Constitution period). The lyrics of both O Canada and Maple Leaf Forever have been mashed and mangled to attempt to remove formerly acceptable prejudices, historical insults and follow patriotic/militarist fashion.
I am becoming less proud of my country of birth as it becomes an ever more obsequious vassal state of the US warmonger/capitalist empire. What Pearson did during the Suez Crisis was reprehensible (but got him a Nobel Peace prize, sound familiar?) and Diefenbaker scrapped the AVRO Arrow on direct orders from the US military, crippling our growing and state-of-the-art aeronautics industry. NASA’s gain was our loss. Our military was directly involved in deposing Aristide in Haiti and is still occupying there preventing democratic/social development.
200 military “advisers” recently sent to the Ukraine to support the Kiev junta and our military jets/soldiers stationed in Poland and Albania. Trudeau approving all the same pipelines and corporate-trade deals as Harper, still selling $millions in war vehicles to Saudi Arabia.
Democracy? Trudeau just reneged on his campaign promise to end the archaic and dismal first-past-the-post voting system. No proportional representation for Canada.
So much for our selfie-cutie PM. No Sunny Ways, just more dark days.
to nice try: You are an exceptionally well informed (educated?) and highly intelligent person. That is, regrettably, rare in Canada and the whole North America. The co-called Western world, in general, has different attitude with regard to what you said in your EXCELLENT comment. Thank you for expressing your views.
You must add the opening words of the National Anthem of the former The Ukraine to your wonderful article:
“Is The Ukraine completely dead yet?”
It then raves on with “We will prove to you that it is not.”
A fitting anthem for a 25 year long Reich.
So far, the American Anthem is the bloodiest one… behind the French one, (which is a heresy, considering that the French have never enjoyed being beat up). What is interesting is that both countries were going through a revolution at the same time, emotions were running high and certain actors were on both scenes (Lafayette comes to mind but Franklin was not far behind).
kids learn language and behavior from the society they live in and their values are formed accordingly. And kids learn those anthems and sing them when they PLAY sports against another team and/or when their country is waging real war. As though a very serious line had been permanently blurred: when does play end and when does war start?
Soccer and rugby are games to play and enjoy. Injuries may happen but they are few and far between and nobody gets killed. American football is a war between two teams from the same country, gears and all, and the National Anthem tells them so. It is literally life-and-death, go for the kill, and no in-between.
And that entire belligerent spirit has impregnated the mind of certain countries so much that… we can no longer even have Olympics.
That is the scary part. When play becomes war and everyone is an enemy, society can no longer exist. Humanity can no longer exist.
Christine,
Thank you for this most interesting review of national anthems and the spirit of their respective lyrics. Indeed, the American anthem exudes exceptionalism. Two minor comments to the lyrics themselves and one to the music.
The rocket(s) referred to in the lyrics is the British “Congreve” rocket, used first against the Americans with success in the War of 1812, lthe latter launched by the US to annex (read, “export democracy”) to Canada. The US did not succeed and in the struggle the British managed a landing in the Chesapeake Bay, from where they reached and burned Washington, in retaliation for the burning of what is now Toronto on Lake Ontario.
The “Star-Spangled Banner” refers to a huge flag raised on an American Fort in Baltimore. The music was extracted from an old British drinking song with much less edifying lyrics. There are (3) video sketches dedicated to the little-known War of 1812. The third sketch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcuHuksVNOE&list=PL6e-X0PEeMneVYeDxMc3IS2JgQ3ZJtiBG&index=22
at approximately min 20.25 gives a rendition of the original drinking song and lyrics. Given the subsequent history of the Country, there is a kind of historical justice in the origin of the music and in the original lyrics.
I forgot to add that, when, for work, I travelled in Northern Iran and heard the jigle of the Russian anthem, broadcast from Azerbaijan, it gave me the unusual feeling of hearing something from home – though I am not Russian and I struggled in my attempts at learning the language. I wonder if others have had a similar experience. It may be an illusion or the reflection of my (however) limited knowledge of Russian history and of the Russian classics. But the notes to me suggest a hope in a better, and above all, more humane future.
@ Voltaire
Indeed, the Russian (formerly Soviet) anthem evokes a deep feeling of hope and gladness and always turns my eyes moist as visions of peace and calm float through them. That’s how I feel, like being safely home, blessed and grateful to belong. Yet, I’m not Russian.
Australia’s national anthem of the heart is Waltzing Matilda.
Our poem is Clancy of the Overflow.
Our hero is Ned Kelly.
Our flag is the Eureka Flag.
BUT…we can’t have them, they have been replaced…a cultural genocide layer cake is Australia.
I would say though that Russia and Australia are the freest places on earth…
Are you saying that the recent stationing of U.S. troops on Australian soil was an Australian idea , and an expression of Australian freedom?
Nope. It was – of course – sold as a lie. Just 200 troops “on rotation” . Fears were expressed that the number would escalate. This was ridiculed. Now I think (in just a few years) the number has swelled to 2000.
What was the most pathetic/ humiliating was that Obama was at first supposed to fly to Canberra (national capital) to ink,the deal. (He was visiting Indonesia at the time. But his schedule got full and so he only made a quick hop to Darwin and the Australia sychophant PM flew to Darwin to meet him. Obama was only in The country a few hours. Australia pretty much signed away what little remained of its sovereignty. So eager to please. So eager to lick the boots.
Disgusting. Pathetic. Quislings.
” So eager to please. So eager to lick the boots.
Disgusting. Pathetic. Quislings.”
Mate! Do not be pulling your punches now alright mate. Please mate , let us know your true feelings on this alright mate. :-)
@ Alvin Purple
“… Australia freest places on earth”
Strewth! What are you on about? Or you have a very odd understanding what freedom means.
The State is all over the place, including your bedroom. Eighteen government agencies can roll into your home any time even without knocking on the door. You need a permit or licence for almost anything you do and the surveillance agencies keep tabs on whatever you do. You can’t even have a chooks pen in your backyard!
We are the most bureaucratically controlled country on earth.
On the other hand , the Pickering Post is still telling it like it is , sort of.
Freedom of expression seems to exist.
From ‘Clancy of the Overflow’.
And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him
In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended,
And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars.
An interesting article, but with one significant error when it comes to Britain.
This version:
God save our gracious Queen
Long live our noble Queen
God save The Queen!
Send her victorious
Happy and glorious
Long to reign over us
God save The Queen!
is not ‘rarely sung’. On the contrary, this is the OFFICIAL version. The first verse is almost always sung alone. I’m a Brit aged 58, with a passion for folk music, and in all my life I have never even heard any other version sung.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s way inferior to many other national anthems, not least because it’s about one flawed human being rather than the nation. I have no sympathy for the House of Windsor, and indeed I have the dubious ‘distinction’ of having led the only political challenge to the UK Establishment which HM Queen has ever departed from her ‘non-political’ role to attack (in her 2008 Christmas Broadcast, which banged on about how wonderful it is that Britain is rapidly going down into a multi-culti cesspit and how evil and ‘intolerant’ are those of us who would rather we weren’t).
So I correct this not out of royalist sympathy or a belief that Establishment Britain is anything other than a cancer, but simply in the interests of accuracy.
the words are by Lord Alfred Tennyson – a great poet –
well, this is a nice article – I hadn’t noticed it before sadly.
I like the Canadian anthem
O Canada
Our home and native land
True Patriot Love
in all our sons’ command
with glowing heart
we see thee rise
THE TRUE NORTH – STRONG AND FREE –
and stand on guard O Canada
We stand on guard for thee
O Canada
Glorious and Free
O Canada
We stand on guard for thee
O Canada
We stand on guard for thee
You got it correct.
The best national anthem is the one given by Mel Brooks, the 2,000 year old man.
“Cave 76 is the best. All the rest can go to hell”.
My favorite Russian anthem is this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q15EG5U4_o
from around 1800. It’s overly date-specific like the Star-Spangled Banner, praising Catherine for a victory over the Turks; but the music is heavenly.
@ Polistra
It is a glorious anthem, exuding its time and purpose. Thank you.
The Thai national anthem mentions the word “love” twice, saying the people are loving and love peace particularly, but then warns would-be usurpers that they’ll give up every last drop of their blood to defend their land. Everyone in Thailand is required to stand respectfully for it twice a day, leading to the usual jokes about airplanes and musical toilet seats.
Japan’s still controversial “Kimigayo” speaks of stability and ages into the future, mentioning moss on a rock. It is very short, and ancient–a waka poem written about a thousand years ago, with the melody dating from 1880, when after centuries of isolation the Japanese decided they ought to get with it in the colonial sweepstakes. Thus this slow-paced immensely peaceful song enjoyed a spell as an imperial war-time anthem.