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O SAY CAN YOU SEE MY ANTHEM?
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O SAY CAN YOU SEE MY ANTHEM? Hi ! I have been thinking about music from<b> around the world </font></b>today. Particularly national anthems. Below are some of my somewhat scattered thoughts on this subject... I listened to bunches of anthems, and read the poetry. There's some common themes as far as the message goes. Overall, I found them to be little more than propaganda tools. Musically, they do not differentiate themselves much. For the most part they're stuffy, and formal. Many anthems have lyrics that are all about gods keeping watch, and protecting the particular race or peoples for which they were written. Serbia is one of these. The Serbian anthem is almost a supplication, beseeching divine help in everything. The music is martial, and not bad to my ears at all. Lebanon uses a basic Western march that at least is somewhat flavored by Eastern melody. The lyrics are all about flag and country without any mention of divinity. The Hungarians are like the Serbs. If it weren't for god there would be no Hungarians at all. They go further though. They point their finger (and god's) directly at Turkey, naming them enemy. (historically, this was directed at the Ottomans, but they be singing it still...) The Chinese are all about revolution. Duh. It was their ditty from their Civil War. All about not being slaves, and rise up against the invader. It sounds more Western than Eastern in composition. I suppose all anthems follow on this sort of orchestral arrangement. I was hoping to find more anthems where the music stemmed from folk roots in the region. Something to link it to its geographical location, and the unique character of the people there. This does not happen when anthems are chosen. They all sound like 19th century Austria. Seriously. All of em I listened to, anyway... In America, it's the Star Spangled Banner. This one has great lyrics which refer to a singular historical event. It's all about beating back the cursed British who had come to burn our villages. The music is martial, and stirring. Plus, it has become noteworthy to be able to sing it properly before sporting events. If you can hit all the notes, you will be enthusiastically applauded. If you screw it up, it goes viral. The Germans have Deutschlandlied, which has had its lyrics modified over the years. Politics and national anthems are inextricably linked, and the Nazis had tainted the meaning, so the original words were modified. I like the music, which was composed by Joseph Haydn on a German North Sea island (under British rule at the time). It is catchy, which is pretty good for stuff that was composed in the 1840's, don't you think? Australia just made theirs official in 1984. As part of the Empire, they deferred to the Brits before that. The guy who wrote it was moved to do so after he sat through a concert of the globe's anthems. He felt left out when they moved from Austria to the Bahamas without saying dick about Australia. He was born in Scotland, but I didn't detect any Scotch vitality in the piece. I listened to some of it, but dozed off after the first movement. Real snore material, that one. It is titled Advance Australia Fair. Figures. The title is as boring as the anthem. Canada's is ok. I have to hear it a lot as I watch sporting events from that country. I pretty much ignore theirs though. It shouldn't exist. They oughtta be playing The Star Spangled Banner up there if ya want my two cents. But for a quirk in history they would be, too. Canada should have been ours! The UK uses God Save the Queen. This one is the mother of all the other ones. Not the tune, which has no definite origin, and bunches of claimants to its composition. No. It is the mother because England used it to such great effect that Germany, the U.S.A., Russia, and Switzerland, decided to follow suit. It forwarded the emerging nationalism taking root in the world at the time. These days everybody has an anthem, and the Brits started it. Anyway, most folks are familiar with this little ditty. I kinda like it. It is formal and pompous. Well suited to describe the English mentality. Of course the Irish, Scotch, and Welsh will dispute being included in that assessment. The best one of all in my view is La Marseillaise, anthem of the French. I just LOVE that one. It is the most stirring of them all musically. Heck, it even makes me wanna jump up and kick some ass. It must work that way on lots of my countrymen as we seem to answer the call often enough. The lyrics are a bit brutal and morbid, in my opinion. It's all about blood and guts. Killing the enemy and eating their blood. Yep. Then they use the blood to nourish their fields and bake the most awesome bread the world can ever know. blog on! Authors note. This is the three hundred and sixty-fifth post put up by The Venting Blog. It took nearly 11 years, but now I have enough posts to fill out a calendar. 
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'Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. ' Which is why all Right Wing Groups expound it. Except the yanks of course, their type of patriotism is bewildering to an outsider 
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You're welcome, and thanks. Actually, it is now saying that I have 366 posts. Oh well, who really gives a fuck anyway? 
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Thanks for sharing that..I learned something about anthems today.. Seduce the mind and see what a wonderful adventure the body will take you on.. 
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You should see and hear the version of "La Marseillaise" in "Casablanca" one of the better scenes in the movie. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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'Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. ' Which is why all Right Wing Groups expound it. Except the yanks of course, their type of patriotism is bewildering to an outsider 
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Thanks for sharing that..I learned something about anthems today..  blog on!
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You should see and hear the version of "La Marseillaise" in "Casablanca" one of the better scenes in the movie.
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Great post.  I love the French national anthem too; I also like the Italian and Argentine national anthems. The British (or rather English) national anthem is terrible - it's a dirge. Within the first line, it contains two things I hate the most politically, god and the monarchy! Perhaps I'm not that tolerant!  The Scottish and Welsh anthems are good, though they're not sovereign countries ... yet!
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"Louie, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship." When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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I agree the Australian anthem is as boring as bat shit. I don't remember having a vote to say I wanted this to represent the country I live in. I almost cringe every time I hear it. You should be able to say you are proud of your countries anthem, but I'll pass on this one. 
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Great post. I love the French national anthem too; I also like the Italian and Argentine national anthems. The British (or rather English) national anthem is terrible - it's a dirge. Within the first line, it contains two things I hate the most politically, god and the monarchy! Perhaps I'm not that tolerant! The Scottish and Welsh anthems are good, though they're not sovereign countries ... yet! It figures you would like this type of post. It could have easily been an article in the Sexy Times. All it lacked was the 3 Q's. Ha!
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"Of all the blog joints in all the towns in all the world, I blogged on yours."
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I agree the Australian anthem is as boring as bat shit. I don't remember having a vote to say I wanted this to represent the country I live in. I almost cringe every time I hear it. You should be able to say you are proud of your countries anthem, but I'll pass on this one.
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You are being way to gentle with me for what I said about y'alls anthem.  When enough Canadians get in here I imagine I will be given the "what for". Yikes! 
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very cool post on this Remembrance Day, as many people in the world look back at how our world societies have evolved in the last 100 or so years. other than the Olympics, I can't say I have heard many....well except "Star Spangled Banner" and the independent 51ST State anthem "Oh Canada" ....before hockey games. after this review, sounds like most anthems need a complete re-write for the 21st century! ...which doesn't give Australia much of an excuse cuz they just did, and still got it wrong (other people comment not mine)... here is an idea!!?? how about pop bands and composers around the world unite and write something better...have a "This World's Got Talent" reality show and citizens can vote for their favorite!?
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Just when I was going to congratulate you for teaching me something, I had to go and dig further. I remember listening to the anthems during the Olympics.  England stole that one from us! =) ... Or maybe we were all just whistling the same tunes back then. Ok, I do know that we bastardized the lyrics for our own patriotism.  But I ain't saving no Queen.  (Nor singing about it.)To me it will always be "My Country 'Tis of Thee". I even learned that Canada is in on this too.  Wouldn't it be great if the whole world sang the same anthem? "We are the world"? ..  -- Actually others have thought that before. It didn't turn out so well. 
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We'll always have Paris. The Marseillaise is my favorite too. John Reed wrote that the Russian revolutionaries sang it in lieu of the "official" Internationale in 1917. He said something to the effect that The internationale was an alien sounding affair, and The Marseillaise was so much more stirring, and fun to sing. I really enjoy this post, Keith. Anthems do seem to be a western phenomenon, and all about boosterism and hubris. I think requiring a national anthem before sporting events is pseudo patriotic bullshit, and also a very British thing to do. "Rule, Britannia! Britannia rule the waves! Britons never never never shall be slaves!" This of course did not prohibit said Britons from kidnapping and selling slaves, though. Slavery was for primitive peoples, with no national anthems. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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very cool post on this Remembrance Day, as many people in the world look back at how our world societies have evolved in the last 100 or so years. other than the Olympics, I can't say I have heard many....well except "Star Spangled Banner" and the independent 51ST State anthem "Oh Canada" ....before hockey games. after this review, sounds like most anthems need a complete re-write for the 21st century! ...which doesn't give Australia much of an excuse cuz they just did, and still got it wrong (other people comment not mine)... here is an idea!!?? how about pop bands and composers around the world unite and write something better...have a "This World's Got Talent" reality show and citizens can vote for their favorite!?
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That you are. And still able to make your point without pointing.
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Just don't get any ideas about tryin to teach me to whistle.  “When you talk about a great actor, you're not talking about Tom Cruise.” Lauren Bacall  When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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Just when I was going to congratulate you for teaching me something, I had to go and dig further. I remember listening to the anthems during the Olympics. England stole that one from us! =) ... Or maybe we were all just whistling the same tunes back then. Ok, I do know that we bastardized the lyrics for our own patriotism. But I ain't saving no Queen. (Nor singing about it.)To me it will always be "My Country 'Tis of Thee". I even learned that Canada is in on this too. Wouldn't it be great if the whole world sang the same anthem? "We are the world"? .. -- Actually others have thought that before. It didn't turn out so well.
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We'll always have Paris. The Marseillaise is my favorite too. John Reed wrote that the Russian revolutionaries sang it in lieu of the "official" Internationale in 1917. He said something to the effect that The internationale was an alien sounding affair, and The Marseillaise was so much more stirring, and fun to sing. I really enjoy this post, Keith. Anthems do seem to be a western phenomenon, and all about boosterism and hubris. I think requiring a national anthem before sporting events is pseudo patriotic bullshit, and also a very British thing to do. "Rule, Britannia! Britannia rule the waves! Britons never never never shall be slaves!" This of course did not prohibit said Britons from kidnapping and selling slaves, though. Slavery was for primitive peoples, with no national anthems. blog on!
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My memory is as long as my tooth! It is getting somewhat spotty these days though... 
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Well Keith I was gonna and then I came across this line and my love for Lauren just deepened. “When you talk about a great actor, you're not talking about Tom Cruise.” Lauren Bacall blog on!
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Hey Keith! Great post idea!!! Will check those anthems I don't know (many of those you listed) and just wanted to let you know "La Marseillaise" is also, by far, my favorite It's exactly how you described it: makes you want to stand up, grab a pitchfork, and go open up some Royal and spread their guts out, because it must have been hard to wait and drag each one of the filthy fat bloodsucker all the way to the guillotine hahaha!!!  Ahem...sorry. got a bit carried away there Lastly, look for "Aux armes etc..." by Serge Gainsbourg, you'll see....oh, and lokk for the lyrics, most of all! Muah!!!
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