Comments on: Origin of 4 National Anthems

By: Peter M

Peter M — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:14:11 +0000

Danish people are amused when they hear the Australian anthem "Advance Australia Fair" as the tune is the same as an old Danish drinking song.

By: Tor Hershman

Tor Hershman — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:39:08 +0000

I'm amused that my production of "To Anacreon In Heaven"
(I know, that ain't the correct title but it is what most people know it as) is in on the page.

Stay on groovin' safari,
Tor Hershman

By: ted

ted — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 02:43:52 +0000

Sorry, Pol X, O Canada is way worse.

By: Dim67

Dim67 — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:28:53 +0000

Another interesting fact about the Dutch anthem is that the second line reads: "Ben ik van Duitsen bloed" - translation: I am of German decent.

Go figure

By: Pol x

Pol x — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:14:34 +0000

Areally awful Anthem is the enitely modern unwelcome construct of the Austalian anthem "Advance Australia Fair".

Not until 1984 was it made the anthem and even then in the teeth of the peoples preference for Waltzing Mathilda, a far more representative and socially complex song.

By: Joshua Cole

Joshua Cole — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:01:32 +0000

Now that I know that our American national anthem is being sung to a song about drinking and getting laid, I totally understand why our country is where it is. We really aren't that much different than our fore-fathers.

Let's watch some Jerry Springer!

By: Ferdinand

Ferdinand — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:33:17 +0000

The "god save the queen" was created by french composer Jean Baptiste Lully when Louis the XIVth king of france was ill. The words were "dieu sauve notre gracieux roi" which literally translate to "god save our gracious king"! Bloody brits they have taken every thing from us french and they don't serve us copyright...

By: Geekazoid

Geekazoid — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:24:30 +0000

The Star Spangled Banner did not become the official National Anthem of the United States until 1931 as it discusses above. How it did become the national anthem is in itself fascinating. Robert Ripley of "Believe it or Not" fame drew one of his famous 'panels' back in 1929 stating that America did not have an official National Anthem. Only after readers sent millions of letters to congress did it finally become official in 1931.

By: Skipweasel

Skipweasel — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:32:04 +0000

Is is a prerequisite of an anthem that it should have a range that only a good singer can span? OK, so God Save The Queen only covers an octave or so, but maybe that's why it sounds like a funeral dirge. It's certainly hard to make it sound even remotely interesting.

Something to the tune of Eternal Father, Strong to Save (the Navy Hymn) would be splendid - you can really make it sound like you mean it with that tune.

By: klaas

klaas — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:05:04 +0000

The Dutch do not vow to the king of Spain in the persona of William of Orange. They sing that they have always honored the king of Spain. Past tence.

By: Halvor Pedersen

Halvor Pedersen — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:49:32 +0000

As Per noted, the national anthem of Norway is "Ja vi elsker" ("Yes, we love" [this country]), but he failed to recognize "Kongesangen" (King's song) as our _royal_ anthem. ("Gud signe kongen vor", lyrics written by Henrik Wergeland, has a lot in common with the English version.) I must point out, however, that Great Britain doesn't really have a national anthem at all, and that "God save the queen" is the anthem of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. As for an English national anthem, there is none, but a few have been proposed. Among these, "Jerusalem" seems very popular, as does "Land of hope and glory".

By: Skipweasel

Skipweasel — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:19:14 +0000

I'd dispute that God Save The Queen is the anthem of choice of most people in the UK. Those who can be arsed to express a preference usually plump for Jerusalem to Parry's tune or I Vow to Thee My Country, to the tune of Holst's wossname.

By: Man or Monster

Man or Monster — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:23:04 +0000

"The lyrics appear to have been compiled from a number of different sources, including the Bible, where the quote 'God save the King' appears no fewer than three times." When they said "the Bible", I believe they meant "The King James translation of the Bible". That phrase doesn't actually appear in "the Bible". The more literal translation would be "Let the king live!" or "Long live the king!" I assume that the saying "God save the king" was already in use when the KJV was written, which would explain the somewhat liberal translation of the passage.

By: Per

Per — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:58:12 +0000

"(And, speaking of plagiarism, it's worth noting that Norway's national anthem is, essentially, "God Save the King" translated into Norwegian.)"

Weird. I am from Norway and don't see any such connection. The Norwegian national anthem is titled "Yes we love this country" and is largely about its natural features. The melody is not even close either.

Here is a translation of the first verse:

Yes, we love this country
as it rises forth,
rugged, weathered, above the sea,
with the thousands of homes.
Loving, loving it and thinking
about our father and mother
and the saga night that sends
dreams to our earth.
and the saga night that sends
dreams to our earth.

More at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_anthem_of_Norway

By: Sid Morrison

Sid Morrison — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:47:32 +0000

TYPO regarding the Star Spangled Banner tune:
"Dedicated to the booze and babes-filled poetry of the Greek writer Anacreon, they composed a stirring, epic, and perhaps intentionally difficult-to-sing anthem for him in 1870."

The date should be 1780....

By: Pol x

Pol x — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:56:34 +0000

re the extra verses that are not sung so much, in God Save the King/Queen the UK version not the Norwegian translation there is a verse about crushing the rebellious Scots.

Are there anyother anthems that advocate the martial supression of their own people?

This is only one of the myriad reasons that Scots have long felt that they are3 in no way part of the UK.

You will also find that any move towards independence will pivot on whether more oil is discovered there.

By: maarten

maarten — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:37:54 +0000

In addition to the dutch national anthem: the song is actually an achrostic. The first letters of the verses form the words 'Willem Von Nassov'. Just so you know