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National Anthem

Shiny Grimer

Shiny Grimer

Active member
Pronoun
she/her, they/them
What are some national anthems you like? How do you feel about National Anthems?

I'll start this with some awesome anthems: The Soviet Union's Anthem, La Marsellaise, and La Bayamesa. These anthems are inspiring and exciting (as opposed to boring pieces like The Star Spangled Banner and God Save the Queen). Their music moves me. The lyrics can even be scary ("qu'un sang impure abreuve nos sillons". May an impure blood water our gardens.). Damn, these anthems make me want to die for nations that aren't mine!

Now for some ok anthems: The Star Spangled Banner, O Canada, and God Save Our Queen. These anthems are ok. They're average, nothing special about them. I don't mind them. I admit that I love this version of the Star Spangled Banner sung in Navajo (one of the US's native languages!).

Dishonorable mentions: Lofsongur. The Marquee of Doom summed it up well: boring, lyrics having little to do with Iceland, and being ridiculously hard to sing. It's almost as if it was chosen to discourage people from liking their country. Das Deutschlandlied is the opposite - it's pretty cool except for how ridiculously nationalistic it is (German women! Fight for the German women! Because they're hot and stuff. Apparently.). Maamme is as boring as Lofsongur.

La Marcha Real because it has no lyrics. Take that, anthems with lyrics!
Kimi go Ya and Jana Gana Mana are cool because they don't sound like hymns! Yay!
The South African Anthem is the only anthem in the world to be in more than one language and to change keys.

The number of countries in Africa that have French or English anthems instead of anthems in the native langauges is sad. :( I think something like 50% of them are in French/English. Colonialism sucks.

So, putting aside personal feelings for a country, what are your favorite/least favorite national anthems? What versions do you like in particular?
 
Waaaaales. LAND OF MY FATHERS and stuff. Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and shit.

I like it because it's silly and no one knows more than the first two lines.
 
... said:
The South African Anthem is the only anthem in the world to be in more than one language...
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O Canada, terre de nos aïeux... Or, wait, the South African anthem has multiple languages in just the one set of lyrics? Awesome.

I'm really not fond of Canada's anthem. La Marseillaise is pretty cool. I'm not familiar with any others and can't YouTube right now.

I hate that they made us stand at attention for the national anthem (and, in the earlier years, sing along) every day from kindergarten through grade twelve. Is that common around the world? i also remember in highschool a few years ago they once played God Save the Queen instead for... some occasion I forget and a bunch of people were furious, which I found hilarious to watch.
 
Did you know that South Africa's first half of its anthem is the same as Tanzania's and Zambia's anthems?

Geekiness aside, I like the anthems of Spain, Germany, Singapore, Australia, the US, Brazil, France, and Italy.

Over here in Malaysia, we're stuck with a suckish anthem. :(
 
Scotland's.

What do you mean, it doesn't have one? It does so!! We pretend... we're.. cool... and don't have to sing fucking 'God Save The Queen' >8(
 
radiohead's the national anthem is best

i mean wilhelmus which is actually the oldest anthem
 
I think our national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, is the most boring thing ever. I guess it sounds pretty cool on the organ though.
 
Yeah, but you guys can pretend that Waltzing Matilda's your anthem, and that's just awesome :D

I'm uncultured; I know no national anthems, incuding my own. Well, I know the "God save the queen" bit, and nothing else. Outside of someone winning the Grand Prix, I don't see a lot of occasion to know national anthems, anyways.
 
Tailsy said:
Scotland's.

What do you mean, it doesn't have one? It does so!! We pretend... we're.. cool... and don't have to sing fucking 'God Save The Queen' >8(
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well flower of scotland has this lovely bit:

Those days are past now,
And in the past
they must remain,
But we can still rise now,
And be the nation again,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
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alternatively, from Scotland the Brave:

Far off in sunlit places,
Sad are the Scottish faces,
Yearning to feel the kiss of sweet Scottish rain.
Where tropic skies are beaming,
Love sets the heart a-dreaming,
Longing and dreaming for the homeland again.
Click to expand...

only scotland would have an anthem yearning for rain, I think.

I think our national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, is the most boring thing ever. I guess it sounds pretty cool on the organ though.
Click to expand...

if only it weren't really racist!

the slovenian anthem is pretty boring. our secret is that it is actually a drinking song, with the one verse we use as the anthem being the only one that talks about liberty and freedom and so on and so forth. I wish we had Hej, Slovani instead. That is an awesome song.

best anthems are the current russian one and The Internationale, though.
 
Our national anthem would be cool if it were Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory (or even I Vow to Thee My Country...) but God Save the Queen is just... meh.
 
The Star Spangled Banner is boring, slow, and lame. The annoying thing is that it's the only anthem that anyone knows more than the first two lines to. The Hendrix version is pretty cool, though.

La Marsellaise is probably one of the greatest anthems ever. It just has this... epic feel to it.
 
opaltiger said:
the slovenian anthem is pretty boring. our secret is that it is actually a drinking song, with the one verse we use as the anthem being the only one that talks about liberty and freedom and so on and so forth.
Click to expand...

Then there's this quote:

To you, our pride past measure,
Our girls! Your beauty, charm and grace!
There surely is no treasure
To equal maidens of such race.
Sons you'll bear,
Who will dare
Defy our foe no matter where.

It's not actually in the anthem but wtf. Germany's has a similar thing:

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.

Yes, German and Slovene girls are so hot that you must die for them. die
 
... said:
The number of countries in Africa that have French or English anthems instead of anthems in the native langauges is sad. :( I think something like 50% of them are in French/English. Colonialism sucks.
Click to expand...

To be fair, a number of those countries will have many native languages, sometimes without a clear majority, so writing the national anthem in a colonial language is a fair compromise.

I like the Hymn of the Soviet Union, March of the Volunteers, the National Anthem of the Republic of China, and La Marseillaise.

South Vietnam had a pretty cool one.

Marcha Real sounds cooler to me with the Franco-era lyrics.

Along the same lines, I like some nationalistic songs too, like Die Wacht am Rhein and Rule Britannia.
 
... said:
Then there's this quote:

To you, our pride past measure,
Our girls! Your beauty, charm and grace!
There surely is no treasure
To equal maidens of such race.
Sons you'll bear,
Who will dare
Defy our foe no matter where.

It's not actually in the anthem but wtf. Germany's has a similar thing:

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.

Yes, German and Slovene girls are so hot that you must die for them. die
Click to expand...

oh wow it translates awfully
 
I think they tried to make it rhyme, so I don't know how accurate it is. :P

To be fair, a number of those countries will have many native languages, sometimes without a clear majority, so writing the national anthem in a colonial language is a fair compromise.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've heard about that too, but I still don't think it's the best option. Why not pull a South Africa on that one? Having the colonial language as the national anthem reinforces the idea that this is what the people should be speaking, that this is the language of prestige (and this attitude makes it easier for lower-class people that don't speak the "upper class languages" to be marginalized).
 
The Hymn of the Soviet Union.

Despite the issues with the Gulag and positive history, not to mention communism, the anthem gives you a sense of empowerment, like you can crush an elephant with your little toe.

O Canada is the exact opposite, and I like it. Very... motherly.
 
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