British National Anthem

Called (during a kingship) GOD SAVE THE KING British royal and national anthem. The origin of both the words and the music is obscure. The many candidates for authorship include John Bull (c. 1562-1628), Thomas Ravenscroft (c. 1583-c. 1633), Henry Purcell (c. 1639-95), and Henry Carey (c. 1687-1743). The earliest copy of the words appeared in Gentleman's Magazine in 1745; the tune appeared about the same time in an anthology, Thesaurus Musicus--in both instances without attribution. In the same year, "God Save the King" was performed in two London theatres, one the Drury Lane; and in the following year George Frideric Handel used it in his Occasional Oratorio, which dealt with the tribulations of the Jacobite Rebellion of '45. Thereafter, the tune was used frequently by composers making British references, notably by Ludwig van Beethoven, who used it in seven variations.

From Great Britain the melody passed to continental Europe, becoming especially popular in Germany and Scandinavia, with a variety of different lyrics. Later, in the United States, Samuel F. Smith (1808-95) wrote "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (1832), to be sung to the British tune; it became a semiofficial anthem for the nation, second in popularity only to "The Star-Spangled Banner."

 

God Save the QueenGod 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.O Lord our God arise,Scatter her enemies,And make them fall:Confound their politics,Frustrate their knavish tricks,On Thee our hopes we fix:God save us all.Thy choicest gifts in store,On her be pleased to pour;Long may she reign:May she defend our laws,And ever give us causeTo sing with heart and voiceGod save the Queen.

 

 

National anthem of Canada

It was proclaimed the official national anthem on July 1, 1980. God Save the Queen remains the royal anthem of Canada.

The music, written by Calixa Lavallée (1842-91), a concert pianist and native of Verchères, Que., was commissioned in 1880 on the occasion of a visit to Quebec by Lord Lorne (later Duke of Argyll), then governor-general of Canada, and his wife, Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Louise. The original French lyrics were written by Sir Adolphe Basile Routhier (1839-1920), later chief justice of Quebec. The English lyrics (which are not a translation or rendering of the French) were written in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir (1856-1926), a lawyer and recorder of Montreal.

 

O Canada! Our home and native land!

True patriot-love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts 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!

We stand on guard, we stand

on guard for thee,

O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Where pines and maples grow,

Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow,

How dear to us thy broad domain,

From East to Western sea!

Thou land of hope for all who toil!

Thou True North strong and free!

O Canada! Glorious and free! [etc.]

O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies

May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise

To keep thee steadfast thro' the years

From East to Western sea,

Our own beloved native land,

Our True North strong and free!

O Canada! Glorious and free! [etc.]

Ruler supreme, Who hearest humble pray'r,

Hold our Dominion in Thy loving care.

Help us to find, O God, in Thee

A lasting rich reward,

As waiting for the better day,

We ever stand on guard.

O Canada! Glorious and free! [etc.]

O Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,

Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!

Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,

Il sait porter la croix!

Ton histoire est une épopée

Des plus brillants exploits.

Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits,

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Sous l'oeil de Dieu, près du fleuve géant,

Le Canadien grandit en espérant.

Il est d'une race fière,

Béni fut son berceau.

Le ciel a marqué sa carrière

Dans ce monde nouveau.

Toujours guidé par sa lumière,

Il gardera l'honneur de son drapeau,

Il gardera l'honneur de son drapeau.

De son patron, précurseur du vrai Dieu,

Il porte au front l'auréole de feu.

Ennemi de la tyrannie

Mais plein de loyauté,

Il veut garder dans l'harmonie,

Sa fière liberté;

Et par l'effort de son génie,

Sur notre sol asseoir la vérité,

Sur notre sol asseoir la vérité.

Amour sacré du trône et de l'autel,

Remplis nos coeurs de ton souffle immortel!

Parmi les races étrangères,

Notre guide est la loi:

Sachons être un peuple de frères,

Sous le joug de la foi.

Et répétons, comme nos pères,

Le cri vainqueur: "Pour le Christ et le roi,"

Le cri vainqueur: "Pour le Christ et le roi."

 

 

 

National anthem of Australia

Adopted on April 19, 1984. It was first officially proposed in 1974 to replace "God Save the Queen," which had been the national anthem from 1788 to 1974 and which, in 1984, was designated the royal anthem, to be played at public appearances of members of the British royal family.

The original music and lyrics were composed by a Scottish-born Australian, Peter Dodds McCormick (1834?-1916), and first performed in Sydney in 1878. In 1977, in a countrywide public opinion poll to choose a national tune, "Advance Australia Fair" won out over three other contenders, including "Waltzing Matilda." Some of the original words, however, were altered for the official version--including the first line, changed from "Australia's sons, let us rejoice" to "Australians all, let us rejoice."

 

Australians all, let us rejoice,

For we are young and free;

We've golden soil and wealth for toil,

Our home is girt by sea.

Our land abounds in Nature's gifts

Of beauty rich and rare;

In history's page, let every stage

Advance Australia fair.

In joyful strains then let us sing,

"Advance Australia Fair."

Beneath our radiant Southern Cross

We'll toil with hearts and hands;

To make this Commonwealth of ours

Renowned of all the lands;

For those who've come across the seas

We've boundless plains to share;

With courage let us all combine

To Advance Australia fair.

In joyful strains then let us sing,

"Advance Australia Fair."

 

 

 

National anthem of the United States

Francis Scott Key, a lawyer, wrote the lyrics after watching the British attack Fort McHenry, Maryland, in 1814, during the War of 1812. The melody was taken from "To Anacreon in Heaven," a drinking song of the Anacreontic Society (of London) that was written by the British composer John Stafford Smith. Key's words were first published in a broadside in 1814 under the title "Defence of Fort M'Henry." The song's title was changed when it appeared in sheet-music form later the same year. After a century of general use, the four-stanza song was officially adopted as the national anthem by act of Congress in 1931.

Innumerable publications of the song through the years have shown variations in both words and music. An official arrangement was prepared by John Philip Sousa for the U.S. Army and Navy, and music educators have spent much time and effort in arriving at a practical version. The second and third stanzas are customarily omitted out of courtesy to the British. The accepted text of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is as follows:

 

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight

O'er the ramparts we watch'd 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.

Oh, 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, oh, 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 wash'd out their foul footstep's 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.

Oh, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand

Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation!

Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n-rescued land

Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd

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.

 

Oh! 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 rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! 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 thro' the mist 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 on the stream
'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner. Oh! 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 footstep's 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.


Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto --"In God is our trust."
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.