I would like to discuss my recent nerdy fixation. That is none other than national anthems. I am not sure what exactly made me so interested in them, however it may have had something to do with a You Tube video I saw a few years ago. This video was of a Kazakhstani athlete at some sort of Pan Asian games in Kuwait, she stood tall and with her hand over her heart ready to hear her national anthem. She was in for a rude awakening when the tune she heard was not the one she was expecting. Instead of hearing the fairly bland but pleasant "My Kazakhstan", the first line's echoed out "Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, greatest country in the world. All other countries are ruled by little girls". The athlete was in fact hearing the spoof national anthem from the comedy film Borat. Two things struck me about the strange scene I was witnessing. The first thing I thought was that was impressed that the athlete kept so disciplined, posing with her hand over her hear, albeit with a look that exhibited concern and confusion. The second thing I pondered was, how seriously should we take national anthems? Should we bother with them at all? I then resolved to answer this question by seeking out as many national anthems as possible and answer those questions. I wondered as I embarked on this strange quest if I would find anything interesting.
Searching out national anthems proved to be gold mine for nerdy facts. The origins of national anthems in many cases tell interesting and varied. The South African National Anthem post apartheid is an African nationalist song fused with an Afrikaaner song, symbolising the joining of two peoples. The Greek National Anthem was written on the eve of Greek independence from Turkey. The Japanese National Anthem's lyrics derives from a poem written nearly 900 years ago making it the oldest anthem in the world. Many national anthems are martial orientated, in that they focus on soldiering and shedding blood. While many of the martial anthems are bland some of them are surprisingly catchy and well written, more on this later. Others like the Mexican national anthem frankly over do the emphasis on killing. All countries rich and poor have an anthem. Some of the poorest ones have an anthem, often with an interesting back story. Thomas Sankara was a modest Marxist dictator by the standards of Africa. He renamed Upper Volta to become Burkina Faso and instituted life saving immunisation programmes. He balanced out this public good with a human rights record that Amnesty International called "appaling". He reportedly had modest possessions including a refrigerator, 4 motor bikes, a bungalow and a guitar. It is with the latter that he wrote Burkina Faso's national anthem "One Single Night". It is interesting as African Marxist anthems go (Angola's is a carbon copy of "Rise Serbia). It sounds a bit like if Brahms swallowed a Communist Manifesto when he was composing "Lullaby". The anthem has lasted to this day, Thomas Sankara however was not so lucky. His Deputy and 'friend' deposed and brutally murdered him. This so called friend rules Burkina Faso to this day.
The national anthems I like the most are either ones that capture a significant historical moment in a nation's history movingly. I also like the ones that try to inject some interesting imagery and actually reflect on the culture of the people the anthem claims to represent. The Polish National Anthem entitled "Poland Has Not Yet Perished" hails from the time the Polish were fighting with Napoleon Bonaparte on his first Italian campaign. While they were helping the French in Italy, the Third Partition of Poland occurred in which Russia, Austria and Prussia annexed the entire country. The anthem written in 1797 (2 years after the partition) was a message of defiance meant to be from the Polish legions, basically saying 'once we are done here we are taking back our home'. I will now highlight three examples; the US, French and German anthems.
The US National Anthem 'The Star Spangled Banner' at first glance just appears to be merely a vainglorious description of the US flag. But describing it as such would be to have no respect for its historic context and the origins of the song that was formerly a poem. The US anthem was written by Francis Scott Key, who was witnessing a time in history when the young US republic was under serious attack. This was the war of 1812 when the UK and the US went to war with each other. The causes of the war were various including UK restrictions on US shipping (to limit trade to Napoleonic France) and the desire of many US politicians to annex Canada. Francis Scott Key witnessed a night attack on Fort McHenry next to Baltimore in 1814. The sense of danger was real to the US, the White House had been burned by the British in a reprisal for the US's allegedly accidental burning of the Canadian capital. And now the US's old enemy and personification of the old world was descending on the East Coast. At the top of Fort McHenry stood a huge Star Spangled Banner several feet in height and width. The song contrasts the ugly and threatening scenes of battle with the majestic looking and seemingly fragile flag. In this was fragile and pure democracy is seen as standing defiantly in the face of old world tyranny. In later years the poem was sung with the tune of a British drinking song, which I have been told has very crude lyrics.
And then
we come to the French National Anthem, “La Marseillaise”. This is quite
simply the Gangster Rap of national anthems. It is ultraviolent, it is
blunt and the description ‘over the top’ doesn’t even do it justice. In
what other anthem would you get blood curdling lyrics about watering your
furrows with the blood of your enemies? The message is very simple: ‘we
are here and we are French and if you have a problem with that, we will crush
you and go on our merry way’. Yet despite everything it works
surprisingly well. It is helped by a memorable tune, the start of which
is sampled in The Beatles song “All You Need is Love”. The Beatles song
lead to an amusing diplomatic misunderstanding when the start of anthem was
heard at a diplomatic reception which UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and French
President Jacque Chiraque were both attending. Hearing the tune Chiraque
automatically stood up and posed with his hand over his heart. Blair
knowing it wasn’t La Marseillaise stood with Chiraque to save him the
embarrassment of standing alone to what turned out to be “All You Need is
Love”.
La
Marseillaise was written in 1792, 3 years into the revolution. At this
point the revolution looked far from secure. The King and Queen having
been brought down from Versailles to Paris by a revolutionary crowd now faced
an uncertain future, after they had made the very unwise decision to attempt to
escape France for Austria. The ancient regimes of Europe were panicking
at the potential for the revolution to spread like a contagion throughout
the continent. The armies of Prussia and Austria strode into the French heartland
batting aside initial resistance. A stand would have to be made against
the armies that made no secret of their intention to snuff out the
revolution. Before the eve of what would be the Battle of Valmy the Mayor
of Strasbourg asked a young officer to come up with a song to stir up the
troops. The result was the Marseillaise, although not yet known by that
name. The name derived from the song’s own success, when the right people
in Paris heard it being sung by troops from none other than Marseille, hence
“La Marseillaise” was born. And what of the Battle of Valmy? The
French routed their enemies and set in process a tragic series of events.
What was initially justified as war in terms of self-defence and the spreading
of the revolution corrupted as the revolution corrupted. I often look
upon the French Revolution as one of history’s lost opportunities, but right
here in this song you see it’s hope and defiance in full view.
Sometimes history conspires to put the legacy
of certain national anthems in jeopardy. Recent concerns about the rise
of Japanese nationalism have led to accusatory fingers pointed at the National
Anthem “Kigimayo” mostly because it just happened to be the anthem that was in
official use during the Japanese Empire. Russia felt obliged to change
their anthem just after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Stalin
era anthem while grandiose and tub thumping was littered with Communist
totalitarian imagery seemed to pale next to its replacement. Unsure about
how to proceed into an uncertain future the Russian Government adopted a piece
of instrumental music as an anthem. The problem was people didn’t like
it. So much so that Russian athletes in one case walked up to President
Vladimir Putin and expressed regret that they didn’t have an anthem so sing
to. For Putin who has long expressed nostalgia the solution was simple;
bring back the old tune and change the lyrics. It was a shrewd move which
allowed Russians a bit of nostalgia and pomp while acknowledging a controversial
past, but not apologising for it. The problem is that many of these calls
against imperialism are either born out of ignorance or uttered by
hypocrites. How can we a country which sings about ruling the waves cry
imperialism? Stones and glass houses spring to mind. The Japanese
anthem, while not particularly to my taste since it is a royal anthem seems
pretty mild content wise next to many states that claimed to suffer under
imperialism. And then there is the interesting case of the German National
Anthem.
The German National Anthem officially “The Song
of the Germans” has long been known by its allegedly controversial lyric
“Deutschland, Deutschland Uber Alles” which translates as “Germany, Germany
above everything”. The rest of that offending stanza repeats “Germany
over everything in the world”. But because of Germany’s recent history,
the Germans have been put in the position were on official occasions it cannot
be sung. Now only the third stanza is sung at official events such as
sporting ones. First of all historically France arguably has a longer
history of violence than Germany, yet do the French change their anthem?
Not in the least. And what of we the UK? A country that owned a
quarter of the world at one point? I challenge doubters to listen to the
song and read it’s lyrics and try not to be moved. While the original
music composition was indeed meant to be an imperial anthem, since it was
composed by Joseph Hadyn for the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the lyrics
were written much later. The lyrics were written in the mid 19th century
by a revolutionary minded German. “Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles”
is not meant to be a call for an invasion but unity. Germany at this
point in time existed in a loose confederation of separate states thanks to its
overlord Austria. This state of affairs was maintained to minimise its
potential for revolution and clamour for liberal reforms (which were introduced
under Napoleon’s occupation). This conservatism was maintained at the
price of unity. So the call is meant to be a call for a greater
fatherland and brotherhood over everything, including the rule of kings that
benefitted from this system. These ideals were expressed in the abortive
revolutions in 1848. However it wasn’t until Otto Von Bismarck came to
prominence that this greater Germany was united, and Imperial Germany was born
in 1871. Albeit this was accomplished through several wars and not the
popular revolution that the author of the anthem seemed to favour.
Overall I like ‘The Song of the Germans’ because it is moving, dramatic
and also hopeful. It seems to stay moving without dwelling on violence,
instead reflecting on Germany’s people and culture. German women, song
and even drink is mentioned. I believe this is the way anthems are
supposed to be written, hence why this is one of my highest rated anthems.
I have
spent much time reflecting on the National Anthems of foreign nations, now it
is time to say a few choice words about my country’s own anthem “God Save The
Queen”. ‘God Save The Queen’ is quite simply an embarrassment. It
is empty and soulless and it is a lost opportunity. It barely mentions
our country at all, almost as an afterthought. Of course I am biased,
since this is my own humble opinion. But after the anthems I have been talking
to about I think it still shows what a rich tapestry of songs ours lies
against. Good anthems are stories and banners for noble principles;
whether it is preserving freedom against overwhelming odds or waiting for many
years till a people can finally have their own country. Anthems reflect
on the history of their peoples as well as he characteristics of the people
themselves and their lives. None of this is in our anthem. Our
anthem isn’t a celebration of a country, it’s a rather soulless dedication to a
personality cult. Some people stand up and sing when the national anthem
is playing and hold their hand to their hearts. I on the other hand use
it as a valuable opportunity to shift in my chair and scratch the itches out of
the cheeks of my backside. As far as I am concerned it is not our anthem,
it is theirs.
Britain
and all it is, is notably absent from our anthem. Our authors and
playwrights who have helped to define our language. Our pioneering
achievements in engineering, including Stonehenge that helped make the earliest
foreign tribes look to Britain in awe. Our music which has inspired
legions of fans throughout the world. Our inventions of sports that
endure massive followings in far flung corners of the globe. The waves of
immigration and occupations that have all left their mark on our country, from
Roman roads to old sayings. Our history of fighting for freedom, which is
still ongoing. Our weather which we can’t seem to stop talking
about. And most importantly our resilience in the face of all odds and
our determination to make our own destiny.
Our anthem
doesn’t come close to capturing any of that. But I hope it will one day.
