BACKSTORIES - NATIONAL ANTHEMS

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LA MARCELLAISE:

"La Marseillaise"is the national anthem of France. It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin". The song acquired its nickname after being sung in Paris by Fédéré (volunteers) from Marseille marching to the capital.

The French National Convention adopted it as the First Republic's anthem in 1795.

The anthem, a response to Prussian and Austrian invasion, contains verses such as:

Verse 1:

Let's go children of the fatherland,

The day of glory has arrived!

Against us tyranny's

Bloody flag is raised! (repeat)

In the countryside, do you hear

The roaring of these fierce soldiers?

They come right to our arms

To slit the throats of our sons, our friends!

Refrain:

Grab your weapons, citizens!

Form your battalions!

Let us march! Let us march!

May impure blood

Water our fields!

Verse 2:

This horde of slaves, traitors, plotting kings,

What do they want?

For whom these vile shackles,

These long-prepared irons? (repeat)

Frenchmen, for us, oh! what an insult!

What emotions that must excite!

It is us that they dare to consider

Returning to ancient slavery!

The full version features seven verses – but at most sporting events, teams tend to sing just the first verse and chorus.

"The Departure of the volunteers of 1792" (a.k.a. La Marseillaise), sculpture on the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, Paris, France.

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STAR SPANGLED BANNER:

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort after the battle.

In the middle of the conflict between the British and the Americans was the Battle of Baltimore. The battle took place on both sea and land from September 12 to September 14, 1814. The main defense of the city, Fort McHenry, sat just south of the city's harbor. The harbor itself was blocked by scuttled craft and a very big chain. As lawyer Francis Scott Key watched from a nearby American ship on September 13, British forces attempted to break through by bombarding the fort.

After 25 hours of artillery fire, Key was astonished to see that the fort was still intact and flying the American flag. He was so inspired by his experience that he wrote a set of lyrics that eventually became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a social club in London. Smith's song, "To Anacreon in Heaven" (or "The Anacreontic Song"), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. This setting, renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", soon became a popular patriotic song. With a range of 19 semitones, it is known for being very difficult to sing, in part because the melody sung today is the soprano part. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today with the second to fourth being rarely sung.

Verse 1:

O 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 through the night that our flag was still there;

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was first recognised for official use by the United States Navy in 1889. On March 3, 1931, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution making the song the official national anthem of the United States, which President Herbert Hoover signed into law.

The large Star Spangled Banner Flag that inspired the lyrics of the US national anthem when it flew above Fort McHenry in the 1814 Battle of Baltimore. Shown here on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of History and Technology, around 1964. Many pieces were cut off the flag and given away as souvenirs early during its history. A linen backing, attached in 1914, shows the original extent of the flag.

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GOD SAVE THE KING:

"God Save the King" (alternatively "God Save the Queen" when the British monarch is female) is the de facto national anthem of the United Kingdom, one of two national anthems of New Zealand, and the royal anthem of the Isle of Man, Canada and some other Commonwealth realms. The author of the tune is unknown but an attribution to the composer John Bull has sometimes been made.

Beyond its first verse, which is consistent, "God Save the King" has many historic and various versions. Since its first publication, different verses have been added and taken away and, even today, different publications include various selections of verses in various orders In general, only one verse is sung.

The entire composition is the musical salute for the British monarch and royal consort, while other members of the royal family who are entitled to royal salute (such as the Prince of Wales, along with his spouse) receive just the first six bars.

Verse 1:

God save our gracious King,

Long live our noble King,

God save the King!

Send him victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us,

God save the King !

Verse 2:

O Lord our God arise,

Scatter our* enemies,

And make them fall!

Confound their politics,

Frustrate their knavish tricks,

On Thee our hopes we fix,

God save us all!

In countries not part of the British Empire, the tune of "God Save the King" has provided the basis for various patriotic songs, ones generally connected with royal ceremony. The melody is used for the national anthem of Liechtenstein, "Oben am jungen Rhein"; the royal anthem of Norway, "Kongesangen"; and the American patriotic song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" (also known as "America").

England has no official national anthem of its own; "God Save the King" is treated as the English national anthem when England is represented at sporting events (though there are some exceptions to this rule, such as cricket where "Jerusalem" is used).

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ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR:

Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born Australian composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed as a patriotic song in Australia in 1878.

It replaced "God Save the Queen" as the official national anthem by the Whitlam government in 1974, following an indicative opinion survey. The subsequent Fraser government reinstated "God Save the Queen" as the national anthem in January 1976 alongside three other "national songs": "Advance Australia Fair", "Waltzing Matilda" and "Song of Australia".

Later in 1977 a plebiscite to choose the "national song" preferred "Advance Australia Fair". This was subsequently proclaimed the national anthem in 1984 by the Hawke government. "God Save the Queen" became the royal anthem (later "God Save the King" on the accession of King Charles III), and is used at public engagements attended by the King or members of the royal family.

The lyrics of the 1984 version of "Advance Australia Fair" were significantly modified from McCormick's original, only retaining a now gender neutral version of the first verse and using a second verse first sung in 1901 at Federation. In January 2021, the official lyrics were changed once again, in recognition of the long habitation of Indigenous Australians.

Verse 1:

Australians all let us rejoice,

For we are one 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!

Changes:

- When I was young the opening words were “Australia’s sons let us rejoice . . . “, now “Australians all . . . “

- The words “we are one and free” were originally “we are young and free”, changed to reflect long time indigenous habitation of the land.

The fourth line of the anthem, "our home is girt by sea", has been criticised for using the archaic word "girt". It means surrounded, as someone has pointed out, could you imagine the police telling a crim "Come out, we have you girted."

Additionally, the lyrics and melody of the Australian national anthem have been criticised as being dull and unendearing to the Australian people. National Party senator Sandy Macdonald said in 2001 that "'Advance Australia Fair' is so boring that the nation risks singing itself to sleep, with boring music and words impossible to understand". In 2011, former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett called for "I Am Australian" to become Australia's national anthem.

In his paper How Fair is Fair: The Colour of Justice in Australia's official anthem, writer and academic, Christopher Kelen argues that the kind of 'fairness' being repeated with every rendition of the chorus is specifically about the civilising process of the white man. Kelen suggests that either use of the word 'fair'; beautiful, just or white, the main point the song makes by 'rejoicing' the advancement of Australia is one of the Terra Nullius myth, where we don't want to acknowledge a time before our European coming.