National anthem

[Greywolf]

Personally, I just think the French lyrics are more inspiring and convey a stronger sense of patriotism. 

 

[Big Foot]

I think we're forgetting the bilingual version in this poll...

 

[old medic]

I have several versions of The Maple Leaf Forever on my computer.
That's the only real national anthem in my book.

 

[Jonny Boy]

In Days of yore,
From Britain's shore
Wolfe the dauntless hero came
And planted firm Britannia's flag
On Canada's fair domain.
Here may it wave,
Our boast, our pride
And joined in love together,
The thistle, shamrock, rose entwined,
The Maple Leaf Forever.

what a wonderful song.  it is so inspiering and patriotic. every chance my dad gets to play his pipes for my cadet corp he always playes MLF when the canadian flag is being carried in.

i mean compare that to this

O Canada!
Our Home and native land.
True patriot love,
In all thy sons comand.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free.
From far and wide,
O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land
Glorious and free,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee

hell here is a site that has o canada god save the queen MLF, and a Unofficial french anthem.

http://www.canadaka.net/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=4

 

[LordVagabond]

I must say, I think the best "Anthem" I heard was when I was at a Royal Canadian Highlanders bagpipe presentation (one of those things you go to when you're young and the military is doing a lot of promoting and such) and out of the blue, a MCpl started playing Highland Cathedral. There was a Scottish flag and a Canadian flag side by side behing him and I was like "wow.... that just.. fits...." 

Then again, Maple Leaf Forever on the pipes is a right good piece too 

 

[larry Strong]

Personally, I like our old 'anthem' (it was never official), The Maple Leaf Forever. I found the lyrics more inspiring then O Canada. Our current anthem just doesn't seem to have much of a...'punch' to it.  

Of course not it's a funeral dirge. And I am not saying the death of the country, it's just that most countries have a more martial sounding anthem.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

In Days of yore,
From Britain's shore
Wolfe the dauntless hero came
And planted firm Britannia's flag

what a wonderful song.   it is so inspiering and patriotic. every chance my dad gets to play his pipes for my cadet corp he always playes MLF when the canadian flag is being carried in.

hell here is a site that has o canada god save the queen MLF, and a Unofficial french anthem.

Your choice of wonderful, inspirational, patriotic song brings to my mind the good old days of Empire, black men in chains, and taxation without representation - lovely.  Or, tyranny, as it was once called.

You would think by hearing that song that the British built Canada singlehandedly.  Would come as a shock to my Ukrainian ancestors.  Ever wonder what those funny looking churches with the crooked cross on top signify, in Edmonton, Calgary, Regina or Winnipeg?  It ain't the British Empire. 

A national anthem that marginalizes huge swaths of the population seems to defeat the purpose of having a "national" anthem to begin with.

 

[x-grunt]

I have several versions of The Maple Leaf Forever on my computer.
That's the only real national anthem in my book.

It's a great tune, but as was politely pointed out to me in another thread, it's also really anglo-centric, do the French not count? They are one of the founding peoples too. What about the First Peoples? We are a blended nation, let's reflect that in our patriotic songs. ( Okay, we are not really "blended", more like stuck together with duct tape. Still...)

I have no problem with O Canada. Not the greatest sounding song, and I prefer the original lyrics,( just because I was raised with them, sang them every morning in public school ) but it is our song and that means something.

Edit: Well said, Michael, you beat me to it and said it better.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Edit: Well said, Michael, you beat me to it and said it better.

No, I think you did it better than me, and you even used "anglo-centric."  AND mentioned the First Nations.  I like O Canada, and like it even better after they added "God" to the lyrics.  I know the long-time anthem singer at the Montreal Forum (can't remember his name) sang the "God" lyrics - but can't remember if they officially changed it because of him? 

 

[2 Cdo]

Once again , more PC nonsense. The fact of the matter is that the British and the French settled Canada, took it by force from the natives and then the British defeated the French. Other cultures came to Canada AFTER the fact in order to do better for themselves than their old country could offer.
Revisionist history is becoming more prevalent in society and seems to be creeping onto this forum. History is history and cannot be changed, regardless of peoples intentions.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Once again , more PC nonsense. The fact of the matter is that the British and the French settled Canada, took it by force from the natives and then the British defeated the French. Other cultures came to Canada AFTER the fact in order to do better for themselves than their old country could offer.
Revisionist history is becoming more prevalent in society and seems to be creeping onto this forum. History is history and cannot be changed, regardless of peoples intentions.

And the railroad was built by little yellow men, too.   When did Britain and France conquer the new world?   The 1600 and 1700s.   And we've been adding people to the mix ever since.   You may argue that European (or Asian) immigration didn't start in earnest until the late 1800s, but we are rapidly approaching the point where we have much more history after the British and French went it alone (and that's not entirely true, they had plenty of help from the First Nations people here) than before.  

Point being, having a "National Anthem" that celebrates the founding races (or in this case, just one of them - one out of two, if you discount the First Nations, or one out of dozens if you count each tribe, as well as the Inuit who still control vast tracts of the north) really doesn't enfranchise much of either your population or your history.   The British and French battle for domination of North America was important to creating the nation - but by no means the last word.   I wonder if the number of Ukrainian, German and Chinese immigrants to Canada after 1900 doesn't outnumber the total number of British soldiers who actually saw combat here during our formative years.


History is interpretation.  And interpretations DO get revised.  A German historian writing in 1944, even if completely impartial politically (which would have been quite a feat) would describe the war in Russia much differently from a historian writing in 2004.  We're all the product of our environment.

 

[2 Cdo]

"Marganalize" and "enfranchise", two PC buzzwords. Just about what I thought. You probably believe the McKenna brothers version of WW2 that somehow we, the allies, were the horrible bad guys by bombing German industrial centers. REVISIONIST history as I've stated is in line with your thinking. Refuting facts and adding PC values to actions in the past is what causes people to forget their past.

 

[Jonny Boy]

  I like O Canada, and like it even better after they added "God" to the lyrics.  

why? not all canadians even the ones that founded canada belived in god.

i do strongly belive that the national anthem should be about the 3 main founders of this country. there are so many different versions of MLF why not make one with stuff about the british, french , and natives. those 3 founded this country, they fought for this country when it was invaded in 1812, if it wernt for them this would probobly not be Canada.

Once again , more PC nonsense. The fact of the matter is that the British and the French settled Canada, took it by force from the natives and then the British defeated the French. Other cultures came to Canada AFTER the fact in order to do better for themselves than their old country could offer.
Revisionist history is becoming more prevalent in society and seems to be creeping onto this forum. History is history and cannot be changed, regardless of peoples intentions.

beautifuly said.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

"Marganalize" and "enfranchise", two PC buzzwords. Just about what I thought. You probably believe the McKenna brothers version of WW2 that somehow we, the allies, were the horrible bad guys by bombing German industrial centers. REVISIONIST history as I've stated is in line with your thinking. Refuting facts and adding PC values to actions in the past is what causes people to forget their past.

New interpretations.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you honestly advocating the idea that it is much better to be part of a repressive conquering regime, than it is to escape one and live in peace?  Your words:

The fact of the matter is that the British and the French settled Canada, took it by force from the natives and then the British defeated the French. Other cultures came to Canada AFTER the fact in order to do better for themselves than their old country could offer

Cause I thought the justification we gave for tens of thousands of dead Canadians in France, Flanders, Hong Kong, Italy, Normandy, the Low Countries, Germany and Korea was that it is much better to put an end to repressive conquering regimes, and that what made us Canadian was the fact that we weren't one ourselves. ???

But now you want to sing about one as if we were one too, once upon a time?  Seems rather silly to me.  And the Quakers, Hutterites, Ukrainians, Germans, Scots-Irish, Dutch, Chinese, Russians, Austro-Hungarians et al who came to Canada are somehow less important than the British simply because they wore uniforms and killed people?  I don't know - a British soldier living in a barracks with his friends, three squares provided to him and a ticket home when his tour is up, seems at odds with the image of the immigrant who builds a house out of sod and is obliged to live in it for the rest of his days, never knowing if the next drought will finish him and his family off, knowing he won't ever return to his country of origin even if he wanted to.  My hat is off to both the soldiers, and the immigrants - what a pity that our national anthem wouldn't do the same given some of the comments here.

A visit to my website will hopefully show you what I think of the McKenna's interpretation of history.   They are entitled to it, just as veterans and historians are entitled to point out how wrong they are.   See my review of THE VALOR AND THE HORROR REVISITED to see where I stand on that issue.   You are creating what is called a strawman, and introducing irrelevancies into the discussion.   My opinion of the Combined Bomber Offensive is irrelevant to this discussion, as is my opinion of Canadian generalship in Normandy - though to answer your question directly, I think the McKenna's were grotesquely incorrect in their presentation in many matters of fact and overall conclusions.   Even had they broadcast that Ivor Novello is still alive, they couldn't have been more wrong.

 

[2 Cdo]

Once again you put words and thoughts into someone elses mind. Show me where I stated that I believe it to be better as part of a repressive regime. I stated a FACT, and yes societies change, and not always for the better. To try and deny the facts of the past is just ignorance and the result is usually the "dumbing down" of citizens.
As for interpretations are you denying that immigrants from anywhere did not come here to better themselves?
Looking forward to your double talk as usual.

 

[Greywolf]

Hmm, are we still talking about the national anthem...?

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Once again you put words and thoughts into someone elses mind. Show me where I stated that I believe it to be better as part of a repressive regime. I stated a FACT, and yes societies change, and not always for the better. To try and deny the facts of the past is just ignorance and the result is usually the "dumbing down" of citizens.
As for interpretations are you denying that immigrants from anywhere did not come here to better themselves?
Looking forward to your double talk as usual.

That immigrants came HERE to better themselves is not only exactly what I said, but my point entirely.

Your facts are impeccable - we are talking about interpretation of same.   Yes, Britain took Canada by force.   Huzzah and hurrah for their military.   Boo to the filthy frogs. etc.    However, equally important - and increasingly more important as time goes on - are the immigrants who came to this country to follow up what they started, and to do so with a somewhat more pure moral compass.   The Canadians that died face down in the muck with guts blown out at the Hitler Line or Little Gibraltar were doing so not for conquest, but to set others free.

Or even better, look at the medical care we give our citizens, the educational opportunities, the ability to visit the rest of the world unrestricted (try that under Stalin), the scientific breakthroughs we achieved (pace maker to space arm) and you really think that a national anthem (yes, this is still about the anthem Greywolf) should only talk about what some guys in red coats and breeches did at Quebec in 1759?   My Canada is about far more than that, and like it or not, 90 percent of Canadians wouldn't know what happened in 1759, nor little care in comparison to who is paying for their next prescription.

O Canada seems to sum it up nicely for me.   Sing about dauntless Wolfe all you like, he's just some dead guy in tights as far as most of the rest of us are concerned.   I still get choked up when I hear O Canada - and the point is that EVERY CANADIAN should be able to - whether he sees Wolfe in his minds eye, or the Vimy memorial, his last beer, or even if the music makes him think how shitty it was in Manila and glad he's not there any more.   One Canada, one song - for everyone to take pride in.  

If your national anthem makes you, as a Frenchman, think about how your culture and people were defeated 250 years ago - umm, is that really what you want it to be doing?   Or makes you as a Cambodian  wonder "who the hell was this Wolfe character" - what is the point?

I do like the American national anthem as well.   They come from a more stictly defined historical myth, and oddly enough all can buy into it - or at least more easily than Canada.   All national anthems are based on myth.   Deutschlandlied tells the same sort of lies, doesn't it?   The US myth is borderline exclusive too but vague enough that even the disenfranchised blacks (who were coming to the new world in chains despite the "rockets red glare" - certainly wan't THEIR rights the minutemen were fighting for) might buy into it.   But the Canadian myth is way too complex, and really, the most palatable one is the one we created after Vimy Ridge - that we fight for freedom and inclusiveness.   Wolfe had nothing to do with that.

But tell us, 2 CDO - what is a national anthem supposed to do, perhaps we are simply sparring over definitions here.

 

[Scratch_043]

there is no option in the poll for the mixed version, I think it is first vers eng. second vers french, or something

 

[Jonny Boy]

yes it is. sad but true

 

[2 Cdo]

You asked a question of me which IMPLIED that I had a problem with the anthem. As a matter of fact I have no problem with the anthem(albeit it really is not as stirring as some others) what I have a problem with is people who are politically correct! You also IMPLIED that I wished to live under a repressive regime, again I said no such thing.
What I did say is I really cannot stand people who choose to ignore our history, or to change our history through interpretations with present day contexts. I'm glad that we agree on why immigrants came to this country(which is what I stated earlier) and that you stated that my facts were impeccable ;D. That comes from YEARS of studying the history of our fine nation.
So in closing you MISUNDERSTOOD what I was saying and then IMPLIED that I was saying something else. Something to think about in future posts methinks.
Also received your PM and would like to know if you received my reply as my computer was acting up earlier today.