Canada's National Anthem - PC changes
- Thread starter westmanguy
- Start date
Not only that, but the forum is not "heavily dominated" by conservatives. Most of the members that post regularly are pretty central. There are some hardcore Liberals as well as some hardcore Conservatives. Sir Porker is thinking from the same place Gliberalman thinks from except farther up the chute.
I looked back to previous versions of O Canada and actually found one i liked, written by a Dr. Richardson in the early 1900s and with as clear a provenance to the words as any other.
Dr. Richardson's Version
O Canada! Our fathers' land of old
Thy brow is crown'd with leaves of red and gold.
Beneath the shade of the Holy Cross
Thy children own their birth
No stains thy glorious annals gloss
Since valour shield thy hearth.
Almighty God! On thee we call
Defend our rights, forfend this nation's thrall,
Defend our rights, forfend this nation's thrall.
But that is not what Harper's government had in mind. What they wanted was an insipid genderless, and 'God' less version, in a crass attempt to appeal to a political demographic, in women or new immigrants.
It goes to show just shows how shallow, contrived and the extent to which this government is willing to compromise on principle, even with something as fundamental as national symbols.
And with the nation overwhelming opposed, they skulk away in the low news glare of a Friday night press release.
Dr. Richardson's Version
O Canada! Our fathers' land of old
Thy brow is crown'd with leaves of red and gold.
Beneath the shade of the Holy Cross
Thy children own their birth
No stains thy glorious annals gloss
Since valour shield thy hearth.
Almighty God! On thee we call
Defend our rights, forfend this nation's thrall,
Defend our rights, forfend this nation's thrall.
But that is not what Harper's government had in mind. What they wanted was an insipid genderless, and 'God' less version, in a crass attempt to appeal to a political demographic, in women or new immigrants.
It goes to show just shows how shallow, contrived and the extent to which this government is willing to compromise on principle, even with something as fundamental as national symbols.
And with the nation overwhelming opposed, they skulk away in the low news glare of a Friday night press release.
I agree to a point. This party's gov't seems to be trying to become the last party's gov't when it tries crap like this. Martin's gov't would also pull the dumbest crap in order to gain popularity among minorities besides being stupid and trying to nanny everyone. This gov't seems to want to annoy everyone. In effect, there is very little difference between them.
Both the OP and the poll are somewhat misleading, and so I can't vote in the poll. The Conservative Party was not proposing to create new verses for the anthem, but rather return to Weir's original verses which happened to be more gender-neutral. I always thought going back was a conservative trait, so it would seem to me that going back to Weir's original verses would be very much in line with conservative thinking.
Well, wifey already emailed the gov't and asked them if there's nothing more important that needs "fixing" than the anthem. I echo her sentiments. With all that is wrong with the country now, they want to waste money to "fix" the anthem? Bloody lunacy.
Canadian Heritage - National Anthem: O Canada
Weir's original:
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love thou dost in us command.
We see thee rising fair, dear land,
The True North, strong and free;
And stand on guard, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada!
O Canada! 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!
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western Sea,
Our own beloved native land!
Our True North, strong and free!
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion within 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.
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
Now of course if you wanted something going even further back as an English version more similar to the original French version, there is also the Richardson version:
O Canada! Our fathers' land of old
Thy brow is crown'd with leaves of red and gold.
Beneath the shade of the Holy Cross
Thy children own their birth
No stains thy glorious annals gloss
Since valour shield thy hearth.
Almighty God! On thee we call
Defend our rights, forfend this nation's thrall,
Defend our rights, forfend this nation's thrall.
It's the English version that comes closest to the French original that I've seen so far. A direct translation from French reads:
O Canada! Land of our forefathers
Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers.
As in thy arm ready to wield the sword,
So also is it ready to carry the cross.
Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits.
Ch.
Thy valour steeped in faith
Will protect our homes and our rights
Will protect our homes and our rights.
Richardson's version was also sung by soldiers during WWI by the way. So in effect, Canad has a tradition of revising its national anthem.
Probably the simplest solution would be to just de-officialize it.
Weir's original:
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love thou dost in us command.
We see thee rising fair, dear land,
The True North, strong and free;
And stand on guard, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada!
O Canada! 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!
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western Sea,
Our own beloved native land!
Our True North, strong and free!
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion within 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.
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
Now of course if you wanted something going even further back as an English version more similar to the original French version, there is also the Richardson version:
O Canada! Our fathers' land of old
Thy brow is crown'd with leaves of red and gold.
Beneath the shade of the Holy Cross
Thy children own their birth
No stains thy glorious annals gloss
Since valour shield thy hearth.
Almighty God! On thee we call
Defend our rights, forfend this nation's thrall,
Defend our rights, forfend this nation's thrall.
It's the English version that comes closest to the French original that I've seen so far. A direct translation from French reads:
O Canada! Land of our forefathers
Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers.
As in thy arm ready to wield the sword,
So also is it ready to carry the cross.
Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits.
Ch.
Thy valour steeped in faith
Will protect our homes and our rights
Will protect our homes and our rights.
Richardson's version was also sung by soldiers during WWI by the way. So in effect, Canad has a tradition of revising its national anthem.
Probably the simplest solution would be to just de-officialize it.
When has Canada's image ever been stable? It's been in constant evolution. First, the First Nations and Inuit, then the French, then the English, then other settlers, especially Loyalists, and before our identity had a chance to establish itself, we were then thrust into globalization with the advent of modern technology. We've been in a constant state of flux. So when do you propose we freeze frame?
Yes, and god Save the Queen had undergone an evolution too., with some offensive aspects dropped out over time.
And the Star Spangled Banner has no beginning? It would seem that it too has variants and had undergone evolution over the eyars:
The Star-Spangled Banner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
God Save the Queen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Seems it's got a few versions too. It was also modified in the last century for by Baden Powell and others to make it more appropriate for the Scout movement and other contexts where older versions could be offensive. Again, where do you propose the UK freeze frame?
Wassa matter SJP? Are you the only one authorized to speak for others?
BTW.... Poll on the Forum is a fair indication.
But the poll is flawed. I can't vote i it because I'd choose another answer: de-officialize it. Besides, the UK's, England's, and Sweden's national anthems aren't official. In fact, England has a few contending anthems. If we should de-officialize it, then it would truly be in the hands of the people.
Judging by the number of anthems we'd gone through, and that they were proposing re-instating an older version, the question of tradition becomes a little ambiguous, no?
Yes, the US was born out of the iniquity of previous generations of Stanleys,
Can we please move on....
So if you're looking for a religious anthem, then what about Lord of the Lands:
Lord of the Lands
Or you might even prefer:
YouTube - Charlotte Church The Lord's Prayer
I guess we did but we have thick skins. Sometimes you have to go the extra mile with people, once in a blue moon it pays off.
Quite so, juan. And my guess is that the hue and cry came mostly from Harper supporters, Harper wouldn't care what his non supporters think.
But as I said before, if the idea is discussed often enough, changes probably will be made. Next time it is discussed, it may be by a Liberal government, and they woulnd't care what Conservative supporters think about it.
So I for one am glad it was at least brought up. I think the change is coming, it is a question of when, not if.