Royal Anthems and National Hymns

The Star Spangled Banner was adopted by Congress and signed into law as the US National Anthem in 1931. Another song, My Country 'tis of Thee, was written 100 years before the official anthem's adoption, and became a rival contender for official recognition. The first and best known of its seven-plus verses is:

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From every mountainside

Let freedom ring!

This is sung to the tune of God Save the Queen/King which was Canada's anthem by default until Parliament adopted O Canada! as the Canadian national anthem in 1980. God Save the Queen has since been rebranded as Canada's "royal anthem."

My Country 'tis of Thee is still sung periodically in the US, most recently by Aretha Franklin at the January 20, 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama. From time to time, there are efforts made to adopt it or another patriotic song as a "national hymn" to stand along side the national anthem.

Another candidate for a US national hymn is America the Beautiful, written in 1893. It has continued to be one of the most popular American patriotic songs, and was actively promoted for official status during the years of the John F. Kennedy administration.

"L'hymne national" is the French equivalent of "national anthem." Canada's national anthem is a hymn, originally written to John the Baptizer. Landings on Canadian soil by French and English backed explorers occurred on the Saint's day (June 24): at Saint John's, Newfoundland by John Cabot (Giovanni Cabotto) in 1497, and at Saint John, New Brunswick by Samuel de Champlain in 1603.

Out of this synchronicity the Baptizer became Canada's patron saint. This forerunner of Jesus of Nazareth had proclaimed a non-racial citizenship with social justice, and adopted as his manifesto "Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness"--themes that fitted Canada to a tee!

On Saint Jean-Baptiste Day 1880 a specially commissioned song was first performed in French. Although various English language versions were attempted, the first to attract widespread attention was sung in 1908, the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec. It was originally Quebec's anthem in an otherwise English speaking country that then sang "God Save the King."

By World War I it surpassed in popularity the leading English language patriotic song of the time, The Maple Leaf Forever. Today's official English language version has undergone two minor revisions.

A more explicitly religious version in English, Lord of the Lands, was composed in 1917 and made it into a number of English language hymn books. It ends with the petition, "Lord of the lands, make Canada thine own!"

The national hymns and anthems we’ve cited so far fall broadly into two types. Some commemorate an event or series of events, such as the battles referred to in The Star Spangled Banner or the French words of O Canada. Others are generic appeals to the divine or the country itself, such as My Country, ‘Tis of Thee and the English words of O Canada.

A third type of national song focuses on the geography of our countries in its variation and splendor. We’ll look at some of these tomorrow.