Tiel, many people posted on this thread, and mentioned many anthems. Yet (as you often do) you chose to single out Israel for sole condemnation.

I heard the Russian Anthem in the 1972 Canada/Russia hockey series when I was a young lad. It moved me so much, I remember wanting it as our own. I don't know the words but just love to hear it sung. I think it is a very proud song. I'll catch the start of the Hunt For Red October just to hear them sing it in the sub. It's the best part of the movie.
Please tell me that learning "Waltzing Matilda" in Grade School was not in vein. Is it still a contender when the time comes to make a change?
I don't know if there are any I don't like. I know it's all in good fun but I don't think in terms of a bad National Anthem. I just have respect for what they mean. Heck, there's no sense in getting hooked on an Anthem good or bad, 'cause if they are anything like Canada they seem to change so often. I never thought that some were so bad they could reduce someone to tears. After watching the last Olympics there seems to be a lot of bad ones out there.
As for the Canadian Anthems, I can sing all 3 of them. French, English and Bilingual. Most Canadians can sing the English version without looking at the karaoke words scrolled on the scoreboard. If you have enough Anthems, someone from another country is bound to like it. They get goose bumps when they hear it at an important moment in time. The difference is that they seldom get a tear and that shows ownership.
I love how the Soccer World has there own "Team Songs"(?) that they sing in the stands. Looks like great fun! I think these are a little more appropriate kind of songs to sing at a sporting event but that is a whole other thread.
Qwiz

Totally agree with Tabby Tom - God Save the Queen - it's mercifully SHORT! (even with all the verses).
The French anthem - always turns into All you Need is Love before they start singing.
The German Anthem - reminds me of being in Church (Hymn Tune)
The USA Anthem - Someone else said it - it's unsingable!
The Australian Anthem - Nice song shame they chose it over Waltzing Matilda by Rolf Harris (I can get away with anything this week-end!(LOL))

A few more:

Armenia- pretty bad.
Bangladesh- very pretty words (how many anthems make special mention of mangoes?), tune is pretty but very not-catchy.
Croatia- words are okay, tune is pretty catchy but nothing special.
Cuba- suicidal words, okay tune.
Ghana- good words (I like anthems that talk about building something rather than killing people), catchy tune.
Haiti- another suicidal anthem about how "to die is a fine thing", and the tune is bland.
Kyrgyzstan- either that was a particularly bad rendition, or that was the most tuneless, rhythmless piece of "music" I've ever heard.
Lesotho- words are boring but at least they aren't killing anyone, tune is very average.
Libya- another murderous one: "With faith and with weapons I shall defend my country", "The enemy's army is coming, wishing to destroy me. With truth and with my gun I shall repulse him. And should I be killed, I would kill him with me". It's called "Allahu Akbar", btw. I really liked the tune though. Very catchy and upbeat, and more original than most.
Lithuania- very typical "anthemish" tune.
Madagascar- unoriginal lyrics, unoriginal tune.
Mauritania- tune is more original than most, and quite good.
Philippines- typical but upbeat tune, the lyrics start out well but end in more dying: "But it is glory ever when thou art wronged for us, thy sons, to suffer and die".
Saudi Arabia- boring tune. (Words are unavailable, but I assume they're about the greatness of Allah, or killing the infidels or something).
Senegal- relatively original, but not good.
Ireland- words are quite nice (and not at all racist, despite what some may claim), tune is also nice.
Wales- tune is not very original, but quite pleasant.

What about the Italian anthem? I have never heard any words, but then I don't speak Italian so they would be meaningless. I have just heard the tune played, many times, when Shumie wins grand prix and it sounds like a nice catchy sort of tune, I like the way it seems to be two tunes tied together.

The German one is the same tune as my old school hymn, just different words.

Last year when I was in Rome I suddenly ended up in a crowd singing the Italian national anthem while watching the changing of the guard. It was very very impressive to hear it been sung by so many people, accompanied by a military band!

Five songs which would make a better National Anthem than "God Save the Queen":

- "I'm in the mood for dancing" by the Nolans
- "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" by Baccarat
- The theme tune from "Eastenders"
- "The Frog Chorus" by Paul Macartney
- "Ain't Gonna Bump No More, with no Big Fat Woman" by Joe Tex.

Those would really stir the national mood.

I have not seen the Chinese national Anthem mentioned and it really is a very jolly tune, but it is usually played at double the speed of that on Bertho's link
I love Cuba's , so rousing! So why do oppressed places get the best tunes? (Indonesia's is super too)

The first verse of the British anthem is the only one usually sung. The second verse gets more interesting:

2. O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all!

We are watching out for your knavish tricks, so be warned. We also keep a special eye on the Scots who have always been troublesome:

6. Lord grant that Marshal Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
And like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the King!

I don't think that God saving the queen, of all people, should be the main thought of everybody singing the British national anthem. Even though I haven't heard it, I think the people of Britain today have greater priorities than having God save the queen. Why not God save some poor cancer patient?

Even though I am not a Brit and haven't heard the national anthem, I don't see why it should have anything at all to do with the queen.

Harish - As a number of the other "serious posts" above have said - if you look at the national anthems of countries you will find "long live the emporer/republic/country/person/organisation/youname it it's ok!"" in the words. I can see the objections for subjugated countries for not accepting the anthem of the country ruling them but the English Anthem is the anthem of Queen(or King) and Country. Anthems are the rallying call to patriotism -(Military history alongside the Flag!) - anyone can criticise the musical taste of the anthem but you cannot criticise the patriotism of it - if you are a patriot then you accept the anthem for what it is not what it literally says

Oh Boy! Do I disagree with this one Fosse4. All those posts by Cool, CB, snm, roo, DN, Diehard and Jax which I disagreed with never got close to winding me up. You and this post on the other hand have got me fire engine red with rage, with steam pouring out of both ears and a palsy of about ten on the Richter scale!

1) GSTQ is British national anthem not the English which I just read is "land of hope and glory".
2) In the sense that we the people (or at least our ancestors) surrendered the English Commonwealth to a monarchy and we are still a monarchy and not a true democracy Britons are indeed a subjugated, not to say servile people.
3) I am a patriot. I stand for the UK and her people (and Europe and Europeans as well to a lesser extent) but I totally reject the monarchy and what GSTQ stand for. The anthem can be seen on no other level than an exhortation to continue supporting an unjust and divisive form of government. Indeed the very concept of monarchy is a slap in the face to patriotism.
4) GSTG is horribly, horribly racist.
5) If there should be a God it sure does not care about Lizzy one way or t'other so the whole anthem is a lie.


PS: ren33 is right the Cuban tune is not half bad.

Jeez, Tiel, I probably hate the Brit "royal family" more than you do, but didn't a little something-or-other happen in 1689 or one of those years there which kind of limited their power?

Nonetheless, I say what was sauce for King Charles the First should also be sauce for the present bunch of parasites... I mean "royals."

However, "God Save Our Parliament" throws the meter of the whole thing out of whack.

Tielhard - I do accept your viewpoint - take away the words (there are a couple of anthems with no words!) and there would be no controversy. Call the tune "England Forever" and there would be no argument.(after all we did take tune from a different source, and the Americans sing a different song to it!)
I'm not a Royalist but the thought of President Blair !!!!!

The worst national anthem? Surely it's "God Save the Queen" ... The music is extremely boring, and as has been pointed out, the original words are a product of the suppression of the 1745-46 Jacobite Rebellion and seem to be anti-Scottish. Worse still, having such an inane song as national anthemn suggests the British are given to grovelling sycophantically to - what at the time of the Coronation - some older people referred to with trembling voice as 'our right liege Lady'.

That said, most national anthemns are appalling. The only one of real musical merit is the "Marseillaise". As for the German national anthemn, the music (from the old Austrian dynastic anthemn) is o.k. but it's dance tune and ill suited to a national anthemn.

"England: Land of Hope and Glory" is used at sporting events in lieu of a national anthemn for England. Elgar's music is fine, but the words (by A. C. Benson) and the fact that the music was composed quite specifically as one of a series of marches for the Boer War made it the thing as a whole - alas - also the battle-hymn of British Imperialism ... (Note the words: "Wider still and wider/Shall thy bounds be set./God, who made thee mighty,/Make thee mightier yet!" Wow! Things like national anthemns, flags and the like are horribly complicated, often bedevilled with all kinds of pitfalls.

I would stick with the Philippine National Anthem. It sounds like a march and its lyrics are superb. Plus, I always love my motherland.

For me, sorry to all the other Australians (and others) who love it, but I absolutely HATE with a passion 'We Are Australian'! It's been shoved down our throats since Bruce Woodley first wrote it, and I personally would rather gargle with razor blades than have to listen to that as an 'anthem'. If you're going to go with that, why not just go for 'I'm An Aussie, yes I am' by Salvador Smith? At least it's got a catchy tune!

I'm also not a huge fan of 'Advance Australia Fair'. My favourite anthem in the world, the one that I feel stirs the emotions more than any, and is just a great piece of music, is the 'Star Spangled Banner'.
I don't even tire of it when it's played 80 or 90 times at the Olympics!

An anthem is defined as a song of praise, devotion, or patriotism. This automatically eliminates Waltzing Matilida which is a old bush ballad about a sheep thief whose answer to a challenge from authority is to commit suicide. Hardly patriotic or devoted! I don't mind I am Australian as a song to sing with kids at school to talk about what being Aussie is but its music is hardly anthemic as the flag is raised at the Olympics while Thorpey receives his gold medal. Anthems need a good brass section and crashing drums to inspire. The Seekers play acoustic guitars. It's a pop song - we may as well discuss the merits of Men at Work's Down Under (vegemite, combi, chunder - how Aussie can you get), Still call Australia Home (at least orchestral but a little mellow for an anthem -although the Qantas ad isn't bad). Musically I don't mind Advance Australia Fair as anthemic music - good build up to the end. Its no worse or better than the US anthem - they just put on a better show when they sing it . I think some of the words are a bit obscure but the sentiment is there - maybe if more of us learnt the second verse we'd get over the girt by sea fixation. If we are going to change the anthem, we need something completely new to match our present society. Save Waltzing Matilda for pubs and rugby matches and I Am Australian and other songs for what they are - pop songs.

Now that I have listened to the version of the Dutch National Anthem on the website Bertho referred to I sincerely begin to doubt about the use of the Internet in the "mutual understanding among nations".
The "Wilhelmus" ought to be played in a majestic, solemn and ten times slower way than that sort of jingle.
If you don't get the lyrics how can you understand the intimate links it has with the very birth of the nation?
And how can you ever judge about the merits of a national
anthem if you don't understand the words and don't know a thing about how the anthem relates to the history of the nation?
I personally like the national anthems of Germany, France, the U.K. and of the Netherlands. That's because I like the music and/or the historic relevance of the anthem.

I do not like either the tune or the lyrics of my own Belgian
National Anthem, and consider the lyrics of the "national anthem" of my region Flanders as totally out of step with the 21st century.("They won't tame the Flemish lion, etc etc")
But does it matter?
Aren't national anthems just some kind of family heirlooms
which you cherish not because of their qualities but because
they happen to be your "rallying-tune", whether in good taste and up-to-date or bombastic and obsolete?

The only time when I actually sing our national anthem (German) is when I watch Germany´s national soccer team play. (or at other sporting events, but soccer matches are among the most popular events) In Germany we don´t sing our national anthem too often, but I believe the reasons for that would belong to another post.
Quite a few people here said how bad "Advance Australia Fair" is. I actually think it´s good. (not great though ) And as far as "Waltzing Matilda" goes... it is really fun to sing it with a big group of people (and even more fun if those people are not sober )
One of my favorite anthems is the Swedish one. The lyrics talk about the beauty of the country and its rich history. The tune quite catchy. And the Swedish people just sing it with so much passion, that it is always nice to watch.
I don´t really like the anthem of the USA (sorry, it´s not personal ), but the Irish and French ones are quite enjoyable.
I always think it is quite interesting to see how people act when their anthem is played (e.g. athletes or the audience). There are some who sing along really loud, others put their hand on their heart, other just stand there and wait till it´s over...
A couple of years ago there was a discussion in the German media about why our soccer players never sing the anthem, and now they are sort of forced to do so.

Uroborus,

All very er … interesting (?) and as a simple inspection of the lyrics shows, wrong. I am sure you will agree that Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” is by far the better piece and would have made a much better National Anthem for the USA?

To try to keep with the spirit of this thread what is your favourite National Anthem?

I wasn't the one that called "The Star Spangled Whatsit" racist, as far as the spirit of the thread goes. I leave it to you, perhaps on a different thread, to explain why. Don't weakly deflect an answer to an accusation you made in the first place. It's easy to nay-say, when the evidence fits.

And, yes, Woody's piece is pretty. But I do not agree that it is a "better" piece (read subjectively), nor a better anthem. With somewhere around a 75% urbanization rate, Woody's attack on the city life just wouldn't wash with most of us.