Best of the World War Two National Anthems

Which National Anthem from one of the powers in World War Two do you think is/was the best?

I think the reward for best of the National Anthems goes to the french, since theirs ends in Liberty or Death.

 

i like the Russian and German one

 

i don't have a best one (ooohw, wait, what about our belgian anthem, ends with "for king, for freedom and for right". damm i love those words )

most funniest is by no doubt the italian one. if you just hear the music, you would say that i was written for a circus (well, musolinni did act like a clown :lol: )

 

The Marseillaise is a very powerful marching song and thorougly nationalistic, and as such it does a very good job as a national anthem. Unfortunately, hearing it now reminds me of Monty Python's "Man with a taperecorder up his nose"...

 

I like the "Marseillaise", but I also like the british anthem.
Both are quite opposites, the Marseillaise, being the "prototype" of republican anthems(alongside the US anthem of course), and God save the Queen" the classic monarchical anthem.

Btw, did you know that Prussia and pre 1918 german empire also had God save the Queen as their anthem(with different lyrics of course....)

On the other hand, Russia adopted the Marseillaise as national anthem from 1917 till 1921.

Interesting question on such an international board:
What about the history of the anthems of your respective countries?

 

The British National Anthem is alleged to have been derived from a song written by a Frenchman. He overheard the screams from his monarch who was (IIRC) being treated for piles. I won't elaborate, but the treatment involved a red-hot poker and the afflicted orafice...

He wrote the song (God save the King), which was later heard by some Brit or other and adapted for use as our National Anthem.

I think that the monarch in question was the 'Sun King', but I would not swear by it.

 

Hm, the history of O'Canada is no where near as exciting as that of the American anthem or of the grotesqueness of the British anthem.

O' Canada was first played in 1880 by a French composer named Calixa Lavallée, but was not translated into English until 1908. In 1968, the song was revised on order of Parilment and then was not officially instituted as the Canadian Nation Anthem until 1980.

I guess that about sums it up.

 

I am told (I'm not sure if it is true, it might just be nationalistic nonsense) that the Dutch national anthem is the oldest anthem currently in use. It was written as a song of praise to William of Orange in his lifetime or shortly after, that is, the latter half of the 16th century; since this William of Orange is considered the father of the Dutch independent state (which is arguable) the song became the national anthem.

Because of its age, and the sheer difference of the age in which it was written from our own, the song is largely incomprehensible to the uneducated public, and besides it isn't being taught in schools or anything - hence few people know the lines to any of the song, let alone all 16 verses.

 

as in - he had the job of 'leader' thrust on him, rather than dynamically uniting all the states that later became 'the Netherlands'?

16 verses!!

Go on, give us the first verse!

 

That, and the fact that he was on the whole quite an insuccesful general, and the fact that the Dutch state he created was a highly decentralized union incomparable to the present-day Netherlands, which has its origins in the years of 1813-1848.

It has 15 verses because there's one for every letter of the man's name in German (Willem van Nassov). Wait, that's 15. Excuse my previous mistake!

Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
ben ik van Duitschen bloed
Den vaderland getrouwe
blijf ik tot in den doet
Een Prins van Oranje
Ben ik vrij onverveert,
De koning van Hispanje
Heb ik altijd geëerd.

William of Nassou
I am, of German blood
Loyal to the fatherland
I will stay until I die
A Prince of Orange
I am, (I really don't have a clue how to translate that word)
The King of Spain
I have always honoured.

That's the first verse, starting with W and fairly inexplicable to those unused to the idea that the Orange family is German and that the Netherlands at the time were a legitimate part of Spain.

 

My country's national anthem was written in 1959 i think when self government and merger in malaysia was imminent.IT's all in Malay though but every person in the country regardless of raqce can sing it.

 

Wouldn't that be something like 'without a doubt'?

 

"Fearlessly" or "Undauntedly", says my dictionary.

 

I like the anthem of the United States, how wonder =)

 

I like the national anthem of my country the best.

 

Hatikva was originally written in the late 19th century as a commemoration of the hopes of the jewish people.

It was the unnoficial anthem of the zionist movement, and after 1948 a modified version which was modified to reflect the creation of Israel, and to be slightly less jewish oriented (Which made it significantly shorter) became the unnoficial national anthem of Israel.

It only became the official anthem two years ago.

Here is the original, which is much longer then the current one.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/hatikva.mid

Although France is not one of my favorite countries, I think that they have by far the best national anthem in the world.

 

The Marseillaise was composed and written by Captain Claude Rouget de Lisle in the night of 24-25 April 1792 in Strasbourg while the town was under prussian/austrian fire.

Originally it was a marching song, and named "Chant de Guerre pour l'armée du Rhin"(Battlesong for the army of the Rhine).
As it was virulently anti-monarchical it was soon sung throughout France.

On 30 July 1792 it was sung by volunteer troops from southern France entering Paris (simply called Marseillais by the parisians)so it was called "Marseillaise".
It officially became national anthem on 14 july 1795.
Forbidden under the Empire and the Restoration it was reintroduced in 1879.


http://www.feminin.ch/chansons/marseill.htm

 

I like Dixie the best but that is a different anthem for a different time.

Naturally, being my patriotic self, I will vote for the Star Spangled Banner.

As everyone probably knows, it was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 during the bombardment of Fort McHenry. What most do not realize is that is that it was a poem. It was set to music much later and eventually became the Nation Anthem in the early 1900's or so. It is a very hard song to sing well as it was never intended to be sang but the instrumental part is very moving.

Not sure but I don't think the USA had an official National Anthem before that. Usually, popular patriotic music of a particular time was used for patriotic or ceremonial events. Yankee Doodle was popular during the Revolution, Battle Hymn of the Republic during the War Between the States (or US Civil War) and Stars and Stripes Forever during the Spanish American War and WW1. Kate Smith's rendition of America The Beautiful was very popular during WW2.

 

Wow,my vote goes to Hatikva

BEcause the anthem encompasses such a tragic and sad feeling that really does speaks volumes of the sufferings of the jewish people

 

And this is still sung as your National Anthem? Wow...

It ought to be - the music was written by a Brit!
(just a joke guys... )