answered question

answers (12)

ptanham
2
Votes
BEST ANSWER  chosen by asker   |  ptanham  |  June 06, 2009 05:05 PM
My vote for the worst goes to the Italians, for being absurdly long, rambling and circus like!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mx0yeCpAjw

And I'd agree above that the French is one of the best.

For bonus marks, you have to give it to the US for going way over the top with their national anthem, showcasing celebrity after celebrity version of it till it loses all meaning. Still fantastic though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIv1YM7XL0c

And if you think the Canadian anthem is too Disney, check out the Australian anthem, crazy Aussies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stL6EBxeJGM
Asker's rating:  
Clearly people's tastes in anthems vary greatly, and most people have a fondness for their own. Also it seems anthems come in different versions, and a good anthem can be made to sound horrible, and a poor one can sometimes be rendered beautifully. Well, it's been fun and interesting hearing all the different anthems. Anyway, from all the music and opinions I've heard, my personal conclusions go like this.... Best Anthems: South Africa, France, Russia. Runners Up: USA, UK, Germany. Worst Anthems: Sorry to Italy and Australia. Great countries, but not so great anthems.

voted helpful: buddawiggi, philipy

Comment
philipy
philipy  |  June 06, 2009 05:15 PM
Great answer. Though you've got yourself into all kinds of trouble with Italians, Aussies and Canadians! :)

Luckily, you'll probably have lots of Americans and French on your side, so you should be safe if this thread starts WW3. :)
wdawe
wdawe  |  June 06, 2009 07:17 PM
I hate to pick on other countries anthems but the Australian one is a bit well....
I like this version better, how can you not like an anthem with a trumpet fanfare? Actual anthem starts at 2:30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ntYtx2P2UE
bunnyphuph...
1
Vote
bunnyphuphu  |  June 06, 2009 03:29 PM
Since I'm Scottish, I'm gonna haf ta go wi "The Flower of Scotland" of course tis only the best afta' the US. The only thing more beautiful than Scotland is Ewan McGregor (I apologize for the horrible montage)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ni9QkBfVhg
tags: scotland

voted helpful: philipy

Comment
philipy
philipy  |  June 07, 2009 06:32 PM
Here's another good one I just found. (I can't answer my own question so I have to put it in a comment somewhere.)

Finland national anthem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSlAuPOUew4

Some people have proposed replacing it with Finlandia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XojVmivqDrA
philipy
philipy  |  June 07, 2009 06:37 PM
And surely South Africa has to be in the running.... wow...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pVfhd1tLdU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXKur2FAN7g
wdawe
2
Votes
wdawe  |  June 06, 2009 03:58 PM
source(s):
The Maple Leaf tattooed on my butt.
tags: canada

voted helpful: philipy, jeffhoard

Comment
philipy
philipy  |  June 06, 2009 04:06 PM
I wondered if people would just all choose their own anthems!

Objectively, I like the way the Canadian anthem starts, but then for me it all gets a bit too Disneyfied.

Hard to rate it as the best in comparison to things like the Marsellaise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K1q9Ntcr5g
maurice
maurice  |  June 06, 2009 04:20 PM
I'm Canadian and I love my country's anthem too, but I still get shivers when the patrons of Rick's Cafe in Casablanca sing La Marseillaise to drown out the singing of the German occupiers. I agree with philipy (except for the Disneyfied part).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iYbEPZVVIA
philipy
philipy  |  June 06, 2009 04:32 PM
Yep, great scene.
wdawe
wdawe  |  June 06, 2009 04:40 PM
But I like the Canadian National anthem. The Marsellaise is a fine anthem for France, totally inappropriate for Canada though. In the context of singing it in Rick's cafe it's great but singing it at a baseball game remembering how your ancestors overthrew the despotic King and his cake hating wife, meh.
philipy
philipy  |  June 06, 2009 04:59 PM
No one is suggesting that Canada should adopt the Marsellaise. :)

Though for all I know there are people in Quebec that would love it.... :)

But I didn't ask what you love, or what would be a good anthem for Canada. I asked what's the best / worst / most appropriate / least appropriate national anthem.

It'll be interesting to see if people can put aside their emotional attachments to evaluate the music itself.

I agree it's hard to have words for an anthem that make equal sense at a major state occasion and a baseball game. And it's hard for a country that has had the same anthem for hundreds of years, like France, to have lyrics that aren't somewhat out of touch with the 21st century.

Anyway, I like your answer, and I really appreciate the effort you put into finding vids for us. So far this is the best answer.
wdawe
wdawe  |  June 06, 2009 07:09 PM
The point I was trying to make was that anthems can't really be looked at in the abstract. They attempt to define a country is a song. They try to encapsulate the history and hope of a group of people.

The Unofficial Quebec National anthem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdf9aqRk--0
another song that Quebec Nationalists have taken close to their heart, performed in French by the Russian Red Army Choir
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-0daqEDLZg

both of these have no meaning for you and I but are extremely meaningful to many people of Quebec.

and the Monarchists would string me up if I didn't include the anthem of Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas Queen, Defender of the Faith, Duchess of Edinburgh, Countess of Merioneth, Baroness Greenwich, Duke of Lancaster, Lord of Mann, Duke of Normandy, Sovereign of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Sovereign of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Sovereign of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick, Sovereign of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Sovereign of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Sovereign of the Distinguished Service Order, Sovereign of the Imperial Service Order, Sovereign of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Sovereign of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, Sovereign of the Order of British India, Sovereign of the Indian Order of Merit, Sovereign of the Order of Burma, Sovereign of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, Sovereign of the Royal Family Order of King Edward VII, Sovereign of the Order of Mercy, Sovereign of the Order of Merit, Sovereign of the Order of the Companions of Honour, Sovereign of the Royal Victorian Order, Sovereign of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnuoGOo3Bew&feature=player_embedded
I must admit I luvs our Queen and her the U.K. has a great anthem too.
philipy
philipy  |  June 06, 2009 07:23 PM
Maybe anthems can't be looked at "in the abstract" by you. :)

Btw, I also asked which anthems were most appropriate etc.

Maybe you'd like to argue that say "Holland has the best anthem because it captures the flatness of the landscape and is suitably bland and boring." No offence to the Dutch, I don't even know their anthem. :)

But you're like a guy whose answer to "The Most Beautiful Woman" is "my wife". Yes, we all know where you're coming from with that. But unless you're say Brad Pitt, we will also feel you have not understood the spirit in which the question was asked.
soundboy
1
Vote
soundboy  |  June 06, 2009 04:12 PM
Good question philipy. I'm only familiar with the US and Canadian anthems off the top of my head. I think the US has a great national anthem, so until I hear a better one, it gets my vote for the best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNbIY5rDHmI

voted helpful: philipy

Comment
philipy
philipy  |  June 06, 2009 04:29 PM
Please include a video if you want to have a shot at getting Best Answer. :)
soundboy
soundboy  |  June 06, 2009 04:47 PM
Updated with video.
philipy
philipy  |  June 06, 2009 05:04 PM
Nice rendition, thanks.
philipy
philipy  |  June 07, 2009 03:35 AM
Low sound quality on the video, but this might be the best or most moving version of the Star Spangled Banner ever. Buckingham Palace after 9/11.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m24KmSCBbxM
ujjwalbatr...
0
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ujjwalbatra1989  |  June 06, 2009 04:18 PM
india no comparison
Comment
maurice
maurice  |  June 06, 2009 04:33 PM
Would you add a video or audio clip of India's anthem?

Here's one I think has a lot of passion. But I'm not familiar enough to know for sure...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3TtgYuaVFk
buddawiggi
0
Votes
buddawiggi  |  June 06, 2009 04:32 PM
tags: anthems
Comment
soundboy
soundboy  |  June 06, 2009 04:49 PM
Haha yes! Good choice :)
snowdensmh
0
Votes
snowdensmh  |  June 06, 2009 04:44 PM
Germany's national anthem was written by Joseph Haydn, and is probably musically the best.

It amuses me for some reason that 3 out of 4 sentences in the first verse of the United States anthem are questions.

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

And the Canadian national anthem has also always appealed to me.
Comment
philipy
philipy  |  June 06, 2009 04:47 PM
So which is the best? The German?

And how about choosing a vid for us?
philipy
philipy  |  June 06, 2009 07:36 PM - New Source
I'll add a vid for you. This is a rather good version of the German anthem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFp0RsVCWQ0
409inyourc...
1
Vote
409inyourcoffee  |  June 06, 2009 04:57 PM
I think the Welsh National Anthem is beautiful and inspiring. It reminds the people of their history. I posted the video but there is also a website with the lyrics here: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Functions/anthem.html

voted helpful: philipy

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galaxybrow...
0
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galaxybrowser  |  June 06, 2009 10:09 PM
Russia
U.S.A
Canada
France
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aaeeiioouu...
0
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aaeeiioouu13  |  June 07, 2009 08:07 PM
The most appropriate national anthem is the United States of America's. As George Carlin said, "We’ve got the only national anthem that mentions nikcuf mentions rockets and bombs in the goddamn thing." This is a very honest representation of a nation that has almost constantly been involved in some type of war since its founding in 1776.
Comment
philipy
philipy  |  June 07, 2009 11:41 PM
Surely the US hasn't been any more involved in wars than most countries?

But it's quite a good point still. Anthems that sound like "Everything's so pretty, and we're all so lovely and nice" don't really fit so well with the history of most nations.
buurjongen...
0
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buurjongenb  |  June 09, 2009 11:00 AM
I really like the Italian anthem but I think the Dutch (or Holland) anthem is pretty good to:
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simowalooc...
0
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simowalooca  |  July 05, 2009 05:11 AM
try the Moroccan one..one of the best :
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