O Canada is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the Honourable Théodore Robitaille, for the 1880 St. Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony. Calixa Lavallée wrote the music, which was a setting of a patriotic poem composed by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The text was originally only in French, before it was translated to English in 1906.
The English translation of the lyric happened two years before Robert Stanley Weir penned an English version, which is not a translation of the French. Weir's words have been revised twice, taking their present form in 1980, but the French lyrics remain unaltered. "O Canada" was not officially Canada's national anthem until 1980, when it was signed into law on July 1 as part of that year's Dominion Day celebrations.
Official lyrics
The official lyrics in English and French, as well as a translation of the French version and a transcription of Weir's original English-language poem, can be found on the Canadian government website devoted to "Ceremonial and Canadian Symbols Promotion".
History
The original French lyrics were written by Sir Adolphe Basile Routhier, as a French Canadian patriotic song for the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. The French "Ô Canada" was first performed on June 24, 1880, at a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day banquet in Quebec City, but did not become Canada's official national anthem until July 1, 1980. The Canadian government bought the rights to the lyrics and music for only one dollar.
Since 1867, "God Save the King" and "The Maple Leaf Forever" had been competing as unofficial national anthems in Canada. "O Canada" joined that fray when school children sang it for the 1901 tour of Canada by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (later King George V and Queen Mary). Five years later Whaley and Royce in Toronto published the music with the French text and a first translation into English by Dr. Thomas Bedford Richardson. Then, in 1908, Collier's Weekly magazine held a competition to write English lyrics for "O Canada". The competition was won by Mercy E. Powell McCulloch, but her version did not gain wide acceptance. In 1917, Albert Watson wrote the hymn Lord of the Lands to the tune of O Canada .
The English version that gained the widest currency was written in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir, a lawyer and at the time Recorder of the City of Montreal. A slightly modified version of his poem was published in an official form for the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation in 1927, and gradually became the most generally accepted and performed version, winning out over the alternatives by the 1960s. "God Save the Queen" is now Canada's royal anthem, while "The Maple Leaf Forever" is less well-known today.
Many have noted that the opening theme of "O Canada", composed in c. 1880, bears a great resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" (March of the Priests), from Die Zauberflöte, composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Some say that Mozart's tune inspired Lavallée to compose his melody. The line "The True North strong and free" is based on Alfred Tennyson's description of Canada as "That True North whereof we lately heard". In the context of Tennyson's poem, "true" means "loyal" or "faithful".
Official changes to the English version were recommended in 1968 by a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons. The National Anthem Act of 1980 added a religious reference to the English lyrics and the phrase "From far and wide, O Canada" to replace one of the somewhat tedious repetitions of the phrase "We stand on guard." This change was controversial with traditionalists, and for several years afterwards it was not uncommon to hear people (some by choice, some by memory reflex) still singing the old lyrics at public events. By contrast, the French version has never been changed from its original. In fact, at public events where there may be participants singing both the French and English versions simultaneously, it is common to hear people singing the beginning in French and then switching to the English version, usually three or four lines before the end.
Two provinces have adopted Latin translations of phrases from the English lyrics as their mottos: Manitoba— Gloriosus et liber (glorious and free)—and Alberta — Fortis et liber (strong and free). Similarly, the motto of Canadian Forces Land Force Command is Vigilamus pro te (we stand on guard for thee). In addition, the official website of the Government of Canada uses phrases from both the English and French lyrics as mottos on its page headers—"The true north strong and free" in English and "Une épopée des plus brillants exploits" in French.
Historical refrain
The following text was used as the refrain (last three lines of the official version) prior to the official designation as the national anthem:
Other lyrics
Performances
Singers at public events often mix the English and French lyrics to represent Canada's linguistic duality. For example, one form is singing the first two and last three lines in English; the last two lines could also alternate between English and French. Roger Doucet, the former singer of national anthems at the Montreal Forum for the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, almost always sang the first seven lines in French, and completed the song in English, and this practice has continued with the team's subsequent anthem singers. Performers at Ottawa Senators games also commonly sing partly in French and partly in English. This was also the case at the Turin Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony where most of the song was sung in French by British Columbia Opera star Ben Heppner, whose province is hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics, in Vancouver.
"O Canada" is routinely played before sporting events involving Canadian teams. "O Canada" is normally performed in English or a combination of English and French lyrics. The NHL requires arenas to perform both the Canadian and American national anthems at games that involve teams from both countries.
At a Calgary Flames game in February 2007, young Cree singer Akina Shirt became the first person ever to perform "O Canada" in a Canadian Aboriginal language at a National Hockey League contest. It was performed in a native language at the 1988 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Calgary.
Proposed changes to lyrics
Weir's original 1908 lyrics, consisting of three verses, did not contain the word "sons", instead using the somewhat archaic "thou dost in us command", and contained no religious reference. Weir changed the lyrics to "in all thy sons command" in 1914, and in 1926 added a fourth verse of a religious nature.
In June 1990, the city council of Toronto voted 12-7 to recommend to the Government of Canada that the phrase "our home and native land" be changed to "our home and cherished land", and "true patriot love in all thy sons command" be changed to "true patriot love in all of us command." Councillor Howard Moscoe said that the words "native land" were not appropriate for the many Canadians who were not native-born, and that the word "sons" implied "that women can't feel true patriotism or love for Canada."
Feminists such as Senator Vivienne Poy have criticized the English lyrics of the anthem as being sexist. In 2002, Poy introduced a bill to change the phrase "in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command". In 2006, the anthem's religious references (to God in English, and to the Christian cross in French) were criticized by secularists.
Vancouver 2010 Olympics
On September 25 , 2008 , John Furlong, the chairman of VANOC, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics organizing committee, announced that " With glowing hearts " from the English lyrics and " Des plus brillants exploits " from the French lyrics would be used as trademarked slogans for the 2010 Olympics.
Media
References
- ^ a b c d e "National Anthem: O Canada". Department of Canadian Heritage . http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/anthem-eng.cfm . Retrieved 2008-04-22 .
- ^ Government of Canada (2008-06-23). "Hymne national du Canada". Canadian Heritage . Government of Canada . http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/anthem-fra.cfm . Retrieved 2008-06-26 . ...
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