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Ours is designed as a choral piece and is often performed by a choir (duh). It's unusual for it to be performed by a solo singer, and everyone knows the first verse, and the two last, well enough for the crowds to mumble them en masse every May 17th (our national day)...
Here is how it's supposed to sound if everybody would just practice once in a while:
I find it very awkward when I hear the national anthem playing, if I'm surrounded by other people - I am expected to get teary-eyed and patriotic, but I find the entire notion to be cringe-worthy. I feel that many people in the UK feel the same way, perhaps the majority. I just can't stand it. I'm not even that familiar with it, I'm far more familiar with the national anthems of Canada, the US and France. For example, right now, I am trying to think of the British national anthem (God Save the Queen) and I can't even get the tune into my head - yet when I think of the Canadian, American and French national anthems, they come to mind immediately.
Ah, now I've looked up the British national anthem on YouTube and the song is immediately familiar - but I can never remember it for some reason. I've probably forgotten it already.
Honestly, it's a pretty crappy anthem. It used to be our anthem to until the 80's, actually, same with Australia. You guys should keep it as the royal anthem in England, but find a more appropriate national anthem for the country itself, some song about England itseld, not just about the monarchy.
I find it very awkward when I hear the national anthem playing, if I'm surrounded by other people - I am expected to get teary-eyed and patriotic, but I find the entire notion to be cringe-worthy. I feel that many people in the UK feel the same way, perhaps the majority. I just can't stand it. I'm not even that familiar with it, I'm far more familiar with the national anthems of Canada, the US and France. For example, right now, I am trying to think of the British national anthem (God Save the Queen) and I can't even get the tune into my head - yet when I think of the Canadian, American and French national anthems, they come to mind immediately.
Ah, now I've looked up the British national anthem on YouTube and the song is immediately familiar - but I can never remember it for some reason. I've probably forgotten it already.
Honestly, it's not a good anthem. It was our anthem to in Canada and Oz until the 80's, you should do as we have done and preserve it as the royal anthem of England, but also find yourself a proper national anthem, one that's about England herself, not just about its monarchy. The Welsh and Scots have songs, as do the other constitutional monarchy's under Queen Elizabeth, so why not England? You're just as deserving of one as any of the rest of us.
I grew up in Venezuela and have lived 1/2 of my life in the United States.
Without a doubt, the biggest difference between the two countries is the national anthem.
In the US, the national anthem seems as a formality where everybody watches one gifted singer perform the national anthem and claps at the end.
Different story in Venezuela, every single person sings the national anthem to the point that you can't hear the singer or the band playing.
What do you think is better?
One singer or everybody singing.
Spoiler
I'll leave you guys with this video when Venezuela played Colombia for a WC qualifier game.
This is the way people sing the national anthem in Venezuela.
At min 0:50 the band stops playing and the crowd kept on singing. (Band just played the short version of it)
I like it the way it is. In some cases, such as local events, lots of people may join in to sing. In national events there may be a hired professional but anyone who wants to join in may do so. No permissions required.
It's what we do best in the U.S... pay someone else to do our work for us.
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National Anthem - one person sing or everybody sings?
[quote=Dopo;28867926]I grew up in Venezuela and have lived 1/2 of my life in the United States.
Without a doubt, the biggest difference between the two countries is the national anthem.
In the US, the national anthem seems as a formality where everybody watches one gifted singer perform the national anthem and claps at the end.
Different story in Venezuela, every single person sings the national anthem to the point that you can't hear the singer or the band playing.
What do you think is better?
One singer or everybody singing.
---------------------------------
I'm from the U.S. I say let the pro's or gifted singer do the job they were asked to do, I will stand in respect for my Country while I listen to our National Anthem being sung by the individual or sometimes it is a group of singers performing the song. My vote goes to the individual superstar(s) performer to sing. After the singing is done & all over with then the hoop & hollering comes in - sometimes at sporting events & the waving of hats go off. At non-sporting events, generally no hooping & hollering goes on,,,, but the clapping of the hands do, ah but not always......sometimes at indoor quaint events after the National Anthem has been sung, folks just take their seats, no hollering and no clapping.
I've only been to live baseball games, and there, most people in the stadium sing. They might not be loud, but they're singing.
I saw one game at the stadium in Denver, Colorado -- beautiful setting, with the mountains all around and visible from our seats. When they got to the line "from the mountains, to the prairies..." the crowd really DID get loud and belted out the part about the mountains! I thought that was a nice touch.
Most broadcast games, though, you usually only hear the soloist singing, due to the sound system. But when the camera pans over the athletes lined up, or the crowd, you will see many of them are singing as well. I'm trying to remember what the announcer usually says... something like "Let's all join Big Name in the singing of our national anthem."
Newfoundland has gone through three national anthems in my lifetime. From 1904, Ode to Newfoundland was the national anthem of the British colony of Newfoundland. With confederatiion in 1947, it became God Save the Queen, and then O Canada, which was composed in 1880 in French only, and became the national anthem in 1980. But Ode to Newfoundland is still recognized as the true anthem of Newfoundlanders, and is heard more often than O Canada.
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