After watching a few old videos of the Olympics, I noticed a few of the athletes didn't know the lyrics to their national anthem, as their mouth opened and shut, but not in time with the music. Famous gold medalists DIDN'T KNOW THEIR NATIONAL ANTHEM! I was shocked.

I did a little research last weekend as to how many people know the British theme tune. Out of the 65 people I asked, only 7 people knew the anthem, and they were all elderly.

I don't know the British anthem, but that's coz I'm a foreigner, but I do know the Australia anthem, but I was forced to learn it at gunpoint, but that's currently beside the point. So why not get a week every year in Britain, or America (I saw the movie 'Supersize Me', and it seems more people know the McDonalds jingles better than they do the pledge of alleigance), that promote the national anthem, so that IF any young Brit/American/citizen of whatever country you want to put in as a gold medal winner DOES win a gold medal, they happen to at least know the first few verses of their national anthem.

Don't tell me, this is a rant, right?
-- froglet, Mar 04 2005

God Save the Queen http://en.wikipedia...ve_the_Queen#Lyrics
[calum, Mar 04 2005]

God Save The Queen http://www.lyricsfr...pistols/123626.html
[calum, Mar 04 2005]

New National Anthem of the UK New_20national_20anthem_20for_20the_20UK
my vote goes to Burns. [calum, Mar 04 2005]

UK Nat Anthem New_20national_20anthem_20for_20the_20UK
Note Flanders & Swann "Jerusalem" and new Anthem [csea, Mar 06 2005]

Remembering the words for our anthem is not usually a problem for us Brits - it is so rarely played at medal ceremonies.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Mar 04 2005


A lament, rather than a rant, I would have thought, although even this was regarded as being grounds for deletion on one occasion.
<aside>I hope to be hearing the Finnish national anthem on Sunday. I know the tune already, but not the words.</aside>
-- angel, Mar 04 2005


//why not get a week every year... [to] promote the national anthem//
Because, with the exception of whatever it is the French sing at rugby just before they get beaten by Wales, national anthems are dreary affairs that sound appalling on stadia PA systems. Not that I'm advocating some Dizzee Rascal-endowed remix of GSTQ, oh no. What I would suggest is that whatever is number one in the winning nation's pop charts at the time of any medal-giving be played. This will (a) create some interesting incongruities (b) sound much better on PAs (c) make the French look sillier.
-- calum, Mar 04 2005


//number one in the winning nation's pop charts // So when Schumacher wins, we get "treated" to a burst of David Hasselhof?
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Mar 04 2005


Yes. Or the Scorpions. That should be motivation enough for Team GB.
-- calum, Mar 04 2005


Oh dear, so we could get that burst of Dizzee Rascal if Coulthard wins (OK, I'm talking hypothetically here)
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Mar 04 2005


Medal ceremonies would be amusing if just one country had a cool national anthem. For example, if the UK adopted The Clash's "London Calling" as it's anthem it would stand out a bit at medal ceremonies (not that we ever win many medals...).
-- hippo, Mar 04 2005


Hmmmm, London's Calling would probably anger my granny, who came from Newcastle.

Someone at my school once put the Australian anthem on a loop using audio-looping software I think it's called, and it played at random for the next week over the PA system, and of course, it drove everyone mad. It gave us something to enjoy, as it was played in techno, jazz, christmas bell, rock, pop, and so on.
-- froglet, Mar 04 2005


//London's Calling would probably anger my granny, who came from Newcastle.//
Me also, who comes from 40 miles south of there.
-- angel, Mar 04 2005


//I do know the Australia anthem//

"Waltzing Matilda", you mean? ;)

We, Mexicans, do know our national anthem. It's played nationwide on the radio every morning at 6 am and every midnight, but I don't think it makes us a more patriotic culture. We respect our country far less than the people in nations where they have no clue of their national anthem (and we win far less medals in the olympics too).
-- Pericles, Mar 05 2005


No, Waltzing Matilda isn't the national anthem, the national anthem I think is called 'Advance Australia Fair', I was forced to sing it before assembly along with my other fellow lemmings, the teachers were so patriotic, so I had to complain about it, and the teachers told me that I could write another one and we could all sing along to that, so I did.

I got detention for two weeks for using inappropriate language in school.
-- froglet, Mar 05 2005


//No, Waltzing Matilda isn't the national anthem//

I know, but it should be.
-- Pericles, Mar 05 2005


I prefer the Animaniacs anthem scheme--sing the name of the country over and over, very slowly, until everybody falls asleep--"Anviilaniiiiaaa, Aaaanvilaaniaaa, Annnviiilllaaannniia......
But then we'd have to decide on the name of our country.

Isaac Asimov wrote a short mystery story where a spy was caught because he knew all the words to the national anthem.
-- baconbrain, Mar 06 2005


[baconbrain], I remember reading the Asimov story. Quite right that no native remembers ALL the verses!

Flanders & Swann did a bit on the UK National Anthem, including proposing a new one see [link].
-- csea, Mar 06 2005



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