# Unofficial "National" songs that young and old know **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 18, 2021, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143 "2021-03-18T02:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/61 "2021-03-19T11:48:15Z")
_Land of Hope and Glory._ Featured at the Last Night of the Proms. Sadly, no longer appropriate. Not much hope or glory there right now. Personally, anything without Victorian-style imperial bombast would be better. As for the original Archers theme, I like Billy Connolly’s idea! Haven’t heard it, but the Archers theme tune is due to get an update. It’s actually called Barwick Green and is not an old traditional tune at all, having been written in 1924. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/62 "2021-03-19T12:23:30Z")
Whenever the question comes up of an alternative national anthem, the one thing I can think of that unites the UK is: [https://youtu.be/SE5IfIkl\_oA](https://youtu.be/SE5IfIkl_oA) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/63 "2021-03-19T12:43:16Z")
All this talk of “Jerusalem” has made me think of another Israeli anthem, one that happens to be about the _actual_ Jerusalem: “Jerusalem of Gold” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rLoPDe2Au4o/hqdefault.jpg "Schindler´s List Soundtrack-12 Yeroushalaim Chel Zahav") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLoPDe2Au4o) And one more: this is an interesting case of a song that was written as a left-wing protest song but, like “Born in the U.S.A.”, was also adopted by the right. “I Don’t Have Another Country” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yNlf6szK2XI/hqdefault.jpg "אין לי ארץ אחרת - קורין אלאל") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNlf6szK2XI) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/64 "2021-03-19T12:58:23Z")
Maybe because it’s spring training time, but the first one that came to mind for the United States is “Take Me Out to the Ballpark” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/65 "2021-03-19T15:36:51Z")
How about the “Internationale”? Do young and old still know it? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/66 "2021-03-19T16:56:27Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MjyD5wZjZ-U/hqdefault.jpg "woodman spare that tree (1837) The first environmental song?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjyD5wZjZ-U) Woodman Spare That Tree It was the first American “hit” song, poem by George Pope Morris, music by Henry Russell, an English-Jewish emigre. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/67 "2021-03-19T17:34:53Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Woodman Spare That Tree Ouch! … to lyrics, music, and singing. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/68 "2021-03-19T17:36:18Z")
Ha. I didn’t listen. There are lots of covers. It’s a historical moment shall we say. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/69 "2021-03-19T17:39:01Z")
For Germany, the most obvious alternative national anthem is “Ode an die Freude” aka “Freude schöner Götterfunken” (“Ode To Joy”), the finale of Beethoven’s 9th symphony. As a composition by Germany’s greatest composer with lyrics by Germany’s second most important poet Friedrich Schiller, it even has achieved the status as a kind of universal global hymn. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-kcOpyM9cBg/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGMgZShAMA8=&rs=AOn4CLApZe0xDKQyNoiy0jGgu26IfwSJug "Ludwig van Beethoven: Ode an die Freude/Ode to Joy 1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kcOpyM9cBg) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/70 "2021-03-20T02:36:03Z")
_And once again, the bugle calls us on campaign._ _We all stand in formation, and march into holy battle_ _Rise up for the Faith, Russian land!_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4vbaX1Q230U/maxresdefault.jpg "Russian Patriotic Song: Farewell of Slavianka") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vbaX1Q230U) What “The Maple Leaf Forever” has to do with it, I don’t know! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/71 "2021-03-20T06:08:42Z")
_Vstavai, strana ogromnaya!_ _Vstavai, na smertnyi boi!_ _(Arise, enormous country!_ _Arise, to deadly battle!)_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sailmeWkm_A/hqdefault.jpg "Гимн защиты Отечества") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sailmeWkm_A) ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/72 "2021-04-17T20:24:43Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8nvPjKMDh0) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5eCsLuAspr8/hqdefault.jpg "Kalinka - Jamboo") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eCsLuAspr8) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143/73 "2021-04-17T20:48:15Z")
Another one for Mexico (why didn’t I think of this until now?): La Cucaracha [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6sn8bIzWacw/hqdefault.jpg "La Cucaracha - Revolución Mexicana") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sn8bIzWacw) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-national-songs-that-young-and-old-know/938143.md?page=3)