# What country has the best national anthem? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 30, 2001, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195 "2001-07-30T03:57:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2001, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/61 "2001-08-04T02:05:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > **Japan, not Holland, has the oldest national anthem by far. Japan’s goes back about 2000 years.** According to [this site](http://www.japanorama.com/kimigayo.html), the lyrics to the Japanese anthem are about 1100 years old. But the music was composed in 1880 - it was a poem before that. It gained the status of national anthem in 1888. And then, from [this site](http://home.earthlink.net/~carybary/trivia/week970509.html): > [@](#): > > The national anthem of the Netherlands (Het Wilhelmus) is the oldest national anthem in the world. The music appeared in 1572, the lyrics in 1590. > > The Japanese anthem has the oldest lyrics/text from the ninth century, but the music is from 1880. It depends on your definition, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2001, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/62 "2001-08-04T03:55:18Z")
As one who, with thousands of others, has stood at present arms for a seemingly interminable time at NATO reviews while the anthem of every last ever-loving mother’s son of a NATO member country was played, I will state for the record that every one of them, in the proper circumstance, is a royal pain. That said, despite it’s Nazi connotations, the West German anthem, the Deutschland Lied, is a moving piece of music, especially when plays by a really good military band with a strong horn section. The same is true of the French anthem. The band of the old 5th Cuirassiers could rip it off as if they were about to take on the Prussians again. For pure musicality, some one has to mention “Finlandia,” so I will. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2001, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/63 "2001-08-05T00:48:06Z")
ShibbOleth, thanks for the link to the anthem site. Of course now I will have to spend a long time listening to a bunc of them. Back when people played RECORDS(remember them?) I had one of national anthems. IIRC, the anthem of Italy is one without words, and if you listen to it on the MIDI site you can understand why! ---
**Author:** ![Iolanthe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7bcc69/32.png) [@Iolanthe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iolanthe)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2001, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/64 "2001-08-05T19:17:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Katisha \* > **It’s still not _that_ much fun for those of us in the alto section, though… 😃** I know, but when do we ever have fun parts? (I do alto too. You know, when I actually want to _use_ my musical brain.) > [@](#): > > \*\*BTW, I use the handle Iolanthe on a different message board – it was a bit disorienting to see your post! I can’t quite shake the feeling that I am, in fact, talking to myself… 😉 \*\* Heh, sorry about that. I also use Casilda and Lady Psyche in different places. It helps keep track of where I am. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2001, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/65 "2001-08-06T02:54:46Z")
I have to go with the African one. It’s wicked, you gotta hear it. Paul Simon put it on the end of one of his albums I think. It’s my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2001, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/66 "2001-08-06T03:20:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cazzle \* > \*\* > So what if Waltzing Matilda is about a sheep thief who commits suicide? It’s famous, it’s Australian, it has proven it has staying power by being popular for so long, it doesn’t contain the word “girt” and it’s a darn good tune. My vote goes to Waltzing Matilda for the Australian National Anthem, and then we’ll have the best anthem in the world! \*\* On this one, I have to respectfully disagree\* with **Cazzle** , and also with those Americans who prefer _America The Beautiful_ to their current anthem. I too prefer _Waltzing Matilda_ -as a song. It’s the one which will make me teary if I’m overseas (and full of beer) when I hear it. But guys, guys… national anthems are _supposed_ to be dull. I associate the very ordinary _Advance Australia Fair_ with balding politicians, glossy sporting events, and heatstroke while being forced to stand in a 1970s school quadrangle for hours while teachers with grating upward inflections strut about with megaphones telling Jason not to pull little Jessica’s hair again, or he’ll be picking up papers (“Mrs Blackburn’s peee-PUL, put ya hands on ya heads!”). Bring _Waltzing Matilda_ down to that level, and that wonderful song will lose all her cheekiness and sense of rebellion. That’s OUR song; no way I’m going to hand it over to the berluddy government. [python] This is the wattle, It’s the symbol of our land. You can stick it in a bottle, You can hold it in yer hand! [/python] [sub]\*Yer right about the ‘girt’ thing though.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2001, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/67 "2001-08-06T03:57:47Z")
Once I had the great fortune to attend a concert where the Red Army Orchestra played the Soviet anthem. Wow! For the first time, I heard an anthem as music rather than pomp and circumstance! ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2001, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/68 "2001-08-06T13:55:45Z")
The lyrics to the song [“To Anacreon In Heaven”](http://glyfix.com/soa/lyrics/anacreon_theme.html), the song that lent it’s tune to “The Star-Spangled Banner”. ---
**Author:** ![Philosophocles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Philosophocles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philosophocles)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2001, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/69 "2001-08-06T16:10:19Z")
Shake Shake Shake, Shake Shake Shake, Shake Djibouti, Shake Djibouti. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/70 "2001-08-07T01:32:37Z")
My former boss was born in Germany and his family moved to the United States when he was twelve or thirteen. His family was Catholic but he married a woman who was Protestant, Presbyterian I think. He told me about the first time he attended church with her and heard a certain hymn tune being played. The hymn “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken” uses the same tune as the German national anthem. I remember singing it in my younger days, back when I was still Lutheran(I thought WE Lutherans were the only ones who knew it!). My boss joked that on hearing the music they were welcoming him! ---
**Author:** ![mongrel\_8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@mongrel\_8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mongrel_8)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/71 "2002-08-19T03:43:19Z")
Listening to that MIDI website Liechtenstein’s anthem is also the music to My Country tis of Thee. I always liked The Star Spangled Banner, but it is very easy to butcher. America the Beautiful would work, good lyrics and easy for anyone to sing. ---
**Author:** ![WV\_Woman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@WV\_Woman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WV_Woman)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/72 "2002-08-19T03:58:59Z")
One night I got on the website listed below and listened to every single anthem. My top 3 favorites: 1. New Zealand. Beautiful and it’s easy to sing. 2. Australia, easy to sing as well and plus I have a thing for Australia anyway. 3. HiOpaland 4. The US, for obvious reasons. Link: [http://www.thenationalanthems.com/](http://www.thenationalanthems.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Sivalensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Sivalensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sivalensis)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/73 "2002-08-19T05:40:48Z")
Well, though the American anthem holds a special place in my heart, I think I have to agree that I can’t be objective about it…I mean the anthem isn’t just a song, it’s wrapped up in the whole nationalistic sentiment of loving your country and all, especially in the States, it seems. So, excluding that, I’d definitely have to go for the OLD Russian anthem (I’m a big fan of harmony and that has wonderful harmony. No idea what the words mean though). Then the Marseillaise, but that’s only because I’ve lived there and studied French culture and language a lot I think. I have a kind of fondness for it like the American one. So the only wholly objective one here is the Russian one. But, I must admit, besides Canada (whose anthem I’m not at all wild about), I don’t know any other anthems, so I don’t have a real basis for comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Sivalensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Sivalensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sivalensis)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/74 "2002-08-19T05:42:00Z")
Actually, I think the South African one is really awesome too, at least if it’s the one I think it is. ---
**Author:** ![Insecta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3da27b/32.png) [@Insecta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Insecta)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/75 "2002-08-19T10:58:51Z")
I’ve always been quite partial to **India’s** anthem. It’s faster than most, yet still retains grace and power. My national anthem - **Britain** , dislike it - it’s far too focused on the Monarch and has the same tune as Lichenstein’s anyhow. Switch it to Land of Hope and Glory, I say. Like many others here, I find the **USSR** anthem very powerful. The **French** anthem is also a favourite - to me, it is the most anthem of anthems. ---
**Author:** ![Sparrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/76 "2002-08-19T11:43:07Z")
I’d have to agree that the British national anthem needs changing. But not so much because of the focus on the monarch, simply that it’s dreary! I’m English and more patriotic than most, but it’s never inspired me. And now that Scotland and Wales have their own assemblies, we should all have our own anthems. Flower of Scotland and Land of My Fathers, certainly. But for England? The problem with Land of Hope and Glory is that the words are now considered politically incorrect. I’d go for I Vow to Thee, My Country - wonderful words and the music too, the Jupiter suite from The Planets. Wonderfully moving. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/77 "2002-08-19T16:43:03Z")
Does anybody know of a site that has the national anthem tunes that’s _not_ quicktime??? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195/78 "2002-08-19T17:08:48Z")
> [@](#): > > I’d like to see a single global national anthem. That way, no matter which country you’re in, you’d know the words. But what language would it be in? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-national-anthem/74195.md?page=3)