Best National Anthem

[Pelly Greeny]

hands down winner ;)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K1q9Ntcr5g[/youtube]

Sorry but I cannot take the French national anthem seriously after this from many years ago.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0gzQS4w1sc[/youtube]

 

[TheBlueDune]

Easy one. French by a country mile. Fuck it by a country! Rousing stuff, brilliant.

Can't post the link as I'm on my phone (broadband temporarily down in the house).However, I would guess that the clip is on youtube. Have a look at the clip in Casablanca where the girl in Rick's Bar belts out the Marseillaise (sp?) to drown out German soldiers singing their own national anthem. Stirring stuff.

In the film most of the extras are real life war refugees from europe.
The scene was so emotional that their tears and cheers are real.
Only bogart, sam the pianist and the girl who played the young wife were born in the US.

 

[stonie]

Liechenstein has a great tune

 

[AustinBlue]

I hate to say it but the USA one get's my vote, the bit about the flag still being there after all the shit does it.

Automatically eliminated from any "best" list by being overplayed... It's sung at every single sporting event no matter how important or for what age group. When you have had to sit through it for the 27000th time as your kids get ready for a tee ball game with their 7 year old class mates, it just grates rather than uplifts.

 

[cityboy5]

hands down winner ;)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K1q9Ntcr5g[/youtube]

i agree

 

[kalouk]

1. Wales
2. France
3. Ireland

Also Flower of Scotland is one I find myself humming days later.

 

[green pennies]

Italian,French and Russian

Have I stumbled into the favourite salad dressings thread?




*grabs coat*

 

[green pennies]

I hate to say it but the USA one get's my vote, the bit about the flag still being there after all the shit does it.

Automatically eliminated from any "best" list by being overplayed... It's sung at every single sporting event no matter how important or for what age group. When you have had to sit through it for the 27000th time as your kids get ready for a tee ball game with their 7 year old class mates, it just grates rather than uplifts.

I'm a high school teacher, so they do the pledge AND the anthem every single day, so try that on for size. It really starts to grate then. So your point is well taken, but I actually like going to a sporting event and having the anthem play beforehand. It's kind of like the calm before the storm, bringing the two groups of fans together for a brief moment. I actually always complain because the school playing ruins it for the sporting events in my mind, but we each have our own tolerance levels I suppose.

Also, I'm far from a blind patriot, but the words are pretty damn good. As you probably know, we came very close to having our anthem become "America the Beautiful" which is blah. Glad that didn't happen.

As far as other nations, these 3 are quite good:

1. Japan - Short (the shortest of all of them I believe) , simple, moving, to the point:

May your reign
Continue for a thousand, eight thousand generations,
Until the pebbles
Grow into boulders
Lush with moss

2. Israel - Emotional!:

As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion,
Then our hope - the two-thousand-year-old hope - will not be lost:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

And waaaay out of left field;

3. Djibouti! - I like the music and the flag explanation:

Arise with strength; for we have raised our flag,
The flag which has cost us dear
With extremes of thirst and pain.
Our flag, whose colours are the everlasting green of the earth,
The blue of the sky, and white, the colour of peace;
And the centre the red star of blood.
Oh flag of ours, what a glorious sight!

I also came across this article some of you may find interesting: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-strangest-national-anthems" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.travelandleisure.com/article ... al-anthems</a>

 

[Rascal]

Liechenstein has a great tune

:))

 

[Uncle Wally One Ball]

The Italian anthem is a jaunty tune but the best is the Welsh imo. Hearing that sung at the minellium stadium (sic) at rugby internationals is hair raising stuff.