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| by Kim Newberg, Wikimedia Commons |
Canada Day was on Monday of this week, July 1, which prompts
me to complain about O Canada, the Canadian National Anthem. Our neighbor to
the north, almost all agree, is a big, beautiful, friendly, and remarkably inoffensive
country, and so it’s amazing that anyone can find anything to complain about,
but give me a chance, and I can complain about anything. So here goes:
The 1908 lyrics to O Canada are in need of a major
update/overhaul, as they do not reflect modern Canadian values of tolerance, gender
equality, welcoming of immigrants, religious diversity, and fostering of peace
between nations. My line-by-line
critique follows:
O Canada!
The anthem starts off perfectly well, but then we get to…
Our home and native land!
[What about all the non-natives -- about 20 percent of
Canada’s 2012 population? Compare that to the US, with just 13 percent
foreign-born. Canadians, it’s time to stop excluding naturalized Canadian
citizens from your anthem!]
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
[The blatant sexism in this line is just so out-of-whack
with Canadian egalitarianism. I am shocked to discover there was a move to update
the lyrics in 2010 supported by Prime Minister Stephen Harper but it failed when
his own Conservative Party refused to back the change. Try again, Canada,
please!]
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
[The three lines above are fine the way they are.]
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
[I’m not crazy about the outdated militaristic imagery of
Canadians standing watch against invaders [a dig aimed, no doubt, at us, the US,
which has invaded Canada twice in its history and failed both times.]
God keep our land glorious and free!
[Canada now has such a plethora of faiths, including many
polytheists --and somewhere between 23 - 30 percent who do not believe in any god--
that an imprecation to a monotheistic deity is no longer a good idea in a song
meant to unite the country.]
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
[Again, the imagery of standing guard, to keep out or
exclude the unwanted. Time for a change!]
So I submit my own modest attempt at a more inclusive
version:
O Canada
Our home and treasured land
True patriot love in all of us command [This is the way many
Canadian feminists already sing this line]
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we gladly stand by thee.
We’ll keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we gladly stand by thee.
O Canada, we gladly stand by thee.
For a good, short history of the Canadian anthem in English
and French, see: http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1359402373291/1359402467746
To hear the Canadian anthem sung with subtitled lyrics, see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRPGPAnPNa8
And finally, to see that most famous son of Canada, William
Shatner, cover the song --sort of-- with all controversies considered --
hilariously -- see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRTwPyIzY4A
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Still Life With Robin is published on Saturdays on the
Cleveland Park Listserv, www.cleveland-park.com,
and All Life Is Local.
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