A country’s national flag and national anthem convey its identity to the rest of the world. In the Olympic games, celebrations for the winning athletes include hoisting their national flags and playing their national anthems. In the world cup football tournaments, we see players of the two teams line up before a match begins and their national anthems are played. Also, when foreign heads of state visit a country, their national anthems are played on their arrival and departure.
National anthems evoke patriotic feelings. They are generally adopted from popular songs praising a nation’s land, people, history, traditions, or struggles. The composer of the words and music of the national anthem of Bangladesh is Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It begins with the words, as translated in English, ‘My Bengal of gold, I love you.’ Then it portrays and praises the beautiful land, the seasons, the language, and the feelings of love and affection they cast upon our minds. It’s probably the best national anthem in the world.
Let’s look into the national anthems of some renowned countries.
The words of the US national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” were written by Francis Scott Key during the American war of independence against the British. He wrote it being inspired by seeing the American flag still flying on Fort McHenry in Baltimore after a failed British attack in 1814. It mostly describes the battle and the gallantry of the defenders and symbolizes the waving of the flag for victory and freedom.
The French national anthem “La Marseillaise” was composed in 1792. It urges citizens to take up arms and march to fight bloody battles against enemies. Its words like “Let’s march, let’s march! Let an impure blood water our furrows!” as translated in English, are too violent and hateful.
The lyrics of the German national anthem “Deutschlandlied” were composed in 1841 and officially adopted in 1922. It has three verses. The first two verses proclaim German superiority and the Nazis made good use of it during their rule. After the 2nd World War, both East and West Germany discarded “Deutschlandlied” but West Germany adopted it again – only the third verse of it – in 1952 and it continues to be the national anthem of unified Germany.
[… … …]
This article was published in the Daily Sun on September 21, 2022. Please read the full article here or here.