Quebec History Marianopolis College


Date Published:
June 2005

L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

 

National Anthem of Canada

L'Hymne national du Canada

 

[Until the 1960's] the national hymn or anthem of the Canadian people [was] God Save the Queen, particularly the two stanzas which run:

 

God save our gracious Queen,

Long live our noble Queen,

God Save the Queen:

Send her victorious,

Happy and Glorious,

Long to reign over us;

God save the Queen

 

Thy choicest gift in store

On Her be pleased to pour;

Long may she reign:

May she defend our laws,

And ever give us cause

To sing with heart and voice

God save the Queen.

 

To these stanzas is sometimes added in Canada a stanza written by the Rev. Robert Murray (1832-1909):

 

Our loved Dominion bless

With peace and happiness

From shore to shore;

And let our Empire be

United, loyal, free,

True to herself and Thee

For evermore.

 

There have been, however, two or three national songs in Canada which threatened to displace God save the Queen [and one which did in the end] as the distinctively Canadian national song. The first of these was The Maple Leaf for Ever , composed by Alexander Muir, in 1867:

 

In days of yore, from Britain 's shore,

Wolfe the dauntless hero came,

And planted firm Britannia's flag

On Canada 's fair domain.

Here may it wave, our boat, our pride,

And joined in love together,

The Thistle, Shamrock, Rose entwine

The Maple Leaf for ever!

The Maple Leaf, our emblem dear,

The Maple Leaf for ever!

God save our Queen, and Heaven bless

The Maple Leaf for ever!

 

At Queenston Heights and Lundy's Lane,

Our brave fathers, side by side,

For freedom, homes, and loved ones dear

Firmly stood and nobly died;

And those dear rights which they main­tained,

We swear to yield them never!

Our watchword ever more shall be,

The Maple Leaf for ever!

The Maple Leaf, our emblem dear,

The Maple Leaf for ever!

God save our Queen, and Heaven bless

The Maple Leaf for ever!

 

Our fair Dominion new extends

From Cape Race to Nootka Sound ;

May peace for ever be our lot,

And plenteous store abound:

And may those ties of love be ours

Which discord cannot sever,

And flourish green o'er Freedom's home,

The Maple Leaf for ever!

The Maple Leaf, our emblem dear,

The Maple Leaf for ever!

And flourish green o'er Freedom's home

The Maple Leaf for ever!

 

On merry England 's far-famed land

May kind Heaven sweetly smile;

God bless Old Scotland ever-more,

And Ireland 's Emerald Isle!

Then swell the song, both loud and long,

Till rocks and forest quiver,

God save our Queen, and Heaven bless

The Maple Leaf for ever!

The Maple Leaf, our emblem dear,

The Maple Leaf for ever!

God save our Queen, and Heaven bless

The Maple Leaf for ever!

 

This song obtained much popularity in English-speaking Canada; but, as may be imagined, it made no appeal to French Canadians. In French Canada equal popularity was achieved by the Chant National of Sir Adolphe Routhier, published, with music by Calixa Lavallée, in 1880 [This is now the French version of the national anthem of Canada]:

 

O Canada ! terre de nos aïeux,

Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux.

Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,

Il sait porter la croix;

Ton histoire est une épopée

Des plus brillants exploits;

 

Et ta valeur de foi trempée,

Protègera nos foyers et nos droits.

 

Sous l'oeil de Dieu, près du fleuve géant,

Le Canadien grandit en espérant.

Il est né d'une race fière;

Béni fut son berceau.

Le ciel a marqué sa carrière

Dans ce monde nouveau:

Toujours guidé par sa lumière,

Il gardera l'honneur de son drapeau.

 

De son patron, précurseur du vrai Dieu,

Il porte au front l'auréole de feu.

Ennemi de la tyrannie,

Mais plein de loyauté,

Il sait garder dans l'harmonie

Sa fière liberté,

Et par l'effort de son génie

Sur notre sol asseoir la vérité.

 

Amour sacré du trône et de l'autel,

Remplis nos coeurs de ton souffle immortel.

Parmi les races étrangères

Notre guide est la loi;

Sachons être un peuple de frères

Sous le joug de la Foi;

Et répétons comme nos pères

Le cri vainqueur: Pour le Christ et le Roi !

 

There have been numerous attempts to translate these stanzas into English verse. Among those who have published translations have been James Acton, Sir Harold Boulton, John Boyd, Brig.-Gen. Buchan, William Wilfred Campbell, Violet Alice Clarke, the Hon. W. S. Fielding, the Rev. W. S. Galbraith, John W. Garvin, George Gillespie, B. Morton Jones, Professor C. V. Pilcher, Dr. T. B. Richardson, the Rev. Canon F. G. Scott, Edward Teschemacher, Robert Todd, Albert Durrant Watson, and the Hon. R. Stanley Weir. Some of these versions have been endorsed at various times by the Imperial Order of Daughters of the Empire, by Women's Canadian Clubs, by the Canadian Authors' Association, and even by Sir Adolphe Routhier himself. But the translation (or rather adaptation) which has won the greatest acceptance is probably that of the Hon. R. Stanley Weir, the authorized version of which is as follows [This version is now the official anthem of Canada.]:

 

O Canada ! Our Home and Native Land !

True patriot-love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The True North, strong and free,

And stand on guard, O Canada,

We stand on guard for thee.

 

O Canada, glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

 

O Canada ! Where pines and maples grow,

Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow,

How dear to us thy broad domain,

From East to Western Sea ,

Thou land of hope for all who toil!

Thou True North, strong and free!

O Canada, glorious and free! etc.

 

O Canada ! Beneath thy shining skies

May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,

To keep thee steadfast through the years

From East to Western Sea ,

Our own beloved native land!

Our True North, strong and free!

0 Canada , glorious and free! etc.

 

Ruler Supreme, Who hearest humble prayer,

Hold our dominion in Thy loving care.

Help us to find, O God, in Thee,

A lasting, rich reward,

As waiting for the Better Day

We ever stand on guard.

O Canada, glorious and free! etc.

 

The following version by Albert Durrant Watson, however, has been adopted by the United Church of Canada in its Hymnary:

 

Lord of the lands, beneath Thy bending skies,

On field and flood, where'er our banner flies,

Thy people lift their hearts to Thee,

Their grateful voices raise:

May our Dominion ever be A temple to Thy praise.

 

Thy will alone let all enthrone;

Lord of the lands, make Canada Thine own:

Lord of the lands, make Canada Thine own!

 

Almighty Love, by Thy mysterious power,

In wisdom guide, with faith and freedom dower;

Be ours a nation evermore

That no oppression blights,

Where justice rules from shore to shore,

From lakes to northern lights.

 

May love alone for wrong atone;

Lord of the lands, make Canada Thine own:

Lord of the lands, make Canada Thine own!

 

Lord of the worlds, with strong eternal hand,

Hold us in honour, truth and self-command;

The loyal heart, the constant mind,

The courage to be true,

Our wide extending Empire bind,

And all the earth renew.

 

Thy Name be known through every zone;

Lord of the worlds, make all the lands Thine own;

Lord of the worlds, make all the lands Thine own!

Source: W. Stewart WALLACE, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. IV, Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 400p., pp. 382-384.

 

 
 
© 2005 Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College