|
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.
|
