Nov 4, 2006
Another conversation with Simon.
I was chatting with my brilliant friend Simon from Australia again. See?
Simon: We have the worst national anthem in existence.
Mary: I don't think I know it. But ours is pretty crap.
Simon: No way! Yours rocks.
Mary: Bah. You're just used to it.
Mary: Nearly no one can sing it well.
Mary: And the words are gay.
Simon: Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
Simon: What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Simon: Genius.
Simon: Germany, Germany above all,
above everything in the world,
when always, for protection,
we stand together as brothers. (Germany)
Let's go children of the fatherland,
The day of glory has arrived!
Against us tyranny's
Bloody flag is raised! (France)
Simon: Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for toil;
Our home is girt by sea;
Simon: ^ retarded crap
Simon: Nobody even knows the words to it.
Mary: Yeah. I guess we rule. But the clauses are all over the place.
Simon: At least it's poetic.
Simon: Ours is just bureaucratic.
Mary: I guess. That's true. Most anthems sound like college fight songs.
Simon: probably because they were composed during wars.
Simon: I learned today that "slogan" is gaelic for war cry.
Mary: So was ours.
Simon: Ours was composed when we stopped being a British colony, so it was probably written by a committee.
Simon: If they replaced it with a new one, it would probably have something about fully sick Mazdas.
Simon: Iraq's is pretty lame in English.
Simon: I heard Germany's national anthem used to be a drinking song.
Simon: they removed the verse about booze, women, and singing.
I always learn so much.
posted by Mary Forrest at 9:39 PM | Back to Monoblog
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