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I could be wrong here, but I have it written down that the anthem was adopted in 1967, not the written 1980.
Bumstead, J. M. The Peoples of Canada - A Post-Confederation History New York. Oxford Press: 2004.
Weren't the lyrics changed around 1980? I believe before 1980, the lyrics were a little more towards the first verse of the poem (but not an exact match). Anyone know the details?
-- Sdfisher 04:38, 3 Feb 2005 (UTC)
O Canada 1927 version by Robert Stanley Weir (unofficial Canadian Anthem until 1980)
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.
We stand on guard, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
Robert Stanley Weir was a lawyer and the Recorder of the City of Montréal. His version was published for the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation in 1927, and had since been generally accepted as the official English speaking version until 1980.
Sung by English speaking schoolchildren throughout Canada prior to 1980, most people who grew up singing this version of O Canada deeply resented the change.
Bryan Adams, once, mistakenly sang the Weir version at an NHL Hockey game and received much flak from the Canadian media for not singing the newer official Anthem.
70.81.7.65
08:38, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
From Anonymous, November 17, 2004
Hello, just wondering why some natives refuse to stand up for O Canada. I'm thinking it has something to do with the Boarding School scandals, but I don't know. I'm native myself, so.. eh.
Sorry if I did this wrong.
For one thing, the line "our home and native land" is considered offensive. Natives feel it is native land - their native land, not anyone elses. Women also dont like "in all our sons command" People talk about changing it but that wont please everyone either. Kismet (ottawa)
"Our home" excludes people only staying temporarily, and "native land" also excludes immigrants. Scott Gall 10:20, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
There are some additional verses but like those of other anthems they are poorly known and rarely sung.
Actually, this doesn't seem to be the case. The anthem has only one verse in both English and French. However, the poem that the English version was based on has several more verses; people sometimes use those as addition verses to the song, but they aren't really. -- Stephen Gilbert
In the 1980s it was common to mix the lyrics across languages, switching from English to French after the fourth line, then back to English after two lines in French.
I'm not so sure about that. I remember it going like this:
O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. Car ton bras sait porter l'épée, Il sait porter la croix! Ton histoire est une épopée Des plus brillants exploits. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Two lines English, four lines French, last three English. -- Stephen Gilbert
Moved to Talk:
SECOND VERSE
CHORUS
The anthem is typically sung without the second verse.
The Government of Canada confirms that the official version is just one verse. As mentioned above, the poem by Weir had multiple verses.
FYI, both the English and French lyrics and melody are in the public domain. - Montréalais
Link dead as of May 2003: http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/ceremonial-symb/english/emb_anthem.html
It's stretching it a bit to claim that foi could "just as easily" be a secular faith -- the lyrics were written in the 19th century in Quebec for a society named after St. John the Baptist. They talk about carrying the cross. My aged memory also recalls that the religious reference in the English lyrics was added later than 1968, but my memory is aged. Jfitzg
Jfitzg, you've added an apostrophe in the second reference to "sons command" (beside the feminists criticism). I actually did the exact same thing to the first reference of "sons command" earlier this month. But it just didn't sit well with me and after some research online and in print, I reverted it. In all but one incidence (online), there was no apostrophe.
This is because "command" is used as a verb to mean "deserve" here, not noun. The reason why the verb is placed in an exceptional order ( SOV) is to rhyme with "land" from the first line. -- Menchi 12:15 21 May 2003 (UTC)
Does it make sense to have the full version of the original French poem, which has no official status? - Montréalais
Since it is "la foi" , should it not be "trempée" not "trempé".
Could this typo have escaped your attention or am I misreading?
Grandson of Verchères.
For the copy editors and fact checkers of the world, could someone please mention in the article that it's definitely "O" and not "Oh"--right? jengod 03:00, Jan 29, 2004 (UTC)
An anonymous user put in the entire texts of the original poems under "official version." Those aren't the official versions of the anthem; merely two poems upon which the official versions are based. If they are going to be included (a measure whose utility I question), it should be in a separate section. - Montréalais 01:55, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)
Can somebody provide an Inuktitut gloss, too? Circeus 01:14, Feb 27, 2005 (UTC)
Hi, on the O Canada page there is the Inuktitut version of the national anthem there. I don't know if this is an "official" translation. Could you check it out as best you can and see if it is the same as the English or French versions, and if not maybe give an English translation? From what I can tell from the living dictionary it's seems sort of the same, but I couldn't find very many of the words.
This version was probably taken from this web page.
I also found the first two lines in Inuktitut on another website, except they're very different =P.
-- Ben 01:49, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Ben,
I doubt that there is an "official" Inuktitut translation, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if more than one translation was extant. The one you found here looks like a medley of Inuktitut, French and English, which strikes me as the most likely candidate for "official compromise version used in state ceremonies" for officially trilingual Nunavut. I don't live in Iqaluit, but "Nunavut taimanngat" sounds familiar to me.
I'm kinda on an impromptu hiatus right now, and I want to warn you, my Inuktitut sucks ass. But I'll give it my best shot. I'm mostly using dictionaries and corpora to do this - not native knowledge.
For the two line Inuktitut section you quoted last, I'd translate it word for word like this:
Uu Kanata, Nunavut taimanngat O Canada, our land always Najuqtavut, Ungagijaavut our pride the thing we are strongly attaching ourselves to
A more syntactically correct literal translation might be something like:
O Canada, our home forever Our pride and what we hold dear
For the longer version:
O'Kanata nangmini Nunavut O Canada the very thing our land Piqujatii Nalattiaqpavut to its commands/laws we listen good Angiglivaliajuti sangijulutillu (I think this should be Angiglivalliajuti sanngijulutillu) its growth and its strength Nanqipugu O'Kanata (This should be Nangiqpugu. It's a typo.) we stand up O Canada Mianiripluti to guard O'Kanata nunatsia O Canada beautiful land (nunatsia is the same as Nunatsiaq, the Northwest Territories) Nangiqpugu mianiripluti we stand up to guard O'Kanata salagijauquna O Canada overcome challenges?
The last word is really hard. The contexts where I find the root "saligi" refer to challeges, achivement and assistance, but I can't quite figure out the morphology. I'm not really sure about the morphology of mianiripluti either, but the root mianiri definitely means to guard, to watch over, to supervise and to manage. The rest I feel pretty good about. I warned you I couldn't speak Inuktitut.
So, you might put it as:
O'Kanata nangmini Nunavut Our very own land Piqujatii Nalattiaqpavut To its commands, we listen closely Angiglivalliajuti sanngijulutillu It's growth and its strength Nangiqpugu O'Kanata We stand, O Canada Mianiripluti On guard O'Kanata nunatsia O Canada, beautiful land Nangiqpugu mianiripluti We stand on guard O'Kanata salagijauquna O Canada, to meet challenges
I corrected the Inuktitut typos on O Canada.
The lack of confirmation of the text as "offical" merits some note. However, the long version of the lyrics seems to have originated on a defunct page run by a teacher at the Leo Ussak school in Rankin Inlet. I suspect that it's therefore an authentic but informal translation. For the short version, it's plausible that it's in some way official, but I can't find anything about it.
You decide what to do about it. I'll write up the Inuktitut in syllabics if you want, but I'm not sure you should trust an amateur translation like the one I've given you enough to put it on the page.
Diderot 10:22, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Cool! Thanks Diderot! -- Ben 21:41, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Why does South Park deserve mention here?
The text there is repetitive of the opening. I think it should be shortened, maybe deleted. Lee S. Svoboda 02:29, 3 November 2005 (UTC)
There appears to be some confusion regarding the "official" status of various versions of O Canada throughout Canadian history. To clarify the point, many versions were written and sung, and several changes were made. However, no version of O Canada was ever official until our constitution was signed in 1980. At that time, some changes were made (ex. "From far and wide" and "God keep our land").
For a full history of O Canada, visit Canadian Heritage (National Anthem: O Canada), which I have added to the External Links.
Brent Woods 01:06, 20 November 2005 (UTC)
When I came back here and discovered the claim about Lavallée having been inspired by Die Zauberflöte, I was pretty confident it was garbage: if such a link could really be shown, I'd have heard about it.
Then I listened to March of the Priests, and aftr hearing it is pretty easy to believe that could've been Lavallée's inspiration. Very interesting.
That said, a piece of interesting speculative trivia like this probably shouldn't be featured so early on, and it would be nice to get a reference to attribute this idea to as well. (I don't consider either of these bad enough to justify the claim's removal, however.) -- Saforrest 12:28, 14 January 2006 (UTC)
Note: Today, I heard Liszt's Festklänge, a symphonic poem (S.101, R.418) on NPR that very clearly had the "O Canada" theme in it throughout. It is note for note identical through "o canada, my home and native land" and stays close for another line or 2. It can most clearly be heard at the end. I think that this is the inspiration.
German version:
Ach Kanada! Unser Heim und Nation! Echt patriot Liebe in all dein Sohnen command. Mit glowing hearts wir seh dich rise, Das Echtes Nord strong und frei! From far and wide, Ach Kanada, Wir stand on guard für dich. Gott keep unser land glorious und Frei! Ach Kanada, wir stand on guard für dich! Ach Kanada, wir stand on guard für dich!
I have started attempting to create German lyrics for this ol' anthem of Canada's (Kanada) but I could complete it, could someone else? Myrtone@O Canada.com.au
Aarrrgh..! Yet more time spent inputing work at the website undone and not for the better. Who ever removed the quick mention of 'O Canada' being used in an episode of 'The Simpsons' has really ******* me off. The episode in question most certainly DID NOT spoof the anthem but used it is a highly respectful and deeply touching manner. So whoever you are who did this revert or just simply undoen my work with your own interpretation.. you are 100% wrong. I have ***** had it with this site.. not this page.. this site. The only reason i dont delete my account right now is I cannot be ******* bothered inputting 2 more minutes of my spare time here. The ******** who populate this place are ***** legion. Dirk Diggler Jnr 02:35, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
"Il sait porter l'épée." Il sait porter la croix."
This was translated incorrectly, I think. The nuance doesn't suggest "can carry", which makes little sense, but that Canada "has carried our 'sword', and has borne our 'cross'" in the repeated defense of our 'new' nation. Think 1812 and WWI. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 156.34.13.246 ( talk • contribs) .
The French "Car ton bras sait porter l'épée" is translated as: "Though your arm knows how to bear the sword". To the best of my knowlege, "car" can only be translated as "because". I think "though" is a wrong translation, but my french isn't perfect so someone else should see if it needs changing.
Should there be some kind of comment regaurding the O Canada TV show? Here is more information (I barely know how to edit wikipedia, otherwise I would do it myself)
When they say native in the national anthem, are they referring to the descendants of European settlers or are they talking about the actual natives, the people who were here first?
A list of artists who have recorded it, and the albums it appears on would be useful. Tim Long 19:18, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
Can someone email me the French lyrics of the SECOND verse to O Canada? Thanks! Labk1@hotmail.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.251.145.195 ( talk) of 06.11.06 - moved from top of the page to the end
hi
French version.
The 1st verse is the official anthem of the french-speaking canadiens.
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, Protégera nos foyers et nos droits Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Sous l'œil 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, 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 veut garder dans l'harmonie Sa fière liberté. Et par l'effort de son génie, Sur notre Sol asseoir la vérité, Sur notre Sol asseoir la vérité!
Amour sacré du trône et de l'autel Remplis nos cœurs de ton souffle immortel. Parmi les races étrangères Notre guide est la foi; Sachons être un peuple de frères, Sous le joug de la loi; Et répétons comme nos pères Le cri vainqueur: «Pour le Christ et le Roi» Le cri vainqueur: «Pour le Christ et le Roi».
perhaps it is ok - I am not sure as I do not know French.
-- Bhadani 15:53, 6 November 2006 (UTC)
Under the heading "Official lyrics" there appears to be some unecessary ranting. If it could be removed and replaced by the actual lyrics that would be spectacular. Thanks.
Jordan
Thanks its cleared up now. It was just needless anti-canadian pro-american nonsense. Jordan
[1] suggests that there are no spaces before exclamation marks in the French lyric. Is this the typical way to write Canadian French (fr-CA)? Generally French French (fr-FR) requires a space before an exclamation mark.-- Jusjih 16:00, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
I see no mention here of the late 90s controversy where Bryan Adams "screwed up" the national anthem at a public performance. (I tragically don't recall the year, or where and when the performance took place). I do remember that in the days after the incident it was revealed that Adams was singing the "old" lyrics (pre-1960-whatever). Don't know if its worth a mention. Certainly was more widely reported than a girl singing it in an unofficial language.
Bryan Adams sang the unofficial
Robert Stanley Weir version that we were all required to learn as schoolchidren prior to 1980.
70.81.7.65
08:49, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
Under the History section, it states that:
"The original song has three additional verses, but these are rarely sung."
That statement is correct, but how can these three extra verses be in English if the song was written by Calixa Lavellée for the St-Jean-Baptiste day celebration in 1880!?
"O Canada" is the national anthem of Canada. Calixa Lavallée composed the music in 1880 as a patriotic song ..."
Shouldn't that text rather list the 3 extra verses in French!? Or rather say that "both the original song and its English translation have three extra verses... Here are these three extra verses from the English version of the song." - or something like that.
Does anyone remember in the late 80s or early 90s when the second line became "True patriot love in all our hearts command"?
I thought it was an official change to make the some 'mutually inclusive' of men and women. But I see now that it's officially "in all thy sons command".
Also, in response to someone else that was asking about the God and God-less versions.
Yes, as a kid in the 80s, I do remember seeing "O Canada" and "God keep our land" both in brackets and one in a subscript while the other in a superscript to denote either as an option.
Someone apparently sees fit to continue vandalising the rarely-sung second and third verses, thinking that it's funny to insert the lyrics to "Ice Ice Baby" in instead. Thought you all might like to know. By the way, it doesn't really matter. If someone wants to show such disrespect to the Canadian anthem, I can certainly take the time to sit here and revert this article all day. 72.185.43.62 16:43, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
That line in the Canadian anthem is a bigotery line, as not all Canadians believe in a God. I wish I had athiest 'sources', so I could put in a Controversy section on this article. GoodDay ( talk) 00:13, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
At the Canadian Senate website,
this Feb 2002 press release claims to have the original lyrics.
You can hear these lyrics sung online in a
1914 recording (with chorus added between each verse).
So now I'm confused as to what to do. Are these lyrics the original ones? In any case, this seems to be a significant version and should be included on the page.
If you know better, please go ahead and update the page, rather than wait for me to fumble along. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.53.97.179 ( talk) 12:33, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
The current article says "'The Maple Leaf Forever' is virtually forgotten."
Do other people think that's true? It seems to me that "The Maple Leaf Forever" is probably the best-known Canadian patriotic song besides the national anthem. I remember it - does anybody else?
Adam_sk ( talk) 05:33, 2 February 2008 (UTC)
Leave me a note when done. Cheers, dihydrogen monoxide ( H2O) 11:15, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
This GAN has passed, and this is now a good article! If you found this review helpful, please consider helping out a fellow editor by reviewing another good article nomination. Help and advice on how to do so is available at Wikipedia:Reviewing good articles, and you can ask for the help of a GAN mentor, if you wish.
Cheers, dihydrogen monoxide ( H2O) 23:21, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
This is a bit of a request, but clearly there are some extended French lyrics missing, as evidenced by the 1918 clip. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.157.68.171 ( talk) 00:51, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
I took out "along with games that involve teams in the United States that are located near Canada" where it talks about playing the anthem at NHL games. I couldn't see anything that said this in the referenced article, and I've never heard of it. If I'm wrong, put it back in, but could you show a reference that says so? Thanks. (Priester -- not signed in) 192.104.67.122 ( talk) 15:52, 7 April 2009 (UTC)
Just wondering, but why does it say "Our home and native land" when it isn't actually the native land for any canadians bar the Yupiks, Inuits, and Aleuts. 03:34, 5 June 2008 (UTC) Just a note that we have far more indigenous people than Inuits, Metis, Stolo, Haida, Mikmaq, Cree, Iroquois (Canada isn't Alaska...)...... and I agree with the commentator below. It has many meanings, and I'm fine with the various variations of the line. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.82.249.99 ( talk) 21:11, 10 December 2009 (UTC)
To play the devil's advocate, no one is indigenous to Canada on a long enough time frame. Even the First Nations and Inuit migrated here. They were just here first. I don't think "native land" means you have always been here. Because, really, few peoples anywhere would qualify on a geologic time scale. Where you are born or live is your home by definition. Where you were born is your native land, again, by definition. I understand and appreciate the political argument being made, but this is a matter of semantics. 204.65.34.232 ( talk) 16:37, 24 June 2010 (UTC)
I don't see any compelling need to format the lyrics differently, and using inline style elements. I propose removing the inline formatting. Isaac Lin ( talk) 17:07, 6 July 2010 (UTC)
Thanks very much for your co-operation! Isaac Lin ( talk) 01:53, 25 July 2010 (UTC)
A historic German language version is known to have existed as can be seen at http://www.mhsbc.com/news/v11n02/v11n01p15.htm
The lyrics are a rather close translation of the English original.
O Canada
O Canada, mein Heim und Vaterland Wie gluecklich der, dem hier die Wiege stand! Das Herz erglueht, wenn wir dich seh’n Du Nordland, stark und frei, Wir halten Wacht, O Canada Wir halten Wacht dir treu. O Canada, O Canada, O Canada, Wir halten Wacht dir treu.
It seems to have been in use by German Mennonites which came by the hundreds of thousands to Canada. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.88.122.182 ( talk) 17:41, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
I wonder where in the article the anon feels it would be appropriate to mention the existence of this singular translation. -- Ħ MIESIANIACAL 23:15, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
Just to clarify my earlier edits: general Wikipedia consensus is for a reference to a city+larger geographical setting to only link to the city (of course, only when making the city a link is appropriate), with the reader able to navigate upwards from the city's article. Regarding my removal of the province, since Toronto is a relatively well-known international city, I don't believe a reference to the province is necessary, just as I don't believe the reference to Montreal needs to have any qualification added. I also think Ottawa is sufficiently well-known as the nation's capital. Isaac Lin ( talk) 01:11, 11 November 2010 (UTC)
This article began 2001-NOV-01 with mdy format. This 2011-APR-03 edit changed the date format without prior discussion. Per retain, I will be restoring mdy format. The only date format with any claim to being having strong national ties to Canada is YMD (the same format that appears at the bottom of every article page & every talk page, even though it is not included in the MOS) -- JimWae ( talk) 21:06, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
I'm not sure how to explain this accurately in the deletion comments, but the whole section is a copyright violation from the Government of Canada website. Am I wrong? -- Walter Görlitz ( talk) 22:13, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
Ok so lets talk about what all the media is about --this is not a media farm for listing ever version we have (thats y we have wikicomons). What version should we keep - i see a few that could be dumped. We should be taking about the ones listed not simply listing every one we have with no mention of there context. So i suggest we mention 3 or 4 of them in the body of the text an keep those one - wheil dumping thoses we can (or) dont realy know about. Moxy ( talk) 22:58, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
Honestly, I want to limit the article to the two official languages of Canada. Other languages could be added, but I think it would be best to add them at Wikisource. However, if you decide to keep the Inuktitut language, use http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/foundation_gr1/blms/1-2-2c.pdf as a source. User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 04:18, 15 April 2011 (UTC)
My apologies for my edit to the song title in the infobox; there was no intent to vandalize. Since the page for the sound in Wikimedia commons did not list an explicit title, and the sound was placed in the public domain, I felt that shortening the title would avoid an unduly distracting title in the infobox. isaacl ( talk) 22:31, 25 April 2011 (UTC)
I added the notation about "O Canada" being performed at Watkins Glen International and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This information is from personal experience. I have been to NASCAR races at both tracks and the Canadian National Anthem was performed before the "Star Spangled Banner" at both tracks. I asked a NASCAR official about this and was told that it was a requirement due to the proximity of Canada and out of respect and appreceation of the Canadian participants and fans. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.238.131.166 ( talk) 03:16, 2 July 2011 (UTC)
I also added the notation that for the race in Montreal at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the notation that "O Canada" is performed after the "Star Spangled Banner" I cannot give a proper reference, however, as it was a television broadcast; however, the manner to which it is done is the same as a a US pro team playing in Canada. DelandSIV ( talk) 20:25, 28 August 2011 (UTC)
Can someone include all four verses of O Canada, instead of just the first one?
99.234.60.11 ( talk) 03:17, 15 November 2011 (UTC)
Is there any reason we can't have a superb modern performance of the anthem rather than that crappy 1915 performance, which appears to have no historical notability? It makes the piece sound dreadful. A modern performance is awaiting promotion to featured sound status, but cannot be passed unless it is included in an article. Tony (talk) 15:40, 31 March 2011 (UTC)
Leaving personalities aside, I believe the United States Navy band version is a better performance and recording than the 1915 recording, and so support its use in the infobox. isaacl ( talk) 03:18, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
If you want to get an alternative version then a bilingual, public domain version is available at http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/MP3/O-Canada-bil.MP3. I would add it myself but I can't get it from .mp3 to a supported file. if anyone can then that would probably be the best version to have. Oddbodz ( talk) 21:14, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
I have no found out how to do this and the file is up. I have put the disputed version in the listen section. Hope the biligual version is ok. Oddbodz ( talk) 21:27, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
well at least there's an anthem box now :) can someone please give me a reason why people don't want to have a sound box up on the main page? I think every country needs one, just like there flag and coat of arms on wiki. philpm930 Philpm930 ( talk) 18:02, 22 April 2012 (UTC)
I mean no offence, but the main sample is rather simple and we have other instrumentals of far better musical quality. The infobox sample is usually of high quality, I refer to the articles on the national anthem for other countries, you'll not find simple performances there, they're all orchestral or band performances of high quality. Where was the consensus for the change, last time such a change was made a discussion began over cultural ties and what not. James ( Talk • Contribs) • 8:28pm • 10:28, 21 June 2012 (UTC)
This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Archive 3 |
I could be wrong here, but I have it written down that the anthem was adopted in 1967, not the written 1980.
Bumstead, J. M. The Peoples of Canada - A Post-Confederation History New York. Oxford Press: 2004.
Weren't the lyrics changed around 1980? I believe before 1980, the lyrics were a little more towards the first verse of the poem (but not an exact match). Anyone know the details?
-- Sdfisher 04:38, 3 Feb 2005 (UTC)
O Canada 1927 version by Robert Stanley Weir (unofficial Canadian Anthem until 1980)
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.
We stand on guard, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
Robert Stanley Weir was a lawyer and the Recorder of the City of Montréal. His version was published for the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation in 1927, and had since been generally accepted as the official English speaking version until 1980.
Sung by English speaking schoolchildren throughout Canada prior to 1980, most people who grew up singing this version of O Canada deeply resented the change.
Bryan Adams, once, mistakenly sang the Weir version at an NHL Hockey game and received much flak from the Canadian media for not singing the newer official Anthem.
70.81.7.65
08:38, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
From Anonymous, November 17, 2004
Hello, just wondering why some natives refuse to stand up for O Canada. I'm thinking it has something to do with the Boarding School scandals, but I don't know. I'm native myself, so.. eh.
Sorry if I did this wrong.
For one thing, the line "our home and native land" is considered offensive. Natives feel it is native land - their native land, not anyone elses. Women also dont like "in all our sons command" People talk about changing it but that wont please everyone either. Kismet (ottawa)
"Our home" excludes people only staying temporarily, and "native land" also excludes immigrants. Scott Gall 10:20, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
There are some additional verses but like those of other anthems they are poorly known and rarely sung.
Actually, this doesn't seem to be the case. The anthem has only one verse in both English and French. However, the poem that the English version was based on has several more verses; people sometimes use those as addition verses to the song, but they aren't really. -- Stephen Gilbert
In the 1980s it was common to mix the lyrics across languages, switching from English to French after the fourth line, then back to English after two lines in French.
I'm not so sure about that. I remember it going like this:
O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. Car ton bras sait porter l'épée, Il sait porter la croix! Ton histoire est une épopée Des plus brillants exploits. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Two lines English, four lines French, last three English. -- Stephen Gilbert
Moved to Talk:
SECOND VERSE
CHORUS
The anthem is typically sung without the second verse.
The Government of Canada confirms that the official version is just one verse. As mentioned above, the poem by Weir had multiple verses.
FYI, both the English and French lyrics and melody are in the public domain. - Montréalais
Link dead as of May 2003: http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/ceremonial-symb/english/emb_anthem.html
It's stretching it a bit to claim that foi could "just as easily" be a secular faith -- the lyrics were written in the 19th century in Quebec for a society named after St. John the Baptist. They talk about carrying the cross. My aged memory also recalls that the religious reference in the English lyrics was added later than 1968, but my memory is aged. Jfitzg
Jfitzg, you've added an apostrophe in the second reference to "sons command" (beside the feminists criticism). I actually did the exact same thing to the first reference of "sons command" earlier this month. But it just didn't sit well with me and after some research online and in print, I reverted it. In all but one incidence (online), there was no apostrophe.
This is because "command" is used as a verb to mean "deserve" here, not noun. The reason why the verb is placed in an exceptional order ( SOV) is to rhyme with "land" from the first line. -- Menchi 12:15 21 May 2003 (UTC)
Does it make sense to have the full version of the original French poem, which has no official status? - Montréalais
Since it is "la foi" , should it not be "trempée" not "trempé".
Could this typo have escaped your attention or am I misreading?
Grandson of Verchères.
For the copy editors and fact checkers of the world, could someone please mention in the article that it's definitely "O" and not "Oh"--right? jengod 03:00, Jan 29, 2004 (UTC)
An anonymous user put in the entire texts of the original poems under "official version." Those aren't the official versions of the anthem; merely two poems upon which the official versions are based. If they are going to be included (a measure whose utility I question), it should be in a separate section. - Montréalais 01:55, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)
Can somebody provide an Inuktitut gloss, too? Circeus 01:14, Feb 27, 2005 (UTC)
Hi, on the O Canada page there is the Inuktitut version of the national anthem there. I don't know if this is an "official" translation. Could you check it out as best you can and see if it is the same as the English or French versions, and if not maybe give an English translation? From what I can tell from the living dictionary it's seems sort of the same, but I couldn't find very many of the words.
This version was probably taken from this web page.
I also found the first two lines in Inuktitut on another website, except they're very different =P.
-- Ben 01:49, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Ben,
I doubt that there is an "official" Inuktitut translation, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if more than one translation was extant. The one you found here looks like a medley of Inuktitut, French and English, which strikes me as the most likely candidate for "official compromise version used in state ceremonies" for officially trilingual Nunavut. I don't live in Iqaluit, but "Nunavut taimanngat" sounds familiar to me.
I'm kinda on an impromptu hiatus right now, and I want to warn you, my Inuktitut sucks ass. But I'll give it my best shot. I'm mostly using dictionaries and corpora to do this - not native knowledge.
For the two line Inuktitut section you quoted last, I'd translate it word for word like this:
Uu Kanata, Nunavut taimanngat O Canada, our land always Najuqtavut, Ungagijaavut our pride the thing we are strongly attaching ourselves to
A more syntactically correct literal translation might be something like:
O Canada, our home forever Our pride and what we hold dear
For the longer version:
O'Kanata nangmini Nunavut O Canada the very thing our land Piqujatii Nalattiaqpavut to its commands/laws we listen good Angiglivaliajuti sangijulutillu (I think this should be Angiglivalliajuti sanngijulutillu) its growth and its strength Nanqipugu O'Kanata (This should be Nangiqpugu. It's a typo.) we stand up O Canada Mianiripluti to guard O'Kanata nunatsia O Canada beautiful land (nunatsia is the same as Nunatsiaq, the Northwest Territories) Nangiqpugu mianiripluti we stand up to guard O'Kanata salagijauquna O Canada overcome challenges?
The last word is really hard. The contexts where I find the root "saligi" refer to challeges, achivement and assistance, but I can't quite figure out the morphology. I'm not really sure about the morphology of mianiripluti either, but the root mianiri definitely means to guard, to watch over, to supervise and to manage. The rest I feel pretty good about. I warned you I couldn't speak Inuktitut.
So, you might put it as:
O'Kanata nangmini Nunavut Our very own land Piqujatii Nalattiaqpavut To its commands, we listen closely Angiglivalliajuti sanngijulutillu It's growth and its strength Nangiqpugu O'Kanata We stand, O Canada Mianiripluti On guard O'Kanata nunatsia O Canada, beautiful land Nangiqpugu mianiripluti We stand on guard O'Kanata salagijauquna O Canada, to meet challenges
I corrected the Inuktitut typos on O Canada.
The lack of confirmation of the text as "offical" merits some note. However, the long version of the lyrics seems to have originated on a defunct page run by a teacher at the Leo Ussak school in Rankin Inlet. I suspect that it's therefore an authentic but informal translation. For the short version, it's plausible that it's in some way official, but I can't find anything about it.
You decide what to do about it. I'll write up the Inuktitut in syllabics if you want, but I'm not sure you should trust an amateur translation like the one I've given you enough to put it on the page.
Diderot 10:22, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Cool! Thanks Diderot! -- Ben 21:41, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Why does South Park deserve mention here?
The text there is repetitive of the opening. I think it should be shortened, maybe deleted. Lee S. Svoboda 02:29, 3 November 2005 (UTC)
There appears to be some confusion regarding the "official" status of various versions of O Canada throughout Canadian history. To clarify the point, many versions were written and sung, and several changes were made. However, no version of O Canada was ever official until our constitution was signed in 1980. At that time, some changes were made (ex. "From far and wide" and "God keep our land").
For a full history of O Canada, visit Canadian Heritage (National Anthem: O Canada), which I have added to the External Links.
Brent Woods 01:06, 20 November 2005 (UTC)
When I came back here and discovered the claim about Lavallée having been inspired by Die Zauberflöte, I was pretty confident it was garbage: if such a link could really be shown, I'd have heard about it.
Then I listened to March of the Priests, and aftr hearing it is pretty easy to believe that could've been Lavallée's inspiration. Very interesting.
That said, a piece of interesting speculative trivia like this probably shouldn't be featured so early on, and it would be nice to get a reference to attribute this idea to as well. (I don't consider either of these bad enough to justify the claim's removal, however.) -- Saforrest 12:28, 14 January 2006 (UTC)
Note: Today, I heard Liszt's Festklänge, a symphonic poem (S.101, R.418) on NPR that very clearly had the "O Canada" theme in it throughout. It is note for note identical through "o canada, my home and native land" and stays close for another line or 2. It can most clearly be heard at the end. I think that this is the inspiration.
German version:
Ach Kanada! Unser Heim und Nation! Echt patriot Liebe in all dein Sohnen command. Mit glowing hearts wir seh dich rise, Das Echtes Nord strong und frei! From far and wide, Ach Kanada, Wir stand on guard für dich. Gott keep unser land glorious und Frei! Ach Kanada, wir stand on guard für dich! Ach Kanada, wir stand on guard für dich!
I have started attempting to create German lyrics for this ol' anthem of Canada's (Kanada) but I could complete it, could someone else? Myrtone@O Canada.com.au
Aarrrgh..! Yet more time spent inputing work at the website undone and not for the better. Who ever removed the quick mention of 'O Canada' being used in an episode of 'The Simpsons' has really ******* me off. The episode in question most certainly DID NOT spoof the anthem but used it is a highly respectful and deeply touching manner. So whoever you are who did this revert or just simply undoen my work with your own interpretation.. you are 100% wrong. I have ***** had it with this site.. not this page.. this site. The only reason i dont delete my account right now is I cannot be ******* bothered inputting 2 more minutes of my spare time here. The ******** who populate this place are ***** legion. Dirk Diggler Jnr 02:35, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
"Il sait porter l'épée." Il sait porter la croix."
This was translated incorrectly, I think. The nuance doesn't suggest "can carry", which makes little sense, but that Canada "has carried our 'sword', and has borne our 'cross'" in the repeated defense of our 'new' nation. Think 1812 and WWI. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 156.34.13.246 ( talk • contribs) .
The French "Car ton bras sait porter l'épée" is translated as: "Though your arm knows how to bear the sword". To the best of my knowlege, "car" can only be translated as "because". I think "though" is a wrong translation, but my french isn't perfect so someone else should see if it needs changing.
Should there be some kind of comment regaurding the O Canada TV show? Here is more information (I barely know how to edit wikipedia, otherwise I would do it myself)
When they say native in the national anthem, are they referring to the descendants of European settlers or are they talking about the actual natives, the people who were here first?
A list of artists who have recorded it, and the albums it appears on would be useful. Tim Long 19:18, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
Can someone email me the French lyrics of the SECOND verse to O Canada? Thanks! Labk1@hotmail.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.251.145.195 ( talk) of 06.11.06 - moved from top of the page to the end
hi
French version.
The 1st verse is the official anthem of the french-speaking canadiens.
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, Protégera nos foyers et nos droits Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Sous l'œil 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, 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 veut garder dans l'harmonie Sa fière liberté. Et par l'effort de son génie, Sur notre Sol asseoir la vérité, Sur notre Sol asseoir la vérité!
Amour sacré du trône et de l'autel Remplis nos cœurs de ton souffle immortel. Parmi les races étrangères Notre guide est la foi; Sachons être un peuple de frères, Sous le joug de la loi; Et répétons comme nos pères Le cri vainqueur: «Pour le Christ et le Roi» Le cri vainqueur: «Pour le Christ et le Roi».
perhaps it is ok - I am not sure as I do not know French.
-- Bhadani 15:53, 6 November 2006 (UTC)
Under the heading "Official lyrics" there appears to be some unecessary ranting. If it could be removed and replaced by the actual lyrics that would be spectacular. Thanks.
Jordan
Thanks its cleared up now. It was just needless anti-canadian pro-american nonsense. Jordan
[1] suggests that there are no spaces before exclamation marks in the French lyric. Is this the typical way to write Canadian French (fr-CA)? Generally French French (fr-FR) requires a space before an exclamation mark.-- Jusjih 16:00, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
I see no mention here of the late 90s controversy where Bryan Adams "screwed up" the national anthem at a public performance. (I tragically don't recall the year, or where and when the performance took place). I do remember that in the days after the incident it was revealed that Adams was singing the "old" lyrics (pre-1960-whatever). Don't know if its worth a mention. Certainly was more widely reported than a girl singing it in an unofficial language.
Bryan Adams sang the unofficial
Robert Stanley Weir version that we were all required to learn as schoolchidren prior to 1980.
70.81.7.65
08:49, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
Under the History section, it states that:
"The original song has three additional verses, but these are rarely sung."
That statement is correct, but how can these three extra verses be in English if the song was written by Calixa Lavellée for the St-Jean-Baptiste day celebration in 1880!?
"O Canada" is the national anthem of Canada. Calixa Lavallée composed the music in 1880 as a patriotic song ..."
Shouldn't that text rather list the 3 extra verses in French!? Or rather say that "both the original song and its English translation have three extra verses... Here are these three extra verses from the English version of the song." - or something like that.
Does anyone remember in the late 80s or early 90s when the second line became "True patriot love in all our hearts command"?
I thought it was an official change to make the some 'mutually inclusive' of men and women. But I see now that it's officially "in all thy sons command".
Also, in response to someone else that was asking about the God and God-less versions.
Yes, as a kid in the 80s, I do remember seeing "O Canada" and "God keep our land" both in brackets and one in a subscript while the other in a superscript to denote either as an option.
Someone apparently sees fit to continue vandalising the rarely-sung second and third verses, thinking that it's funny to insert the lyrics to "Ice Ice Baby" in instead. Thought you all might like to know. By the way, it doesn't really matter. If someone wants to show such disrespect to the Canadian anthem, I can certainly take the time to sit here and revert this article all day. 72.185.43.62 16:43, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
That line in the Canadian anthem is a bigotery line, as not all Canadians believe in a God. I wish I had athiest 'sources', so I could put in a Controversy section on this article. GoodDay ( talk) 00:13, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
At the Canadian Senate website,
this Feb 2002 press release claims to have the original lyrics.
You can hear these lyrics sung online in a
1914 recording (with chorus added between each verse).
So now I'm confused as to what to do. Are these lyrics the original ones? In any case, this seems to be a significant version and should be included on the page.
If you know better, please go ahead and update the page, rather than wait for me to fumble along. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.53.97.179 ( talk) 12:33, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
The current article says "'The Maple Leaf Forever' is virtually forgotten."
Do other people think that's true? It seems to me that "The Maple Leaf Forever" is probably the best-known Canadian patriotic song besides the national anthem. I remember it - does anybody else?
Adam_sk ( talk) 05:33, 2 February 2008 (UTC)
Leave me a note when done. Cheers, dihydrogen monoxide ( H2O) 11:15, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
This GAN has passed, and this is now a good article! If you found this review helpful, please consider helping out a fellow editor by reviewing another good article nomination. Help and advice on how to do so is available at Wikipedia:Reviewing good articles, and you can ask for the help of a GAN mentor, if you wish.
Cheers, dihydrogen monoxide ( H2O) 23:21, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
This is a bit of a request, but clearly there are some extended French lyrics missing, as evidenced by the 1918 clip. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.157.68.171 ( talk) 00:51, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
I took out "along with games that involve teams in the United States that are located near Canada" where it talks about playing the anthem at NHL games. I couldn't see anything that said this in the referenced article, and I've never heard of it. If I'm wrong, put it back in, but could you show a reference that says so? Thanks. (Priester -- not signed in) 192.104.67.122 ( talk) 15:52, 7 April 2009 (UTC)
Just wondering, but why does it say "Our home and native land" when it isn't actually the native land for any canadians bar the Yupiks, Inuits, and Aleuts. 03:34, 5 June 2008 (UTC) Just a note that we have far more indigenous people than Inuits, Metis, Stolo, Haida, Mikmaq, Cree, Iroquois (Canada isn't Alaska...)...... and I agree with the commentator below. It has many meanings, and I'm fine with the various variations of the line. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.82.249.99 ( talk) 21:11, 10 December 2009 (UTC)
To play the devil's advocate, no one is indigenous to Canada on a long enough time frame. Even the First Nations and Inuit migrated here. They were just here first. I don't think "native land" means you have always been here. Because, really, few peoples anywhere would qualify on a geologic time scale. Where you are born or live is your home by definition. Where you were born is your native land, again, by definition. I understand and appreciate the political argument being made, but this is a matter of semantics. 204.65.34.232 ( talk) 16:37, 24 June 2010 (UTC)
I don't see any compelling need to format the lyrics differently, and using inline style elements. I propose removing the inline formatting. Isaac Lin ( talk) 17:07, 6 July 2010 (UTC)
Thanks very much for your co-operation! Isaac Lin ( talk) 01:53, 25 July 2010 (UTC)
A historic German language version is known to have existed as can be seen at http://www.mhsbc.com/news/v11n02/v11n01p15.htm
The lyrics are a rather close translation of the English original.
O Canada
O Canada, mein Heim und Vaterland Wie gluecklich der, dem hier die Wiege stand! Das Herz erglueht, wenn wir dich seh’n Du Nordland, stark und frei, Wir halten Wacht, O Canada Wir halten Wacht dir treu. O Canada, O Canada, O Canada, Wir halten Wacht dir treu.
It seems to have been in use by German Mennonites which came by the hundreds of thousands to Canada. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.88.122.182 ( talk) 17:41, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
I wonder where in the article the anon feels it would be appropriate to mention the existence of this singular translation. -- Ħ MIESIANIACAL 23:15, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
Just to clarify my earlier edits: general Wikipedia consensus is for a reference to a city+larger geographical setting to only link to the city (of course, only when making the city a link is appropriate), with the reader able to navigate upwards from the city's article. Regarding my removal of the province, since Toronto is a relatively well-known international city, I don't believe a reference to the province is necessary, just as I don't believe the reference to Montreal needs to have any qualification added. I also think Ottawa is sufficiently well-known as the nation's capital. Isaac Lin ( talk) 01:11, 11 November 2010 (UTC)
This article began 2001-NOV-01 with mdy format. This 2011-APR-03 edit changed the date format without prior discussion. Per retain, I will be restoring mdy format. The only date format with any claim to being having strong national ties to Canada is YMD (the same format that appears at the bottom of every article page & every talk page, even though it is not included in the MOS) -- JimWae ( talk) 21:06, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
I'm not sure how to explain this accurately in the deletion comments, but the whole section is a copyright violation from the Government of Canada website. Am I wrong? -- Walter Görlitz ( talk) 22:13, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
Ok so lets talk about what all the media is about --this is not a media farm for listing ever version we have (thats y we have wikicomons). What version should we keep - i see a few that could be dumped. We should be taking about the ones listed not simply listing every one we have with no mention of there context. So i suggest we mention 3 or 4 of them in the body of the text an keep those one - wheil dumping thoses we can (or) dont realy know about. Moxy ( talk) 22:58, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
Honestly, I want to limit the article to the two official languages of Canada. Other languages could be added, but I think it would be best to add them at Wikisource. However, if you decide to keep the Inuktitut language, use http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/foundation_gr1/blms/1-2-2c.pdf as a source. User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 04:18, 15 April 2011 (UTC)
My apologies for my edit to the song title in the infobox; there was no intent to vandalize. Since the page for the sound in Wikimedia commons did not list an explicit title, and the sound was placed in the public domain, I felt that shortening the title would avoid an unduly distracting title in the infobox. isaacl ( talk) 22:31, 25 April 2011 (UTC)
I added the notation about "O Canada" being performed at Watkins Glen International and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This information is from personal experience. I have been to NASCAR races at both tracks and the Canadian National Anthem was performed before the "Star Spangled Banner" at both tracks. I asked a NASCAR official about this and was told that it was a requirement due to the proximity of Canada and out of respect and appreceation of the Canadian participants and fans. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.238.131.166 ( talk) 03:16, 2 July 2011 (UTC)
I also added the notation that for the race in Montreal at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the notation that "O Canada" is performed after the "Star Spangled Banner" I cannot give a proper reference, however, as it was a television broadcast; however, the manner to which it is done is the same as a a US pro team playing in Canada. DelandSIV ( talk) 20:25, 28 August 2011 (UTC)
Can someone include all four verses of O Canada, instead of just the first one?
99.234.60.11 ( talk) 03:17, 15 November 2011 (UTC)
Is there any reason we can't have a superb modern performance of the anthem rather than that crappy 1915 performance, which appears to have no historical notability? It makes the piece sound dreadful. A modern performance is awaiting promotion to featured sound status, but cannot be passed unless it is included in an article. Tony (talk) 15:40, 31 March 2011 (UTC)
Leaving personalities aside, I believe the United States Navy band version is a better performance and recording than the 1915 recording, and so support its use in the infobox. isaacl ( talk) 03:18, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
If you want to get an alternative version then a bilingual, public domain version is available at http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/MP3/O-Canada-bil.MP3. I would add it myself but I can't get it from .mp3 to a supported file. if anyone can then that would probably be the best version to have. Oddbodz ( talk) 21:14, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
I have no found out how to do this and the file is up. I have put the disputed version in the listen section. Hope the biligual version is ok. Oddbodz ( talk) 21:27, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
well at least there's an anthem box now :) can someone please give me a reason why people don't want to have a sound box up on the main page? I think every country needs one, just like there flag and coat of arms on wiki. philpm930 Philpm930 ( talk) 18:02, 22 April 2012 (UTC)
I mean no offence, but the main sample is rather simple and we have other instrumentals of far better musical quality. The infobox sample is usually of high quality, I refer to the articles on the national anthem for other countries, you'll not find simple performances there, they're all orchestral or band performances of high quality. Where was the consensus for the change, last time such a change was made a discussion began over cultural ties and what not. James ( Talk • Contribs) • 8:28pm • 10:28, 21 June 2012 (UTC)