For those of you not here in Australia, you may have missed the 2020 Summit held over the weekend. There were many different ideas thrown around, some worthy, and some less so. Overall, I think that is was a positive exercise. Lavartus Prodeo offer a neat summary here.
The one suggestion that I have been amused by is the suggestion that we should change our national anthem. We tend to have this 'discussion' every five or so years, so should not take a summit to flog this dead horse. That said, I reckon that Advance Australia Fair is a rubbish song, and I find it a bit embarrassing really with its lameness. Now PM Kevin Rudd has already knocked this one on the head, but this has not stopped the arguments spreading like wildfire. I personally have been advocating change for a long time, and now have the forum to do it!
I have long argued that there already exists two quintessentially songs out there that would be perfect for Australia's next national anthem.
My first choice would be AC/DC's It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) would be fantastic. Seriously, the opening riff alone would strike fear and awe at any sporting event, which is just what you want! Similarly, the overall message is also worthy. Musically, the song has great cultural currency for combining bagpipes with hard rock electric guitars, drums, and a pounding bass line. The song itself embraces the metaphor of rock 'n' roll as a vehicle for understanding the hard work that is essential in achieving success. It also details the perils of striving for success that are just as applicable to the state. See for yourself:
If this is too off putting for the punters, the other song that I am pushing for is the Icehouse track Great Southern Land. This may be more acceptable to those disconcerted by AC/DC. Lyrically I think it is a winner and well worth consideration. Despite the New Wave vibe, it does have a certain timelessness about it. Here is the clip:
I am not sure why we have to stick with European orchestration. The main argument against having a 'modern' song seems to be 'it won't sound any good when an orchestra plays it'. Well I say: "who cares?' Why is that assumption made? There’s no rule as such. Anthems come and go, and I honestly couldn’t tell you the last event that I’ve been to where and orchestra (of variation thereof) have actually been present. They whack in a tape (with that frankly embarrassing Julie Anthony-esque intro), and some kids or solo singer sings along to it. It is never 'stirring' (more 'embarrassing' and people can't wait for it to be over. A banging rock or pop tune is far more stirring.
Others seem to claim that pop or rock songs don't hold up well. To this, I would argue that that in the period since it has been the national anthem, “Advance Australia Fair” (1977) has aged quite a bit more poorly than “It’s a Long Way to the Top” (1975). And anyway, it’s a bit hard to speculate how such songs will ‘hold up’ to the passage of time anyway. Again, I see no reason that a well structured pop or rock tune can’t be recognised as quality well into the future. Even if it does age badly, change it!
I am bemused that songs far worthier than some of the trite nonsense that gets trotted out every ten or so years (Waltzing Matilda? Come on!) simply due to a set of conventions that are a) not particularly old; b) are of a particular ‘time and place’ [the nineteenth century rise of the (European) nation-state] that is not particularly relevant to modern, diverse states; c) haven’t aged very well, and thus sound ‘dated’ to most; and d) are frankly not all that interesting anyway.
However, I am open to anyone else's suggestions? Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.
[I shall politely ignore calls for Men at Work's Down Under, for I detest that song and would stick with Advance Australia Fair (or Hotel California).]
Comments
I have to admit that the Canadian "O Canada" stirs my blood every time I hear it. It's note range is one that most people can sing, in fact sing with gusto. And it was written by a Quebecois, interesting since that sometimes seems to be the group here that feels the least "Canadian."
A fault in an otherwise interesting argument. At least, seems to me to be.
AC/DC was an important band in my youth but the song was known as It's a Long way to the shop if you wanna sausage roll, which has stuck in my mind, and renders it rather unsuitable. Maybe, given the antics of a few of the unsporting Australian sportsmen, who shall remain nameless, 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'?
Icehouse - crickey that's a memory from the long distant past ... first record my brother ever bought, as it happens, and about the last as we got rid of the record player and it was all cassettes for a few years before CDs.
There's never a word about God Save the Queen, which slightly surprises me given the greater republican movement and the fact it has several verses about kicking the annoying Scots. Good talking point anyway.
Timt, I would question the assumption that the circumstances within which the whole notion of 'national anthems' arose remain too similar. Although many aspects nineteenth century political thought are indeed relevant, others are less so. My beef with the 'pomp' that we associate with national anthems cannot be separated from their history; that is, patriotic songs with the intention of evoking and eulogising the history, traditions and struggles of its people, this could either be real or imagined.
Thus, Il Canto degli Italiani were written in the autumn of 1847 in a climate of popular struggle for unification and independence of Italy which foreshadowed the war against Austria.
Similarly, Das Lied der Deutschen has to be understood as an appeal to the various German sovereigns to give the creation of a united Germany a higher priority than the independence of their small states.
I guess what I have trying to say is that these sort of anthems are intrinsically associated with the virulent (and often aggressive) nationalism that emerged from the nineteenth century and fed into much of the conflict of the twentieth. It is this sense - the 'nation' rather than 'state' - that I feel is less relevant.
Ump, AAF dates back to 1874, so it's an oldie (if not a goodie). In 1977 a national plebiscite was held to choose a new national anthem: Advance Australia Fair received 43.29% of the vote, defeating the three alternatives: Waltzing Matilda (28.28%), Song of Australia (9.65%), and the existing national anthem God Save the Queen (18.78%).
Funnily enough, AAF wasn't officially adopted as the national anthem until 1984.