O Canada

Sheet music

"O Canada" is the national anthem of Canada. Calixa Lavallée composed the music in 1880 as a patriotic song for that year's St. Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony. The first lyrics that were composed for the song were written in French by Sir Adolphe Basile Routhier in 1880 for the same ceremony. An English translation did not appear until 1906, and it was two more years until Robert Stanley Weir penned the English lyrics. Weir's words were altered in 1968 to their present form, although the French lyrics remain unaltered. The choice of "O Canada" for the national anthem did not occur until 1980, when it was signed into law during the Canada Day celebrations that year. It was modified, along with the royal anthem of Canada, God Save the Queen, to be part of the Vice Regal Salute.

Official lyrics

Official (English)	Official (French)	Inuktitut lyrics
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! From far and wide, O Canada, We stand on guard for thee. God keep our land Glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee; O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.	Ô 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.	O'Kanata nangmini Nunavut piqujatii Nalattiaqpavut angiglivaliajuti sangijulutillu nanqipugu O'Kanata mianiripluti O'Kanata nunatsia nangiqpugu mianiripluti O'Kanata salagijauquna

History

The original French lyrics were written by Sir Adolphe Basile Routhier, as a French-Canadian patriotic song for the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. The French "Ô Canada" was first performed on June 24, 1880, at a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day banquet in Quebec City, but did not become Canada's official national anthem until July 1, 1980. When it was made the official anthem, most English-Canadians were surprised to learn that it did not already have such status.

Since 1867, "God Save the King" and "The Maple Leaf Forever" had been competing as unofficial national anthems in English Canada. "O Canada" joined that fray when school children sang it for the 1901 tour of Canada by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (later King George V and Queen Mary). Five years later Whaley and Royce in Toronto published the music with the French text and a first translation into English by Dr. Thomas Bedford Richardson. Then, in 1908, Collier's Weekly magazine held a competition to write English lyrics for "O Canada" and all kinds of versions were submitted. The competition was won by Mercy E. Powell McCulloch, but her version did not take. In 1917, Albert Watson wrote the hymn Lord of the Lands to the tune of O Canada (see external link below).

The English version that gained the widest currency was written in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir, a lawyer and at the time Recorder of the City of Montreal. A slightly modified version of his poem was published in an official form for the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation in 1927, and gradually became the most generally accepted anthem in English-speaking Canada, winning out over the alternatives by the 1960s. "God Save the Queen" is now Canada's royal anthem, while "The Maple Leaf Forever" is virtually forgotten.

Many have noted that the opening theme of "O Canada", composed in c. 1880, bare a great resemblemce to the "Marsch der Priester" (March of the Priests), from Die Zauberflöte, composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Some say that Mozart's tune inspired Lavallee to compose his melody.

The line "The True North strong and free" is based on Alfred, Lord Tennyson's description of Canada as "That True North whereof we lately heard". In the context of Tennyson's poem, "true" means "loyal" or "faithful".

Official changes to the English version were recommended in 1968 by a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons. The National Anthem Act of 1980 added a religious reference to the English lyrics and the phrase "From far and wide, O Canada" to replace one of the somewhat tedious repetitions of the phrase "We stand on guard." This change was controversial with traditionalists, and for several years afterwards it was not uncommon to hear people still singing the old lyrics at public events. By contrast, the French version never wavered from its original.

At official government/military occasions, it is not unusual for the anthem to be sung bilingually; it is sung in French up to (and including) the line "Des plus brillants exploits", at which time the lyrics switch to English.

Two provinces have adopted Latin translations of phrases from the English lyrics as their mottos: Manitoba —Gloriosus et liber (glorious and free)— and Alberta —Fortis et liber (strong and free). Similarly, the motto of Canadian Forces Land Force Command is Vigilamus pro te (we stand on guard for thee).

Weir's lyrics have three additional verses, but these are rarely sung.

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!
The land of hope for all who toil,
The true North strong and free!
God keep our land, glorious and free.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies,
May Stalwart sons, and gentle maidens rise.
To keep thee steadfast thro' the years,
From East to Western sea.
Our own beloved native land,
Our true North strong and free!
God keep our land, glorious and free.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

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.
God keep our land, glorious and free.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

Performance and pop culture

Singers at public events often mix the English and French lyrics to represent Canada's linguistic duality. For example, one form is singing the first two and last three lines in English. Roger Doucette, the former singer of national anthems at the Montreal Forum indoor stadium for the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, almost always sang the first seven lines in French, and completed the song in English. This was also the case at the Torino Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony where most of the song was sung in French by British Columbia Opera star Ben Heppner.

Many versions of the song by Canadian rock, pop and folk artists have been released on albums, both with and without vocals. The blues-rock band Big Sugar released a rock rendition of "O Canada" on their 2001 album Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready? The band's stated goal was to give the song a treatment that resembled Jimi Hendrix's famed rock interpretation of "The Star-Spangled Banner". They also played the rendition at Woodstock '99. The band Five Iron Frenzy wrote a pop song called "Oh, Canada", with different lyrics from the original anthem.

A rock-tinged version of the anthem has been used by the now-defunct heel professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling known as Team Canada.

In 1995, Dennis K.C. Parks sang "O Canada" to the tune of "O Christmas Tree" at the Las Vegas Posse's first home game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. In 1997, the MacAuley Boys' rendition of "O Canada" at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio, was preempted on network television not only in the United States but also in other countries, including Canada. When "The Star-Spangled Banner" ended on TSN's broadcast of the Game, angered Canadians called the network asking why "O Canada" didn't air.

At a Calgary Flames game in February of 2007, young Cree singer Akina Shirt became the first person ever to perform "O Canada" in a Canadian Aboriginal language at a major league sporting event.

Both "O Canada" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" are routinely played before sporting events between American and Canadian teams; the host nation's anthem is usually played last. Airshows in Canada and the Northern United States frequently do the same.

In The Simpsons episode "Bart of War" (episode 1421), "O Canada" is sung by everyone in Springfield Stadium at the very end of the episode.

See also

• Read full French texts on the French Wikisource
• "The Maple Leaf Forever"

External links

• Canadian Heritage (National Anthem: O Canada)
• Canadian Heritage (Sheet music)
• Department of Justice - National Anthem Act
• Historical Minutes TV Commercial Canadian Heritage
• The Story Behind the Song
• Hymn Lord of the Lands set to the tune of O Canada