Song of Australia
The Song of Australia was written by the English poet Caroline J. Carleton in 1859 for a competition advertised by the Gawler Institute on its 2nd anniversary. The music for this song was composed by Carl Linger (1810–1862), a German.
history
96 songs were submitted to this competition, the winner was the five-stanza song composed by Carl Linger, written by Caroline Charleton (1820–1874) and endowed with a prize of 10 Ginueas. Charleton reached South Australia in 1839 and she lived in Adelaide and later in Kapunda . The Berlin-born musicologist Carl Linger (1810–1862), who had studied at the Berlin Conservatory, came to South Australia in 1849. Linger settled in Gawler and later went to Adelaide, where he had musical success.
The Song of Australia impressed Charles Cameron Kingston , Prime Minister of South Australia, so much that he ordered that the song be taught to students in public schools. The song never became a national song, instead the Commonwealth Government of Australia chose Advance Australia Fair as the national song , which was composed in Sydney in 1878.
The Song of Australia was popularized in the 20th century by the baritone Peter Dawson .
selection
The Song of Australia was one of four songs that could be voted national song in 1977. Although this song received the fewest votes in 1977, it is still the most famous song in South Australia.
The four songs that were up for selection in 1977 were: Advance Australia Fair (1st place with 40.35%), Waltzing Matilda (30.14%), God Save the Queen (18.78%) and The Song of Australia (9.65%).
song lyrics
The Song of Australia
There is a land where summer skies
Are gleaming with a thousand dyes,
Blending in witching harmonies, in harmonies;
And grassy knoll, and forest height,
Are flushing in the rosy light,
And all above in azure bright -
Australia!
There is a land where honey flows,
Where laughing corn luxuriant grows,
Land of the myrtle and the rose,
On hill and plain the clust'ring vine,
Is gushing out with purple wine,
And cups are quaffed to thee and thine -
Australia!
There is a land where treasures shine
Deep in the dark unfathomed mine,
For worshipers at Mammon's shrine,
Where gold lies hid, and rubies gleam,
And fabled wealth no more doth seem
The idle fancy of a dream -
Australia!
There is a land where homesteads peep
From sunny plain and woodland steep,
And love and joy bright vigils keep,
Where the glad voice of childish glee
Is mingling with the melody
For nature's hidden minstrelsy -
Australia!
There is a land where, floating free,
From mountain top to girdling sea,
A proud flag waves exultingly,
And freedom's sons the banner bear,
No shackled slave can breathe the air,
Fairest of Britain's daughters fair
Australia!
Web links
- Song of Australia
- History of the Song of Australia
- Song of Australia sung by the Royal Australian Navy Band ( Memento August 24, 2006 on the Internet Archive ) in MP3 format
Individual evidence
- ^ Song of Australia on Flinders Ranges Research. In: southaustralianhistory.com.au . Retrieved February 18, 2010.
- ^ Result on the Parlament Library ( Memento of September 3, 2006 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on February 18, 2010 (English).