Gordon Nore
Senior Master
This odd little news item caught my eye this morning over coffee. The current government is considering a change to Canada's national anthem, O Canada.
This is actually the second time in my life that the English lyrics will have been changed. Back in the early eighties, the refrain was altered...
to
Actually, that seemed a strange change to me for the times, and that I stopped singing the anthem aloud.
Various revision discussed here in this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_canada
OTTAWA—Three days after Canadians belted out “O Canada” to celebrate the nation’s Olympic hockey win, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are asking whether the anthem should be changed.
The phrase “In all thy sons command” has some women calling for a gender-neutral version, Industry Minister Tony Clement says, citing an email from a constituent.
“For 50 years ..... I’ve listened to our anthem and felt excluded by the line,” Tina Prietz, 60, of Huntsville, Ont., wrote to Clement. “Yes, you’ve guessed it, I’m female.”
The Conservative government said in Wednesday’s throne speech it will ask Parliament to examine the original wording of the anthem. Officials said later a parliamentary committee will study whether the phrase “In all thy sons command” should be changed to “Thou dost in us command,” which the Prime Minister’s Office says is the wording from the original version.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...atives-eye-new-lyrics-for-our-national-anthem
This is actually the second time in my life that the English lyrics will have been changed. Back in the early eighties, the refrain was altered...
O Canada
glorious and free
to
God keep our land
glorious and free
Actually, that seemed a strange change to me for the times, and that I stopped singing the anthem aloud.
Various revision discussed here in this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_canada