• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Lawmakers vote to change lyrics of Canada's national anthem to make it gender neutral

Status
Not open for further replies.
E

ElectricBlanketFire

Member
It would change the second line of the anthem from "in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command."

CBC said:
Dying Liberal MP Mauril Belanger's private member's bill to make the national anthem more gender neutral cleared its final hurdle in the House of Commons today, passing by a vote of 225 to 74.

After the vote nearly all MPs in the House stood and sang the national anthem.

The anthem change has been a Bélanger cause for years but has taken on far greater urgency in recent months after he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and his condition rapidly deteriorated.
Click to expand...

Pretty amazing story. Could you imagine the shit show that would take place if we tried this in the US? EDIT: If it wasn't already.
 
M

mdubs

Banned
ATT00010.gif
 
Y

yanipheonu

Member
I figured the "God keep our land" would have been first to change. Suppose they had a harder time with Christian groups.

Makes sense. I get the feeling of not wanting to change something so iconic but it's changed before, we're not beholden to it.

Weir's original lyrics from 1908 contained no religious references and used the phrase "thou dost in us command" before they were changed by Weir in 1914 to read "in all thy sons command".[1][9][10][11] In 1926, a fourth verse of a religious nature was added.[12]
Click to expand...

Didn't even know until I did the research, Frankly it's closer to the original intention of the song. I'm all for the changes at this point.

Now if only we can change "far and wide" to "far and weight-challenged".

Edit: http://youtu.be/ljBgMSB2QWs

Apparently before God Keep Our Land, it was just O Canada repeated.

O Canada, O Canada
O Canada we stand on guard for thee.
 
H

Hopeford

Member
TimeEffect said:
"God keep our land glorious and free!"

What should it be changed to?
Click to expand...

"Hulkamania keep our land glorious and free!"

"Bald eagle keep our land glorious and free!"

"Explosions keep our land glorious and free!"

"McDonalds keep our land glorious and free!"

Or more seriously, yeah, just something lame like "We shall" would do the trick. Don't see it happening though.
 
G

gutter_trash

Banned
1st, the original anthem lyraics was written by Adolphe-Basile Routhier and composed byby Calixa Lavallée in 1880,
back then English Canadians did not call themselves Canadians. They either used ''God Save The King/Queen'' and or ''Maple Leaf Forever'

Those who used the word ''Canadien'' to describe themselves where the French-Canadians.

English Canadians only came around at calling themselves Canadians by WWI.

the English version of the anthem only came around to be 28 years later in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir,

I have no problem with the modifications to the English anthem because the original anthem is the French one. :p

Best listened to at the Montreal Bell Center
 
G

Gilby

Member
I think we had a thread on this already, where I learned that apparently it was the original lyrics anyway. It's cool, and it's not like I sing/hear the anthem much anyway so i don't know why people would get too worked up about it (other than just general sexism).
 
B

bonesmccoy

Banned
Hopefully the Senate can modify the new line to something less clunky.

How about... True patriot love, in our name we command, or something.
 
G

gutter_trash

Banned
Politically Correct people would lose their minds if they understood the lyrics of many revolutionary republican anthems from various European countries who abolished their monarchies

''Blood'', ''sacrifices'', ''lay down our lives'', ''to the death'', ''call to arms''

LOL
 
Z

Zaraki_Kenpachi

Member
LMAO, love the OP trying to bash the US on something it succeeded in doing hundreds of years ago and then try to backtrack by saying he meant if it wasn't already that way. You made a thread that should be a cool thing into you just trying to find an outlet for some pretty insult that isn't even true. So sad.
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Kyuur said:
Now just make it secular.
Click to expand...
This.

The French version has too much religion in it. Porter la croix, foi trempée, etc. Way worse than a line about "thy sons" to be honest. Get that bollocks out and maybe I'll consider this stupid anthem not that stupid after all.
 
G

Guerrillas in the Mist

Member
gutter_trash said:
Politically Correct people would lose their minds if they understood the lyrics of many revolutionary republican anthems from various European countries who abolished their monarchies

''Blood'', ''sacrifices'', ''lay down our lives'', ''to the death'', ''call to arms''

LOL
Click to expand...

Wasn't La Marseillaise originally called something like "War/Marching Song of the Army"?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

  • Locked
What Should I Do: Resources for Making an Effort in Troubling Times
2 3
111
20K
EdibleKnife replied
  • Locked
Hillary Clinton retweets Slate voter guide calling her most corrupt candidate
3
3K
ModBot replied
  • Locked
Argentina votes new gender identity law
27
4K
BocoDragon replied
  • Locked
ROUND ONE OF THE MUSIC TOURNAMENT! ENDS JUNE 6th, WE NEED YOUR VOTE-AGE
2 3
107
6K
Karakand replied
  • Locked
What Makes a Terrorist? (LONG, but bolded for delicate constitutions)
0
438
Eric P replied
Top Bottom