US Anthem in Australian

Today, as I worked in a woman's apartment, reparing something, the talk centered on Social Security. I told her there was no shortage of money, just that the govt. is spending it wrong. "I think they are giving it all to illegal immigrants," she replied. Aha. Conversation aborted. Can't rile the paying customers.

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A couple of years ago at a local community festival here in Melbourne, a Turkish choir sang the Oz national anthem in their own language. They sang it beautifully & with feeling. It was so moving that I developed a lump in my throat & found tears in my eyes. (And I'm not even one of your super-patriots!) There should be more of this! I would love to hear it in Vietnamese, Greek, Italian, German, Ukrainian ....... Afterall, we're all Australian, aren't we? .... Besides, that bit about Oz being "girt by sea" sounds so much better in another language! :wink:

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I used to think "girt by sea" WAS in a foreign language.

Edgar, I often think of that great song "Your Racist Friend" by They Might Be Giants (I think) everytime I find myself that position...when I feel like a coward and a hypocrite for not crying "RACIST BIGOT!" at the top of my lungs.

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I know eorl. But, that woman pays my wages and I can't afford to start a new career so near to retirement.

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Yeah Egdar, I didn't mean in any way to belittle you (in hindsight, it might look that way) rather I was sympathizing having been there often myself and, sadly, expect to again.

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edgarblythe wrote:

I know eorl. But, that woman pays my wages and I can't afford to start a new career so near to retirement.

And what would have been the point, edgar? You could have persuaded her with your eloquent arguments? Sure, you could! :wink:

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I've avoided controversy there for 14 years. If I met any of these people away from the job, it would be different. Then I actually would try to reason with them.

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Merry Andrew wrote:

Perhaps the brouhaha over the US Anthem in Spanish would not have gotten off the ground if it weren't for the coincidence of the release of the song coinciding with the current flap over our immigration problems. Anything that smacks of sympathy for people who prefer a language other than English is anathema to the neocons right now. There was a time -- really! -- when a foreign language translation of the Anthem would have been considered a compliment. Back in the early part of the 20th Century it was rendered into Yiddish to some acclaim. But right this minute the question of Hispanophones is ticklish in the extreme.

(Above for dlowan's edification.)

(Not to mention edjamacation.)

(Not to mention that it's a quarter to 11 p.m. here and I'm less than fully alert.)

Well, it still IS a damn compliment, as far as I can see.

Are these people going to object to information pamphlets and signs in crucial places being in more than just English? To being able to access telephone assistance in more than one language?

Are they gonna mob the poor little person in the split screen thingy bravely translating operas for the deaf?

Setanta wrote:

Who knows why the boneheads get riled up about the anthem in Spanish. It is totally "unsingable" in the first place, and Francis Scott Key went out of fashion as a poet more than 100 years ago--we're stuck with it, but a great many Americans would prefer America the Beautiful, or just about anything other than the idiotic anthem we've got. I suspect the conservatives are outraged because the anthem in Spanish is an affront to all the White Anglo-Saxon Protestants cherish, but they'll never admit it.

Again why? Doesn't this mean people are actually (for some bizarre reason) INTERESTED in what they cherish?

edgarblythe wrote:

I've avoided controversy there for 14 years. If I met any of these people away from the job, it would be different. Then I actually would try to reason with them.

With a monkey wrench?

msolga wrote:

A couple of years ago at a local community festival here in Melbourne, a Turkish choir sang the Oz national anthem in their own language. They sang it beautifully & with feeling. It was so moving that I developed a lump in my throat & found tears in my eyes. (And I'm not even one of your super-patriots!) There should be more of this! I would love to hear it in Vietnamese, Greek, Italian, German, Ukrainian ....... Afterall, we're all Australian, aren't we? .... Besides, that bit about Oz being "girt by sea" sounds so much better in another language! :wink:

Whole damn thing sounds heaps better in another language.

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dlowan wrote:

Whole damn thing sounds heaps better in another language.

You have a point there, Deb!

But it being our official national anthem, it was a very moving moment. Trust me!

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Eorl wrote:

I used to think "girt by sea" WAS in a foreign language.

Earl

I take it that you are a citizen of the fair land of Oz? (Your face looks very familiar! :wink:) Could I ask from which bit of Oz? Pardon me if I'm a bit late in asking, bit I've rarely crossed your A2K path.

Please continue now, everyone.

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Sunny Brisvegas !! (shakes hands)

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Too true!

(I've often thought if we want to get really soppy we should use 'True Blue' for our anthem! Can't you just picture our beloved leader fobbing off Dubya with - "I've knocked off for a smoko, but I'll be back later on!")

And I love your version - although I suspect critical analysis will sail very close to plagiarism of the VB ad! :wink:

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Here it is in all its glory -

Australians all, let us rejoice
For we are young and free.
We've golden soil, and wealth for toil.
Our home is girt by sea.
Our land abounds in nature's gifts
Of beauty, rich and rare.
In history's page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing -
Advance Australia fair.

Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
We'll toil with hearts and hands.
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands.
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share.
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing -
Advance Australia fair.

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And if you think that's corny, here is the original second verse (which, for some reason, was scrapped) -

When gallant Cook from Albion sail'd
To trace wide oceans oe'r.
True British courage bore him on
Till he landed on our shore.
Then here he raised Old England's flag,
The standard of the brave.
With all her faults we love her still;
"Brittania rules the wave!"
In joyful strains......

Shocked

Oh dear. Oh dearie, dearie dear. Sad, isn't it?

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edgarblythe wrote:

Let me defend my knowledge of the Australian language, by citing the impeccable sources: Walt Kelly's Pogo Possum comic strip, and the lyrics to Waltzing Matilda. I rest my case.

Sorry edgar - but it has been bugging me. I remember Pogo Possum well, but he lived in the Okefenokee Swamp! What the bloody hell has he got to do with it? Surely Bugs Bunny's friend Taz would have been a more reliable source? :wink:

I'm outta here! I haven't had such a laugh for ages - thanks, edgar!
Any other translation work you may have - just give me a call, always happy to oblige.

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Gawdelpus that's dreadful. Yours is beyond banal, ours is beyond bombastic. Talk about two loser anthems. I think anthems ought to be changed every six months or so. Everybody gets to vote, you call on your telephone, like a reality show, and the votes are tabulated, and the most votes becomes the anthem for the next six months. "Stairway to Heaven" could have its time, "Freebird" would definitely get six months early on. Red Sox fans would steamroller in Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline". Better tunes than "Star Spangled Banner" too. And I think "Waltzing Matilda" should be your real anthem--we all thought it actually was till that poser one popped up. I went with my Aussie relatives to a roadhouse in southern Arizona for dinner once, and they had this 70-year-old couple playing piano and singing requests for "your dining pleasure". Asked them if they knew "Waltzing Matilda" for my relatives, they said "sure", and proceeded to sing "Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, you'll come a waltzing Matilda with me, Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, you'll come a waltzing Matilda with me, Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, you'll come a waltzing Matilda with me", for five minutes. Somehow I thought there was more to the song than that. Guess not.

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lezzles wrote:

Here it is in all its glory -

Australians all, let us rejoice
For we are young and free.
We've golden soil, and wealth for toil.
Our home is girt by sea.
Our land abounds in nature's gifts
Of beauty, rich and rare.
In history's page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing -
Advance Australia fair.

Australians all, let us rejoice
why?
For we are young and free.
I'm not young, and we have a majorly aging population.
We've golden soil, and wealth for toil.
You mean disgusting erosion, and salination
Our home is girt by sea.
Yes, we are an island...that happens a lot with islands...

Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
We'll toil with hearts and hands.
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands.
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share.
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing -
Advance Australia fair.

oh goddess, i can't bear to go on.

THIS IS ****!!!!!

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Quote:

Somehow I thought there was more to the song than that. Guess not.

Errmm there is a bit more.

Something about a bloke stealing a sheep and gettin arrested by the cops then commiting suicide to avoid being locked up.

Which prolly explains why its not the national anthem

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Yes, it contains "Adult Content" and "Supernatural Themes", Parental Guidance Recommended.

Once a jolly swagman camped by a Billabong
Under the shade of a Coolabah tree
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"

Down come a jumbuck to drink at the water hole
Up jumped a swagman and grabbed him in glee
And he sang as he stowed him away in his tucker bag
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me'".

Up rode the Squatter a riding his thoroughbred
Up rode the Trooper - one, two, three
"Where's that jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?",
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me".

But the swagman he up and jumped in the water hole
Drowning himself by the Coolabah tree,
And his ghost may be heard as it sings in the Billabong,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"

A.B. (Banjo) Paterson

Well, you shouldn't have asked, should you?

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US Anthem in Australian

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