Advance Australia Fair

The AFL Grand Final is arguably the biggest annual sporting event in Australia, each year more than 80 000 fans flock to the Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch the Premiership decider. Millions more watch on the TV. And yesterday Port Adelaide won the 2004 premiership, defeating the reigning (3 time) champ, Brisbane. Port Adelaide deserved to win after the work they put in, both in this game, and in the season as a whole.

But that’s not really what I wanted to blog about today. You can read all about the big game here.

But I want to talk about our National Anthem; the banal Advance Australia Fair.

When I tuned into the GF telecast yesterday I was just in time to listen to Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian make a fair fist of singing AAF(a few have gaffed this task in recent years, but Guy did a good job). As he sang, the TV cameras panned the players from both teams, a few were singing, but most looked completely disinterested.

If you have ever listened to Advance Australia Fair you could understand such disinterest. It's almost embarressing to think that we use it to celebrate and commemorate so many important occasions, such as the AFL Grand Final. The words and tune that make up Advance Australia Fair fail to reach any inspiring heights. It’s almost bit of a dirge:
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

Compare this passive opening- which is completely at odd’s with our local vernacular- with that of The Star-Spangled Banner:

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twighlight’s last gleaming?

Or my favorite, ‘The Marseillaise’
Arise, children of the fatherland,
The day of glory has arrived,
Against us tyranny’s
Bloody standard is raised.

Now that's inspirational! But, no such inspirationa exists in Advance Australia Fair. No attack. No assertion of our ideal’s, let alone any defence of them.

Even New Zealand’s “God Defend New Zealand” has lyrics that are deep with idea’s and ideals, including God, peace, and hospitality and is full of resolute determination to defend them.

So why do we have such a tacky, uninspiring song? It is probably born out of a history that doesn’t include much singing, certainly not as much as the American’s, the Irish, even the Scot’s and English. In fact for the most part of our modern history, we just sang the song’s of the Americans, the Irish, the Scots and the English. We even borrowed our National Anthem from Britain for the first eighty years of nationhood (God Save the King)

Whilst I take no pride in our existing National Anthem, I am not holding my breath waiting for a new one to emerge; it’s not like we have any hoard of great ideas or death-less phrases from immortal Australian statesmen to draw inspiration from. But for as long as I have to sing “our home is girt by sea” I am not likely to be putting my hand on my heart….

Comments

[Thor Prohaska]

I also came to the same conclusion that Australia needs a better national anthem. So I did something about it and created an improved version of Advance Australia Fair. I have changed half of the words but left the tune unchanged. It is now titled Australia and goes like this:

Australia

Australians all let us rejoice
for we are all born free.
We are the dreaming of this land
its spirit breathes in me.
Our home abounds with nature's gifts
of beauty rich and rare.
At every stage let history's page
treat all Australians fair.
With joyful voices let us sing
Australia is our home.

Beneath the radiant Southern Cross
we'll toil with hearts and hands
to leave our children's children
a whole and sacred land.
For those who've come across the seas
as friends we welcome you.
With courage let us all combine
to make our dreams come true.
With joyful voices let us sing
Australia is our home.

© 'The Australian People'
Version 12
18th of April 2002

To view find out more information please go to www.anthem.net.au.