Lyric change ruffles some Canadians’ feathers
Remember the good old days back in elementary school when the national anthem would play over the speaker system and you had to stand beside your chair and sing along? Or, in my case, pretending to sing along by faintly moving my mouth to match the words I thought were being sung. It seems that many people today, when asked, have a hard time identifying what exactly the words in the anthem are.
Given this general lack of attention to the anthem’s lyrics, let alone the meaning and symbolism behind them, it came as a bit of surprise when our handsome, wavy-haired, prime minister, Justin Trudeau, announced this very important decision that had been made: the phrase in the anthem, “in all thy sons command,” has officially been changed to “in all of us command,” to ensure gender parity.Now, I like the idea of an inclusive and representative anthem, I really do. I feel just as proud as the next person when I hear Canada’s national song fill the echoing chambers of an ice rink at a hockey game. I feel a wave of excitement when I hear it being played at the Olympic Games. However, what I don’t feel so excited about is the fact that our government is spending so much time and energy changing a few simple words around and feeling like they have made a significant difference when the issues that inspire this kind of change are rooted much deeper and require much more digging and hard work to see any progress made.
The English version of Canada’s national anthem was based on a poem written by a rather mustachioed man named Robert Stanley Weir. From his poetic lyrics came the “O Canada” that we know and love today. The version that was presented at that time was officially proclaimed to be Canada’s national anthem on July 1, 1980.
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According to an article by CBC News, the demand to change the phrasing of the national anthem had been in the works for quite some time. Prior to the bill officially being passed just this year, 12 others had been introduced and rejected in the House of Commons since 1980. This goes to show just how long it can take for change to come about.
And what makes this even more disappointing is the fact that the original lyrics written by Weir in 1908 were in fact gender neutral before being changed to include the part about “thy sons” in 1914. Weir’s original lyrics included the phrase “thou dost in us command,” and though you wouldn’t likely hear anybody saying that today, it certainly is a more inclusive version. I wonder what Weir would think of the lyrics now, having taken so long to get back to what he originally envisioned.It’s true that language is a powerful tool and agent for change. The words we use can have tremendous impact, changing the way we see ourselves and the world around us. The problem I see here, however, is the fact that there has been such a huge focus on and celebration of something being accomplished that is so trivial. This seems to be a surface level change that has been made, perhaps to make us feel better initially, but which is not really making any concrete changes with regards to gender equality. This kind of action could also be seen as dangerous in the sense that it creates a false sense of hope for everyone who is involved.
Another element of interest here is the recent exchange between Prime Minister Trudeau and a woman who was attending a town-hall-style meeting in Edmonton, Alb. last week. Trudeau jokingly corrected the woman’s use of the word “mankind,” indicating that she should instead use the more inclusive phrase “peoplekind.” The contradiction that arose here between the seriousness that was given to the phrasing in the national anthem with the joking nature of swapping in a made-up term that Trudeau used is something to seriously consider. This lighthearted use of the English language, though likely with good intention, undermines the integrity of the phrasing that they were trying to establish in the first place. If you’re going to say that language is powerful and important, it should not then be tossed around to make gender parity into a joke. Moving forward, if we as Canadians are aiming to be politically correct and to continue to advocate for equity and inclusivity, there is another element of our national anthem that, as of right now, seems to have been overlooked: the incursion of God. An exploration of the presence of religion in our governing laws and legislation is an interesting, though admittedly difficult, subject to discuss. However, not unlike gender, it is important to take this first step in discussing and assessing our use of language to bring about more concrete change down the road.
[trx_infobox style=”regular” closeable=”no” icon=”icon-music-light” color=”#000000″ bg_color=”#FF7C7C” top=”inherit” bottom=”inherit” left=”inherit” right=”inherit”]REVISED ANTHEM LYRICS
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
[/trx_infobox]Photo courtesy of The Cord via CC0