The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-07-19
SIR EDWARD ELGAR'S VIEW
ON BRITISH AND AMERI-
 CAN
National Anthems and others.

Sir Edward Elgar, England's most famous living musical composer" says the New York Globe, "Who came here to receive the degree of doctor of mu- sic from Yale university, has returned to the Waldorf-Astoria from Newport and will soon sail for home.
 In an interview, Sir Ddward talked pleasantly of his stay and reception here, and on musical matters generally. On the latter subject he had some amusing critical remarks, to pass on the worlds national anthems, the Star Spangled Banner" coming tin for due share of his criticism.
 "All national anthems are rubbish so far as their words are concerned, and worse than rubbish frOms musical point of view" said Sir Edward. 1 The English national anthem is the silliest thing imaginable; the words are. stupid, and some of the lines won't rhyme, and, altogether, the man who sings it and thinks of what. he is say ing can't respect himself. The music is good enough, because it was stolen from the Germans.
 Your national anthem is even worse
 than Englands, You haven't got any regular, legitimate national anthem,
 but you have four anthems which seem | to rank about equal in popular estima- tion.
 There is Yankee Doodle which has
 words that are stark idiocy, while the music would set the teeth of uzz
 saw on edge. Then, there is Hail, Co., | lumbia,' which is nearly as bad in eve ry way as Yankee Doodle.' The Star | Spangled Banner is a song that begins
 so low and goes up so high that nobody
 can sing it, which is the only advantage
 it has over the other national anthems.
 And there is America which is the l English national anthem, with words I that run a little smoother than ours, l but are every bit as silly. Tn fact, don't know anything more
 exasperating than the first verse of
 America It is enough to turn cat Il against milk. l "I suppose the. reason for the bad
 ness of national anthems is that they have sort of grown up without' any | proper attention having been given | them when they were young. Nobody ever started out and wrote a national
 anthem, so far as I know, except the foolish persons who wrote America
 and Rule Britannia
 Tt isn't necessary that a national anthem should be rubbish. There is
 tfie Russian national anthem, which Is
 first-class music all through. don know where the Russians got it, but
 probably they annexed it when they
 were spreading civilization somewhere "The French don't know exactly what their national anthem is. When they are a republic it is the 'Marsel- laise, and when they are an empire it , is a ridiculous Sunday school tune called "Partant pour la Lyric , "The Italian national anthem, "The Royal March, is another fake It is about the cheapest thing in music one . could wish for. Why that should be k rather queer, considering that the Itai. ians are good musicians, and run mos | of the hand and piano organs that wt , find all over the globe.
 Ut would be entirely hopeless to ex,
 pect that anything will ever be done tt
 radically improve the worlds nationa anthem-to make them more palatable J Most of them are as old as the hills l and any nation would regard 1t as jus l as great a sacrilege to change any par f of their national song as it would be t =: eliminate some of the chapters fror the Bible and put the views of a n atheist in their place"