Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1914-12-03
NATIONAL HYMNS.
Inspiring Anthems of the Great
States of Europe
SING THE PRIDE OF COUNTRY.

way-Our Own my Country. IT'S of
/ Thee,'' and yankee Doodle"
The Austrian national anthem is one
| Of the finest in existence. 1t was com
posed in 1897 by that great nation.
a composer. Haydn. who is chiefly
known to concert goers by his magnifi,
cent oratorio The Creation in which
occurs the splendid and ford chorus.
/ THE Heavens Are Telling" The an
! them was based upon an old national
song. but Haydn made it a thing of
/ beauty. 1t is the only national an
i foremost rank
| But the song which is sung in cities
by civilians is not always. or. indeed
generally. the one sung by the soldiers
who have to bear the Drunt of battle
and siege and march. The battle song
! of the Austrian soldier is "Prinz Eugen
der edle Ritter" which tells how the
noble cavalier. Prince Eugene of Sa-
vOy. laid siege to and captured Bel
I grade from the Turks in I'LL 1t ought
to be Il good song for the purpose, for
! 1t was actually written in the trenches
before Belgrade
Probably the most stately national
anthem is the Russian. It's very title.
GOD the All Terrible" seems to strike
heroic strain. Sung by a great
mass Of peasant soldiers with simple
/ fervOr it's effect is grand in the ex-
IRENE. Played upon the great organ
in the cathedral at Moscow it sounds
like prayer. Not only are the words
very poeticaI. but the tune is forceful
and haunting.
OF course the greatest of all war
songs pure and simple is unquestion-
ably The Marseillaise" What mem
cries it has clinging to it's fervidly pa
i triotic words. 1t was the song of the
! French revolution and did more to
bring down the dynasty of the Bour-
bons than half a dozen army corps.
1t was called by the name which still!
is universally applied to it, because
the men-and Women-of Marseilles,
the port of the Mediterranean, march
ed all the way to Paris, singing it as
they went It's first fruits were reap
ed a few days after their arrival.
when the hated Bastille fell to it's
strains. 1t is now the national an
them of republican France.
In Germany no patriotic song has
been sung with such fervor as the ia
nous battle hymn Of the Germans.
die Yacht am Rhein' C"The Watch
on the Rhine'). 1t was written in
| 1910. but remained practically I'M
! known until the outbreak of the war
with France. when it was sung by ev-
cry soldier and every man, woman
and child throughout the German en-
pire THE Watch on the Rhine" was
to Germany at that time what THE
Marseillaise' was to France-a soul
stirring composition which made meE
eager to take up arms and fight for
the cause which they thought was
right
Engand's national anthem is Geor-
gian product and originally opened
with the words. God bless great
George. our king" 1t has been hon
ored by Beethoven with seven varia-
tons for the piano, and it is intro
duced into his Battle Symphony"
On the whole, perhaps, the tune to
which is sung God Save the King
has probably the largest circulation of
any tune in the world. Then there is
Rule, Britannia" which was compos-
ed by Dr. Arne. the English musician.
who wrote several operas. Rule.
BRITANNIA was included in the
"Masque of Alfred a musical farce
produced in 174O.
Just as the Austrian national anthem
| is the only one set to music by great
composer. so the Norwegian anthem is
the only one whose words were writ
ten by a real poet. This was Bjorn-
stjerne Bjornson. On one occasion be
was asked when he got the greatest
pleasure out of his fame as a national
j poet. He replied: 1T was when
delegation from the Right came to
| my house in Christiania and smashed
/ all my windows. Because when they
had done all the damage they could
| and were starting home again they felt
they ought to sing something. So they
began to sing. Yes. We Love This
Land of Ours They could DO nothing
else. They were obliged to sing the
song of the man whom they had at
! tackled
Singularly enough, the country which
has the best variety of patriotic an
thems is the country which has had
less warfare than any other, the Unit
ed States of America Her songs are
/ fine.
The real national anthem of America
is MY Country. 'Tis of Thee and it is
sung to the same tune as God Save
the King" But perhaps the real genu-
inc. rock bottom anthem of America.