tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post1363459529417185432..comments2023-10-18T12:55:50.552+00:00Comments on At Flores in the Azores: The 4th VerseNeil Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567487892239196569noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-6337825395957481372012-06-09T20:05:17.229+00:002012-06-09T20:05:17.229+00:00Oh, guys, the UK holds no monopoly on now-embarras...Oh, guys, the UK holds no monopoly on now-embarrassing anthem lyrics.<br /><br />1. http://www.usa-flag-site.org/song-lyrics/star-spangled-banner.shtml<br />And where is that band who so vauntingly swore<br />That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,<br />A home and a country should leave us no more!<br />Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.<br />No refuge could save the hireling and slave<br />From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:<br />And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave<br />O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!<br /><br />2. The 4th stanza of the unofficial US anthem, "America" (or, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee") -- which we sang at elementary school assemblies (in part, I suspect, because of the easier melody, to the same tune as GSTQ) -- surely breaches the US Constitution's First Amendment wall separating church and state:<br /><br />http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh697.sht<br />Our fathers' God, to thee,<br />author of liberty, to thee we sing;<br />long may our land be bright<br />with freedom's holy light;<br />protect us by thy might, great God, our King.<br /><br />3. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," penned in the early years of the American Civil War, implies that those supporting the Confederacy will go to hell:<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_Hymn_of_the_Republic<br />He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;<br />He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:<br />Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!<br />Our God is marching on. <br /><br />4. The chorus of France's "La Marseillaise" is downright genocidal:<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Marseillaise<br />Aux armes, citoyens,<br />Formez vos bataillons,<br />Marchons, marchons!<br />Qu'un sang impur<br />Abreuve nos sillons!<br />[To arms, citizens, form your battalions, let's march, let's march! Let an impure blood water our furrows!]<br /><br />5. See where the rivers named in the German national anthem flow, in order to realize that 5th and 6th the lines are a veritable paean to the concept of "Lebensraum":<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutschlandlied<br />Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,<br />Über alles in der Welt,<br />Wenn es stets zu Schutz und Trutze<br />Brüderlich zusammenhält.<br />Von der Maas bis an die Memel,<br />Von der Etsch bis an den Belt,<br />|: Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,<br />Über alles in der Welt! :|<br /><br />Germany, Germany above everything, Above everything in the world, when, for protection and defence, it always takes a brotherly stand together. From the Meuse to the Memel, From the Adige to the Belt |: Germany, Germany above everything, above everything in the world! :|<br /><br />6. The Portuguese national anthem was originally an 1890 screed against Britain's depriving Portugal of its desire for all of Southern Africa, instead making Portugal cede territory between Angola and Mozambique to Britain (for its own colony):<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_PortuguesaKathienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4109157903763444447.post-78179955673064872952012-06-08T07:13:30.515+00:002012-06-08T07:13:30.515+00:00Brilliant. You need to get back here to lead the &...Brilliant. You need to get back here to lead the "NO" campaign.Suzenoreply@blogger.com