Saturday Jukebox Goes Anthemic

Taking a slight break from Eurovision (Semi Final Two tonight here in Australia, Final in Europe), here’s a little trio of signoffs* from the US, Australia, and New Zealand.

* The old tradition of playing the national anthem before a station closed for the night.

First off, the US. Given how much I talk about singers being disconnected from a song’s lyrics, it’s rather odd that I never really put together how militaristic The Star Spangled Banner is. It’s basically a war report put to music. I, like most Americans of my generation, grew up with this signoff, and still it took me awhile to draw the war connection. (I hanged my head in embarrassment over being slow to pick this up.) 

Now, Australia.

Advance Australia Fair (yes, that’s the anthem—not Waltzing Matilda, although a song about suicidal thief running away from authority would work) talks mostly about geography, but the images shown are all about the military.

Finally, New Zealand.

Good Ol’ TVNZ wins in my opinion. Why? They have vocals, and these vocalists don’t just sing Aotearoa/God Defend New Zealand, they sing it as if they are rallying the troops and preparing for Armageddon. All the while we get tranquil scenes of nature, farm life, and the arts. This kind of singing is what I mean by “bringing the crazy,” and they do…brilliantly.