Just a little nationalistic wish for everyone to have a great July 1st Canada Day long weekend!
Go, Canada! 
Tomorrow I might add the words for all 4 verses of O Canada (I still remember Des b*tching about that when Dawn D. was in the choir for the opening ceremonies of the Pan American Games back in the last century!). He certainly wasn't alone in thinking that this had been something invented for the spectacle. However, the words are very old ... even if we don't learn about them in school anymore.
Now, I am wondering: are there 4 verses in French, too? I'll have to check and see.
Well, I was able to find the words for all 4 verses of O Canada, predictably enough, from a wonderful page entitled
National Anthem: O Canada = Hymne national du Canada, on the Government of Canada site.There is a wealth of other material there, all of it easily accessible via the wonderfully detailed index of links on the left. Now this is our tax dollar spent well. Thank you to the government web designers for making such a great resource for all of us ... especially for the students. You couldn't have made it any more convenient for them to find (although I do wonder why Google did bring this great page up higher in the results hierarchy).
The link to the English version of the page is
Canadian Heritage – Ceremonial and Canadian Symbols Promotion – National Anthem: O Canada
URL <http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/anthem_e.cfm>and the address for the French rendition of the page is
Patrimoine canadien – Cérémonial et promotion des symboles canadiens – National Anthem: O Canada
URL <http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/anthem_f.cfm>Each page provides the full history of both the text and music — including notation of the differences between the versions (demonstrated through literal translation of the first verses of each language rendition, which constitute the respective official version of that national anthem — as well as the sheet music, free MP3 downloads, information on the ceremonial aspects of the anthem, and clearance for use of the anthem (it is public domain as noted).
Now, although I realise this is repetitive, here are the texts for the four stanzas of the English version, as currently combined ...
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons 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.
O Canada! Where pines and maples grow.
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western Sea,
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou True North, strong and free!
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western Sea,
Our own beloved native land!
Our True North, strong and free!
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion within thy loving care;
Help us to find, O God, in thee
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the Better Day,
We ever stand on guard.
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
... et en suite, les quatre strophes en français [and next, the four verses in French], which have demonstrated much greater continuity and consistency over the years:
O Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Sous l'oeil de Dieu, près du fleuve géant,
Le Canadien grandit en espérant,
Il est né d'une race fière,
Béni fut son berceau;
Le ciel a marqué sa carrière
Dans ce monde nouveau.
Toujours guidé par Sa lumière,
Il gardera l'honneur de son drapeau,
Il gardera l'honneur de son drapeau.
De son patron, précurseur du vrai Dieu,
Il porte au front l'auréole de feu;
Ennemi de la tyrannie,
Mais plein de loyauté,
Il veut garder dans l'harmonie
Sa fière liberté.
Et par l'effort de son génie,
Sur notre Sol asseoir la vérité,
Sur notre Sol asseoir la vérité!
Amour sacré du trône et de l'autel
Remplis nos coeurs de ton souffle immortel.
Parmi les races étrangères
Notre guide est la foi;
Sachons être un peuple de frères,
Sous le joug de la loi;
Et répétons comme nos pères
Le cri vainqueur: «Pour le Christ et le Roi»
Le cri vainqueur: «Pour le Christ et le Roi».
(In French thus, there is essentially no change to the original poem penned by Adolphe-Basile Routhier in 1880. The first couplet was proclaimed the official French version of the national anthem in 1980.)
The history of the first stanza in English is rather complicated and this bears some attention: written by Stanley Weir in 1908, it was altered by G.V. Thompson in 1970, and modified again slightly pursuant to the National Anthem Act in 1980 by the change of the third line in the first verse to "God keep our land"; originally, it was — as most in my age cohort or older remember — "The True North strong and free"; the original version is not, however, familiar to most Canadians, who mistake the 1970 version to be the original!).
The original version is thus (N.B. the difference, highlighted here in red):
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love thou dost in us command.
We see thee rising fair, dear land,
The True North, strong and free;
And stand on guard, O Canada,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada!
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.
O Canada! Where pines and maples grow.
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western Sea,
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou True North, strong and free!
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western Sea,
Our own beloved native land!
Our True North, strong and free!
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion within thy loving care;
Help us to find, O God, in thee
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the Better Day,
We ever stand on guard.
Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.
Given the increasing religiosity expressed in the succeeding verses, in both languages (admittedly, the French starts out more that way), it is no wonder that the increasingly secular state has not endorsed them as official and thus that most Canadians remain ignorant of them. I cannot remember even once being taught that the original poems had more than one verse.
And what a surprise it was to find that there were more stanzas out there! I have always felt it a shame that the second verse, in particular — celebrating the natural beauty of the land — is not more widely known. It seems especially appropriate nowadays, with our heightened environmental awareness.
The only reason I came to know about any of this at all was, weirdly enough, because of a little red Gideon's New Testament ♦ Psalms, [and] Proverbs pocket Bible.
These were distributed at my school, Margaret Park Elementary, March 13, 1975, in my Grade IV year (illegally? it isn't very clear if there was actual adequate permission obtained, but I am grateful nonetheless) gave another version, the ultimate source of which I have so far been unable to confirm.
In any case, the 3-stave text presented in the little red Gideon's NT/PP (p.xxix) is as follows:
O Canada! Our home, our native land,
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free;
And stand on guard O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
Chorus:
O Canada! Glorious and free!
We stand on guard, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.
O Canada! Where pines and maples grow,
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western Sea,
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou True North strong and free!
O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast thro' the years
From East to Western Sea,
Our Fatherland [,] our Motherland!
Our True North, strong and free!
(Although I realise that this version must date from an earlier era, the jingoism in that final couplet is both striking and jarring: it would be very interesting to know who penned it and when. It seems so unCanadian!)
And there we have it.
Joyeux fête national à tous!
To end, two more personal notes ...
I remember, as a boy, being told by my parents to be proud to be Canadian. I also remember that reading the anthem in that little red book was the first time I ever did. Part of the power of music, I believe.And as my friends from Massey may remember, music is one of the few things that actually silences me. ;-D I fondly remember having never missed a chance to be at the musicology table.
I listened with such quiet and concentration to Roxanne Carlisle's wonderful stories — of gathering folk music, ethnomusicology in Africa and Asia, graduate life at Columbia, living with Bela Bartok, etc., etc. — that I also remember being questioned as to whether I was paying attention, since, as all know, it is my wont to show interest by joining in (Parents, be careful what you train your children to do!).
"I have nothing to add," I replied, "and this is what I'm like when I'm enraptured."
God bless, Roxanne (wherever she is now) and all the musically talented people of our societies. I cannot imagine a world without them.
