I never got around to ranking them, again. My list genereally is the same, but I tweak it a bit from time to time.
I got to hear two of these live, and more than once. The others … I still just like.
The top five.
1. Great Britain.
2. France
3. Russia
4. Germany
5.Canada.
Seems like I heard Kenya’s and Ethiopia’s a lot. And, of course, China’s. Which is nothing special. Aside from those rousing lyrics about throwing off the oppressors, of course.
I heard England’s and Russia’s in person. At cycling and at the track and field meet.
I love a good anthem. Hard to beat “God Save the Queen.†Makes me teary every time, and I’m not even a Brit. Or a monarchist.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Joseph D'Hippolito // Aug 24, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Paul, if you ever get the chance to hear the Japanese and Israeli anthems, savor the experience. In my opinion, they are the most beautiful, musically speaking.
2 George Alfano // Aug 25, 2008 at 2:21 PM
O Canada and the French National Anthem ranks above God Save the Queen, in my opinion. O Canada starts hockey games and Le Marsaille is in the middle of Casablanca
3 Damian // Sep 8, 2008 at 9:48 PM
Jolly good show, lad! I must throw my support towards your top choice as well, even if my parents never applied for that passport after i was born and before I moved stateside. Instead, I’ll have to work through the hassle to get my dual citizenship.
Anyway, there is no more intense, moving, spine-tingling national anthem moment to a neutral person than to be among a pro-English crowd at a World Cup match involving England. I’m sure all who have experienced it can attest to that. The 2012 Olympics will be similar in that all English at the venue will chant along in unison.
All of this aside, let’s resume the “Seasons in The Sun” already. Nick is losing his patience awaiting his turn.
4 Jim Alexander // Sep 9, 2008 at 5:20 PM
One more vote for O Canada, especially the bilingual version. (And especially with Roger Doucet singing it before a big game at the Montreal Forum.)
5 Spain and Not Singing the Anthem // Jun 24, 2012 at 11:53 AM
[…] like national anthems, some of them. We have stipulated this on this site. (And if I ranked them right this minute, France and Russia would be 1-2 … or […]
Leave a Comment