Restore the whole anthem

RestoreOurAnthem.ca launched recently to quite a bit of media exposure, particularly because several notable Canadians including author Margaret Atwood and former Prime Minister Kim Campbell are behind the push to de-gender Canada’s anthem.

I fully support their effort, even if the political will might be missing (Harper introduced the idea from nowhere in a 2010 Throne Speech before retracting it a couple days later) and would suggest the change go even further and call for the anthem to be restored entirely to the first stanza of Stanley Weir’s 1908 poem:

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,
We stand on guard for thee.
O Canada! O Canada!
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.

This version solves the gender issue and secularizes it, better reflecting a 21st Century Canada that is at least 1/4 non-religious.

Of course it still maintains some awkward older English and the odd phrase that could be improved upon (native land), so here’s where I’d go with the final version (or at least the version I sing to myself):

O Canada! Our home and cherished land!
True patriot love in all of us 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.
O Canada! Glorious and free!
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.

Of course the French version ought to drop the references to carrying the Cross but my grasp on French isn’t strong enough to recommend an alternative.

While in the UK, I probably won’t be caught singing God Save the Queen (except for The Sex Pistols version).