Australians all let us rejoice.
So say the opening words of our National Anthem as penned by the late Peter Dodds McCormack.
Although a vast improvement on God save the Queen and or King whatever, there are many who deem this melody from our colonial past to be totally inappropriate as an accurate description of what Australia has evolved into.
I personally don't have a problem with it as written, however I am aware some of the lyrics appear to be no longer applicable.
eg. 'We are young and free'.
True, we may be free but certainly not young anymore and the line 'Girt by sea' has become almost a standing joke and has embarrassed many.
Some time in the not too distant future this great country of ours will eventually become a republic, as the majority of our population have their origins overseas and even though the reigning British monarch is much loved by the majority, she still is a foreigner who is the Australian head of state, something I am extremely uncomfortable with. Also, a large minority of newcomers tend to cling to the traditions and faults of their old country that were responsible for them fleeing to here in the first place, but thankfully the majority are blending into and accepting our easy going way of life and will eventually become worthwhile citizens in a country that will at last have a fair dinkum Australian as its primary citizen.
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| Damascus in ruins. A beautiful city and Country destroyed. |
Why wouldn't anyone swap the above for the following?
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| The Worlds greatest City |
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| Picnic in the Botanical gardens |
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Bondi Beach on most Summer Weekends.
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Oz. Not a bad place to be.
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Sydney's Tall Ships Festival
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Ferry Boat race
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Sydney to Hobart field
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Jockeying for position
Hobart here we come
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Sydney New Years Eve
Anyone for a surf?
NRL Grand Final
NRL State of Origin
A pleasant ferry ride to Manly
Thrillseekers
Harbour Bridge Climb
The Australian Opera Company. Carmen at the Sydney Opera House
Let's not forget Bleak City. The Melbourne Cup
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PARRAMASALA FESTIVAL
Held in what is now the centre of Sydney |
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| "We are Australian". |
It is only going to be a matter of time before someone puts forward for general acceptance a new and more meaningful anthem along with a new flag that hopefully should unite both black and white indigenous and dare I say it, new Australians.
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Food for Thought
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During 1987 Bruce Woodley of the Seekers and Dobe Newton of the Bushwackers composed a patriotic little ditty that in a very short space of time captured the imagination of the public at large.
This song and melody throughout the decades has been used for various promotions on and off television and radio.
The Seekers have recorded and performed it at many functions such as one of the AFL Grand Finals. Judith Durham recorded a solo version of it as well.
During his all bells and whistles tour of Australia, violinist and musical director Andre Rieu featured this marvellous tune that was performed by Brisbane's Mirusia Louwerse, who was given a standing ovation by the 38,000 strong audience in Melbourne.
If ever there was a song that depicts Oz and its people, its the aptly named, 'I am Australian.'
"I came from the dreamtime, from the dusty red soil plains,
I am the ancient heart, the keeper of the flame,
I stood upon the rocky shore, I watched the tall ships come,
For forty thousand years I've been, the first Australian."
"I came upon the prison ship, bound down by iron chains,
I fought the land, endured the lash and waited for the rains,
I'm a settler, I'm a farmer's wife, on a dry and barren run,
A convict, then a free man, I became Australian."
"I'm the daughter of a digger, who sought the mother lode,
The girl became a woman on the long and dusty road,
I'm a child of the depression, I saw the good times come,
I'm a bushy, I'm a battler, I am Australian."
"We are one, but we are many and from all the lands on Earth we come,
We share a dream and sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian."
"I'm the teller of stories, I'm the singer of songs,
I am Albert Namatjira and I paint the ghostly gums,
I'm Clancy on his horse, I'm Ned Kelly on the run,
I'm the one who waltzed Matilda, I am Australian."
"I'm the hot wind from the desert, I'm the black soil of the plains,
I'm the mountains and the valleys, I'm the drought and flooding rains,
I am the rock, I am the sky, the rivers when they run,
The spirit of this great land, I am Australian,"
"We are one, but we are many and from all the lands on earth we come,
We share a dream and sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian."
If someone comes up with something more appropriate, I would dearly love to hear it.
Click on the > addition for the Seekers rendition.
Advance Australia Fair
