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Comment by smcl | Hacker News Reader

I mean, God Save The King/Queen is not exactly passive either. For a period it briefly had a mask-off moment, where my people were to be "crushed":

> Lord, grant that Marshal Wade,

> May by thy mighty aid,

> Victory bring.

> May he sedition hush,

> and like a torrent rush,

> Rebellious Scots to crush,

> God save the King.

So that's nice, when your own national anthem called for you to be crushed. This verse is not used anymore, but the UK national anthem is obviously not popular in Scotland. I have never learned the lyrics to it and haven't the faintest interest in doing so. For me it starts "God save our something Queen, bleeh bleh bleh bleeeeeeh bleh bleh, god save our queen..."

I know "Kde domov můj" more than I know that song.

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I feel like a lot of national anthems have some bits that people gloss over, or have quietly done away with. Part of the charm innit. The Irish national song talks about the 'Saxon foe' in the English version[1] (the English version isn't normally the one sung, and only the chorus of said song is the national anthem proper).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amhrán_na_bhFiann

Yeah it's possible that by now many anthems don't truly mean what they currently or originally said, or reference things that are kinda irrelevant today. They're just rousing words that fit a tune, and people sorta go along with it. And tbh as I said the UK anthem doesn't currently openly call for my slaughter and I don't live in fear that I'll be persecuted by the UK government on account of my national identity. But I think it's one thing to have a "Remember this external foe we defeated in our independence struggle" section in your anthem and another to have had one saying "A very large part of our nation must be defeated and its people subjugated", particularly if you are one of those people

The Dutch national anthem has a part that pronounces the narrator to be proud to be of German blood..

Also that the protagonist (Wilhelm of Orange) has always respected the Spanish king.

I don't know if you're American or not, but if you're familiar with The Star Spangled Banner, you may not be familiar with _all_ of it.

https://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/pdf/ssb_lyrics.p...

additionally notable— the melody the poem was ultimately set to: a tavern drinking song, To Anacreon in Heaven [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anacreontic_Song

From my very in-depth investigation that verse was never in widespread use and was referring to the Jacobites.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_Queen#Historic_Ja...

Did you read this on Twitter or in The National?

Hey greentext andrew163623, I'm very pleased you discovered wikipedia! However the existence of that verse is already known by many Scots, it's not some Forbidden Knowledge that only nationalist papers talk about.

> So that's nice, when your own national anthem called for you to be crushed.

It’s not calling for loyal Scots to be crushed, just rebellious ones!

Ah that's a relief! Wait I voted Yes ...

> Rebellious Scots to crush

Someone anticipated the Scottish independence referendum already a long time ago!

Well it was in reference to the original independence movement (which would just have installed a different fancy lad as King) in the form of the Jacobite Rebellion so yeah :D

But in honesty, the anthem isn't technically prejudiced against the Scottish identity today, it's just sort of ... weird due to this history and some accumulated shit, and many of us just fucking don't like it, but can't really do anything about it.

Flower of Scotland is very slow and brings an odd vibe to sporting events. I prefer Loch Lomond and how it builds :D

edit - you got downvoted: you shouldn't have

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