Switzerland is challenging its people to write a new national anthem because the old anthem had icky religious words in them. They want a national anthem with less words like “God” and more words like “solidarity.” Really. I’m not actually kidding. I mean, what the heck rhymes with “solidarity?”
Whatever currency the Swiss use, the winner gets 10,000 of them for coming up with the best replacement. I have no idea if that’s a lot. If it is, feel free to enter. Come on, you really think I’m going to look up the Swiss currency? OK. I just did. It’s the Swiss Frank. But I’m not about to look up the exchange rate for you. You’ve got to take some initiative yourself, you know.
The guy in charge of the competition told the BBC what the problem is with the country’s anthem: “The real problem is above all the text…Officially the anthem is a psalm, a prayer, but of course we have an open society, religiously neutral….We have atheists, no single god, so this anthem is a difficulty”.
Yes, God can be quite the difficulty, can’t He?
Christian.org has some of the old verses in their report:
“When the morning skies grow red / And o’er their radiance shed / Thou, O Lord, appeareth in their light.
“When the Alps glow bright with splendour, Pray to God, to Him surrender,
“For you feel and understand, For you feel and understand / That he dwelleth in this land. That he dwelleth in this land.”
All you need to know is that at least some of the judges will be from the yodeling community. ‘Nuff said.
This guy is kinda’ yodeling so here you go.
