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.
August 15, 2013 at 5:15 pm
Ah, the "Tro lo lo Guy." The words of the song were considered subversive by the Soviets, so he just sang 'tro lo lo lo lo" to the tune. Maybe the Swiss can do that — change the words of their current anthem to "tro lo lo lo lo." That would be easier and cheaper.
August 15, 2013 at 10:10 pm
Rhyming "solidarity" is, for those of us who love clean iambs, a matter for comic effect, but here goes:
cruel polarity
harsh hilarity
lack of charity
One tends to mock Calvinism, but when Catholics now name their children after geographical features or vague sounds instead of names in the Bible or the roll of saints, the mockery is upon ourseloves.
August 15, 2013 at 10:31 pm
Yes Mack, because Presbyterians are so much better off. One mocks Calvinism because it makes God a monster who wishes that some souls be damned.
And a quick glance over the rolls of saints reveals a Saint Elf-Bright ("the Great", teacher of Thomas Aquinas), a Saint Frenchie (namesake of the current Pope—also, "franciscus" was a throwing-axe favored by the Franks, so one might also translate it as "Saint Tomahawk"), a Saint Little Brave Bear (of Lourdes), and a Saint Greek Moon-Goddess Epithet (mother of Constantine). Did you have a point?
August 16, 2013 at 3:46 am
What about the cross on the flag? Maybe just turn the whole flag white.