Charge of
the Light Brigade - Canada Style
We of no
Song
On August 13,
while visiting Chicago, my wife and I stumbled upon a concert at the Millennium
Park bandshell that was being performed by members of the U.S. navy as part of
their War of 1812 commemorations.
As I sat
through the various military marches, I was overwhelmed by the patriotism,
respect and long tradition of military anthems I beheld that night, in a concert
that lasted just under 2 hours.
It was clear
to me that – through music -- Americans take pride in their military services
and the men and women who ‘stand on guard’. Though American military anthems go back well
over 100 years and are most associated with that great musical ear, John Philip
Sousa, who wrote 136 military marches, military anthems did not die out with
his passing in 1932. New marching band songs were performed including one commissioned
by or for President Ronald Regan.
Each piece was
introduced in detail – the composer, the President or occasion for which it was
commissioned, and any special association with one of the five branches of the
arms forces: Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and Coast Guard.
At one
point, a medley of the 5 military anthems was played and members of the
audience were asked to stand in tribute when their specific armed force’s
anthem was played. Over the course of
the medley, men and women, old and young stood to the audience’s applause..
As well,
though the anthems were all orchestral pieces, the lyrics of at least 4 of the
5 anthems rang through my head. I am not
an American and raised in Canada – yet I know those songs and their words well.
(See P.S. below.)
********
So, what of Canada?
Do we have
official anthems for our different military divisions or even one unifying
song?
A quick
YouTube hunt was disheartening, if predictable. Nothing but O’ Canada.
However,
Wikipedia was more informative. Wikipedia’s “Authorized marches of the Canadian Forces” has a
very long and detailed list of regimental, brigade and personnel branch songs, 4
Military College songs and, finally, 4 songs for the Canadian navy, army, air
force and northern division.
Two of these
are British carryovers: the Navy’s operatic Heart
of Oak, still used by the British navy, and RCAF March Past which is still used by the British air force for
whom it was commissioned. I could not find anything on the background of the
Canadian Army’s Celer Paratus Callidus (Latin, for SWIFT, READY, CRAFTY), nor
could I find the North units Canada North
anthem at all.
So, what does this all mean?
Regiments
and military subunits are heavily into marching music but at the national
level, our ‘anthems’ are either hand-me-downs or hard to find.
For a
country that has named a section of the 401 highway the Highway of Heroes, between Trenton, Ontario, and Toronto, that
announces their return in the media so Canadians can line the road to pay
tribute, it is sad that respect and
patriotism only reach the average Canadian mind and heart in death.
We need a
John Philip Sousa. We need to have
original Canadian anthems for our national service(s), and teach and play these
songs – with lyrics – across this land.
We need to
be proudly Canadian. We need to show
respect and gratitude to our men and women of the armed forces --- while they live as well as in death.
P.S.
If you wish
to hear the 5 official American military anthems with full lyric (and military
images), go to YouTube, U.S. Armed Forces Songs.
For the tunes alone, just go to Youtube’s United
States: "Military Might (Five Military Branch Anthems)" — Canadian
Brass. Yes, performed by a Canadian band no less!!!
For Heart of Oak with lyrics, see
YouTube, “Royal Navy - Heart of Oak”
www.mp3videosearch.com/.../Celer-Paratus-Callidus.ht... - United States
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