Having lived in Canada for a year, I now know the words to O Canada better than God Save the Queen.
Canadians seem to sing their national anthem at every opportunity. It is sung before school events, at assemblies, at dinner banquets, at parades, at graduations and basically every event where a group of people are together in any sort of formal capacity.
I have certainly sung O Canada more than God Save the Queen.
During my school career, I can't remember singing God Save the Queen once.
Canadians are very patriotic people and I am impressed when I look around a school and find even a five-year-old knows the words to O Canada.
But that's not to say the British are not patriotic. Perhaps they prefer to show it more understated ways and singing is not one of them.
The first verse is sung on official occasions and most people could get through that verse but the second is virtually unknown.
The anthem is sung whenever the Queen makes a public appearance, at sporting events and at the end of Remembrance Day services.
But apart from those occasions, the national anthem is heard very little whereas in Canada not a day goes past when O Canada is not sung out.
The other difference is people actually do sing O Canada. Despite it's rather high notes, everyone tries their best. In Britain, it's a rather mumbled affair when it is sung.
Some suggest the reason for this is because the anthem is full of imperial language about conquering other nations.
Older versions even praise the crushing of the Scots. In the 19th century, there were several attempts at rewrites of the more militaristic words and there have been many calls since to change the words.
People have also called for England to have a national anthem of its own rather than making do with a UK-wide one shared with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Wales' national anthem is Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. Scotland doesn't have an official one but uses Flower of Scotland and Northern Ireland still uses God Save the Queen as the official anthem.
The song I most remember singing at school is Jerusalem written by William Blake and the words can certainly bring a tear to my eye.
Our actual school song was Brother James' Air but I think Jerusalem was sung far more. Perhaps this could be taken up as England's own national anthem.
The poem was included in a patriotic anthology of verse in 1916 when morale was declining in the First World War.
Sir Hubert Parry was asked to put it to music and the most famous version was orchestrated by Sir Edward Elgar in 1922.
Apparently King George V even said he preferred Jerusalem to God Save the King, as it was then.
While I would not advocate changing the British national anthem, I do think it's a shame we don't sing it more with passion.
Perhaps we should take the Canadians' pride in their anthem as inspiration.
Rebecca Lawrence can be reached at 691-1258.
