Explore with Sound: National Anthems

From the old world monarchies to the Islamic State. We all have an anthem, but what's the point?

For a long time I've been fascinated by national anthems. Listening to each countries selected song before travelling there to see what I can learn or interpret about the culture and history of the place. But what are they and why do we have them? And, can you really tell anything about a place from the song the people sing, or are told they have to sing, at official events?

The first official national anthem was, you guess it, the United Kingdom's 'God Save the King' (Currently 'God Save the Queen'). While many of the songs or tunes were widely known before they became official - some as early as the 1500s - it wasn't until much later the concept of a song for a nation was born.

In 19th century Europe nationalism was in fashion. The post-colonial and post-War era saw the creation of new nations, and with them national identities across the globe. Hymns and songs were adopted as part of a nation's united offering alongside flags, mottos, public holidays and currencies. By the 20th Century everyone wanted one.

To better understand the concept we can turn our sights somewhat closer to home. Do you and your significant other, or best mate have 'your song'? It might be a tune that reminds you of a fond memory, or lyrics that are particularly meaningful. They might represent a shared belief, or outlook. But in part at least, having a identifies us as having something special, something that bonds us together and sets us apart from others. Well, national anthems in essence are the same but on a much bigger scale. They represent a shared knowledge or common culture communicated through the tune and words that makes us, the singers, part of something that has meaning.

But times change and so does public opinion. Songs that were once treasured and sung with pride feel archaic and tired. They tell us, perhaps, more of a time gone by than how countries or nations are today.

It's hard not to notice too that many national anthems sound the same (or at least similar). Alex Marshall, author of Republic or Death!: Travels in Search of National Anthems, embarked on a round-the-world adventure to collect these songs, and in a interveiw with The Atlantic suggests that they should be considered their own genre. In comparison to other genres like rap, for example, he highlights that anthems have a lot of musical rules: "The song has to be around a minute, it has to talk about a country and its hopes and dreams. They become their own form in this bizarre little world...".

Yet, once we know these rules and can recognise the similarities, certain key difference start to emerge, and it is in these subtle differences - the bending or breaking of the rules - that we can learn about the culture, people and politics of a place.

American sociologist Karen A. Cerulo in her own study noticed that anthems with a more "embellished" tune, like France and Ecuador, were generally written and adopted during troubled times, while more basic “unembellished” tunes, like Great Britain’s 'God Save the Queen', were adopted during a time of strong and stable rule. She suggests that this could be because when times are tough commitment from your countrymen and women isn't a given, so you need something extra, more catchy perhaps, to grab their attention and unite them.

This is hugely simplified and there is lots of fascinating theory, not only around the psychological effects of particular notes and rhythms, but also national symbols more generally. But, for the sake of a coffee break lets listen to some of these tunes instead - what feelings do these two songs invoke, and how are they different from each other?

The Uruguayan National Anthem was adopted during Guerra Grande, The Great War of Uruguay, when post-independence the two leading parties fought for rule:

The Dutch national anthem, of the sovereign state of The Kingdom of the Netherlands, is one of the oldest. The tune was known to be performed as early as 1572, although it wasn't officially adopted as the national anthem until the 1930s:

But some national anthems do buck the trends completely, with countries like Nepal choosing to refresh it's national song in 2006. This piece of music was adopted at a moment in the country's turbulent history when the many ethnicities that live there were able to exist without the cultural restraints placed on them by a monarchy, or external influence. While it still fits Karen Cerulo's ideas around embellished musicality during troubled times, it has an identity of it's own that is certainly representative of the Nepalese culture.

National anthems, whether you like them or hate them, are not going anywhere soon. They play such an important role in national identity that even extremist Islamic groups wanting to establish a recognised Islamic state have adopted an anthem to symbolise cohesion. So next time you turn on the sport, or head off on your next adventure tune in to the anthem of that country. Really listen to it. Maybe even look up the translation and think about what those words might mean to the people who sing them. What did they mean to the first people who sung them? What does it tell you about that place and the rich history of the people who live there? You might discover something truly fascinating.