Le Regard Libre N° 18 - Nicolas Jutzet
The controversy is chronic, resurfacing at every outing of the Suis-se soccer team. And when it comes to major events like Euro 2016 in France, the controversy is amplified. Some of the media and spectators groan when they discover that the majority of our beloved «nati» players don't sing the national anthem. Swiss hymn. Traitors to the nation, mercenaries out of touch with reality - these are the criticisms levelled by these Sunday patriots. The selected ones retort that attachment to a country is not limited to a futile national anthem. Nothing seems to unite the two camps.
The question of the national anthem is an interesting one. It often says a great deal about the history of a country and its evolution. Take Visit Marseillaise, The song of the French Revolution, the song of a people fighting for its freedom, now seems totally outdated and even obscene when sung by the representatives of an obese welfare state or by its people, who have long since forgotten what freedom is, and whose only battles are to demand more state. A far cry from the original spirit.
In Switzerland, until the end of the 19th centuryème century, there was no official anthem. One explanation could be that, unlike our neighbors, our unification was not the result of a bloody war (Sonderbund, less than a hundred dead) and did not require any kind of fighters' song. The first Swiss anthem, Ô Independent Mountains, composed by Johann Rudolf Wyss in 1811, to music by God Save the Queen, has now fallen into total anonymity. His words, far more relevant to me than those of the current version, are nevertheless worth remembering:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| O independent mountains, | We want to unite, | Let's keep it with pride | You support our forefathers, |
| Repeat our accents, | We all want to die | The tree at the Rütli is planted | You'll make us like them, |
| Our free songs. | At your service. | Freedom! | Victorious! |
| To you, homeland, | O our mother! | From age to age, | Towards you |
| Switzerland, | Be proud of us, | Despite the storm, | Our hope, |
| Blood, life | Under your banner | This heritage | The delivery |
| Your children. | All will leave. | Be respected. | Will come from the heavens. |
To put an end to the confusion between Ô Independent Mountains and the English anthem, as decided by the Federal Council on Swiss hymn was finally introduced in April 1981, twenty years after its provisional introduction. Despite numerous attempts, it has remained unchanged ever since. Considered outdated by some, it suffers from a lack of consideration; very few citizens know the entire lyrics. Some even ignore its rhythm. Even attempts at reform meet with little interest.
The polemics surrounding EURO 2016 are clearly artificial. One solution would be to put an end to this masquerade which, apart from stirring up controversy, serves no purpose whatsoever. Let's do away with the hymns just before the matches. That would save us a slew of outrageous articles, and above all the sight of rednecks bellowing at the top of their lungs, dripping with beer.
Write to the author : nicolas.jutzet@leregardlibre.com
Photo credit: © rts.ch
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