Switzerland

Swiss anthem, like a misunderstanding

2 reading minutes

written by Nicolas Jutzet · July 15, 2016 · 0 comment

The manuscript of the Swiss Song at the National Library / Additional text by ots and on www.presseportal.ch. The use of this image for editorial purposes is free of charge. Reproduction under source indication: "obs/Swiss National Library".

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, le chant de la Révolution française, celui d’une population se battant pour sa liberté qui semble aujourd’hui totalement dépassé et même obscène quand il est chanté par les représentants d’un Etat providence obèse ou par son peuple qui a depuis longtemps oublié ce qu’était la liberté, et dont les seuls combats consistent à demander plus d’Etat. On est loin de l’esprit initial.

In Switzerland, until the end of the 19th century^èmecentury, 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,	Vers toi s’élance
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 et l’hymne anglais, sur décision du Conseil fédéral, le Swiss hymn est introduit définitivement en avril 1981, vingt ans après son intronisation provisoire. Malgré de nombreuses tentatives, il n’a plus évolué depuis. Jugé dépassé par certains, il souffre d’un manque de considération ; très peu de citoyens connaissant l’entier des paroles. Une partie en ignore même le rythme. Même les essais de réformes ne rencontrent que peu d’intérêt.

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.

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