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In church this morning, I learned something new about something I thought I knew well enough. This is by no means an unusual occurrence for me, but this time it’s worth a blog post.
Our processional hymn this morning, the day after Canada’s national holiday, was the national anthem, “O Canada”, hymn #659 in Common Praise, the 1998 hymnal of the Anglican Church of Canada. We sang all four verses. (Although Canada’s national anthem officially consists only of the first verse, the original song has four verses.)
The hymnal places the English and French translations in parallel columns. I knew that the contents of the two sets of words don’t exactly match, but I’d always assumed that they were reasonably close to each other. This morning I learned that’s not true. As I looked at the two sets of words, I could see that the French and English words are not saying the same things at all. In fact, beyond saying inspirational stuff about our country and using the same tune, they are entirely different.
For one thing, the French words contain many references to God, Christ, and Christian faith, but in the English religious content is limited to the fourth verse. (The phrase in the refrain “God keep our land” was only added in 1968, as much to reduce the refrain’s repetitions of “O Canada” from three to two as to add a reference to the deity.)
The French words were written first, by Adolphe-Basile Routhier, and first sung publicly in 1880. Within thirty years there were several English translations with varying amounts of religious content. Of the four English translations shown on this page, the current and now official version, written by Robert Stanley Weir in 1908 (with slight amendments since), has the least.
Here are the English words, followed by the original and still official French version, and then my own, admittedly stilted, English translation of the French words.
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.O Canada! Where pines and maples grow.
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western Sea,
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou True North, strong and free!
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western Sea,
Our own beloved native land!
Our True North, strong and free!
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion within thy loving care;
Help us to find, O God, in thee
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the Better Day,
We ever stand on guard.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
French words found on this page:
O Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.Sous l'oeil de Dieu, près du fleuve géant,
Le Canadien grandit en espérant,
Il est né d'une race fière,
Béni fut son berceau;
Le ciel a marqué sa carrière
Dans ce monde nouveau.
Toujours guidé par Sa lumière,
Il gardera l'honneur de son drapeau,
Il gardera l'honneur de son drapeau.De son patron, précurseur du vrai Dieu,
Il porte au front l'auréole de feu;
Ennemi de la tyrannie,
Mais plein de loyauté,
Il veut garder dans l'harmonie
Sa fière liberté.
Et par l'effort de son génie,
Sur notre Sol asseoir la vérité,
Sur notre Sol asseoir la vérité!Amour sacré du trône et de l'autel
Remplis nos coeurs de ton souffle immortel.
Parmi les races étrangères
Notre guide est la foi;
Sachons être un peuple de frères,
Sous le joug de la loi;
Et répétons comme nos pères
Le cri vainqueur: «Pour le Christ et le Roi»
Le cri vainqueur: «Pour le Christ et le Roi».
Here’s my (mostly) literal translation of the original French:
O Canada! Land of our forefathers,
Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers!
Because thy arm is able to carry the sword,
It is able to carry the cross!
Thy history is an epic
Of the most brilliant exploits.
And thy faith-steeped valour
Will protect our homes and our rights.
Will protect our homes and our rights.Under the eye of God, close to the giant river,
The Canadian grows in hope,
He was born from a proud race,
Blessed was his cradle;
Heaven marked his career
In this new world.
Always guided by His light,
He will guard the honour of his flag,
He will guard the honour of his flag.Of his patron saint, precursor of true God,
He carries at the front the halo of fire;
Enemy of tyranny,
But full of faithfulness,
He desires to guard in harmony
His proud freedom.
And by the effort of his genius,
On our Soil to establish the truth,
On our Soil to establish the truth!Sacred love of throne and altar
Filled our hearts with thy immortal breath.
Among the foreign races
Our guide is the faith;
Let us be a people of brothers,
Under the yoke of the law;
And let us repeat like our fathers
The victor’s cry: "For Christ and the King"
The victor’s cry: "For Christ and the King".
“Patron” in the first line of the third French verse refers to Saint John the Baptist, Quebec’s patron saint.
To read a French translation of the first verse of the official English version, click here.
