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Ariarne Titmus atop the podium after hearing the Anthem and the Wallabies singing the Anthem before a game.
"Advance Australia Fair"
Yes, we have an existing National Anthem: "Advance Australia Fair", which is played and/or sung at most major events and official functions. It goes hand in hand with the national flag and most Australians have heard it numerous times and can more-or-less sing the tune and can remember at least some of the words.
It was written by Scottish-born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick way back in 1878 and it's fair to say that Australia has changed a great deal since then! Hell, Australia wasn't even a nation at the time! It was intended as an anthem by the patriotic Peter McCormick who was clearly far ahead of his time, but was not officially adopted as such until 1984. Before this the Australian Anthem was "God Save The Queen".
I actually remember the days when our anthem was "God Save The Queen" and remember singing it and saluting the flag at weekly assembly in primary school back in the 1960s. Like "Advance Australia Fair" it had its parody: "God save our biscuit tin, don't let the flies get in...". It was only a minority of Australians who saw the problem though and one such was the great Gough Whitlam who, as PM, launched a national song contest for a new anthem in 1973.
The most popular alternatives were put to a plebiscite in 1977 and "Advance Australia Fair" received 43.29% of the vote, defeating the three alternatives, "Waltzing Matilda" (28.28%), "The Song of Australia" (9.65%) and the existing national anthem, "God Save the Queen" (18.78%).
You can read the PM's official page regarding the National Anthem and download a variety of official versions of the song here. You can grab a copy of the scores to the SATB version in G, the orchestral version in G and the band version in Bb. There is also an MP3 recorded band version in Ab in clear disagreement with the official score! Meanwhile the Wikipedia page has a copy of the song in C. Talk about confusing... The one version missing is the common lead sheet for ORDINARY PEOPLE in Bb. The fact that the Australian Government neglected to supply an official lead sheet for the common Australian demonstrates just how devoid of any musical understanding they truly are... Philistines!
Fortunately for the common Australian I have supplied the missing article by dint of my own effort. You can download it here. It is in Bb to suit the common voice and comes with chord and capo markings so that you can play the chords on your guitar. You can even play along with the brass band version in Bb. Enjoy it if you can!
The fact that the government seems to have no official key for the anthem is a bit of a worry. After all, the anthem is supposed to be SUNG not just listened to! Any key higher than Bb is not singable by the common voice and anything lower than Bb is going to be too low for people with high voices. I have noticed in recent years that the most common versions are in G which is fine for most people but it affords no room to stretch out, as, even for a bass, a C is not really a high note. With a compass of an octave and a fourth you can't please everyone but Bb seems a better fit than G. It is achievable by any singer and the high Eb gives the lower voices a proper high note. The old official anthem SATB was in Bb for this reason and you can see it here. Perhaps voices are getting deeper or perhaps people are simply losing the ability to sing, so perhaps moving it down is fine... At any rate the practice of having tenors or sopranos belting it out at a football final in a high key like D or Eb is just wrong as it immediately removes any hope of ordinary Australians singing along with it. Perhaps there should be a government resolution prohibiting public performance in a key higher than Bb?
What's wrong with "Advance Australia Fair"?
I have sung "Advance Australia Fair" on numerous occasions including in the crowd for AFL grand finals and as part of the choir at ANZAC day ceremonies. I don't find it offensive but I do think it lacks "soul".
The words have been substantially altered from McCormick's original and have been especially chosen to be inoffensive. They speak of how lucky we are to live here and how we should all join together in harmony and toil to make Australia great. It's like a pale version of the kind of communist propaganda you might expect from "The People's Republic of China".
Despite the best efforts of politicians to make it inoffensive, people still take issue with the words. Some dislike the word "girt". Personally I hold such people in contempt. Old words are good words and we should never shy away from nor eschew the practice of keeping them alive. Recently our aborigines complained about the word "young", maintaining that they found it offensive as their culture was old. The government duly altered it to "one" in an attempt to make them happy.
From my point of view it is the very inoffensiveness of it that is the problem. It is so bland that it lacks savour! I would rather have a song with balls that offends a few people but gives most people something to believe in than a bowl of pabulum that no one likes.
If you look at various famous national anthems you will find numerous things that are offensive, inappropriate, outdated or just plain bizarre but the people of those nations just take the song for what it is and love it anyway. Political correctness is a recent phenomena and, I hope, a passing one...
As for the tune: I find it to be strong, earnest and simple if a trifle braying. It is not a great tune in my opinion but it is also not the worst out there. It does the job but that is all. It lacks subtlety but more importantly: It lacks soul! If it were a popular record no one would buy it.
I should commend Chris Gordon who wrote the official orchestral and SATB arrangements and did wonders in an attempt to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear but as they say: "There's only so far you can polish a turd."... That's probably a bit harsh as it's not that bad but it certainly is not the equal of the great national anthems such as those of Wales, Russia, Germany, England, the USA and France.
Interestingly, some time ago some anonymous wag wrote a lovely parody of the song called "Dance Australia Yeah". I transcribed it and you can view the score here. I sometimes sing those words for fun as people don't notice the difference. Enjoy!
Alternative Australian Anthems
Not many Australians really like "Advance Australia Fair" and many say things like: "Why don't we use Waltzing Matilda". Well those people probably weren't around in 1977 when the plebiscite was held but I certainly remember that it was an option and it was NOT the people's choice!
"Waltzing Matilda" does have soul and does capture something of the Australian heart but the tale of a swagman being persecuted for stealing a sheep is not really relevant to today's world of suburbs, TV and welfare. Nevertheless, other famous anthems like "La Marseillaise" and "The Star Spangled Banner" are similarly outdated yet are still used.
Personally I would hate to see our beloved "Waltzing Matilda" reduced to doing endless official duties. Such a fate would be the complete opposite of what the song stands for and in my view would be a tragedy. I would rather see a hunk of pap like "Advance Australia Fair" be trotted out and ignored than see the real thing destroyed.
Recently the song "I Am Australian" by Bruce Woodley and Dobe Newton has acquired substantial fame and good will and there have been calls for it to replace "Advance Australia Fair". Although I like the song, have performed it numerous times and have even added a new verse myself I don't think it would work as it stands as it is too long. Probably it could be condensed but what would you leave out? Someone is certainly going to be offended... It is also lacking in a strong melody which is fine when played as a pop song but would not work so well played by a brass band.
These are the two main alternatives but each has it's reasons why it would not be ideal which leaves the ground free for me to supply a new device made for the purpose.
My Alternative Australian Anthem
The idea of writing a new anthem for Australia had been occurring to be for 20 years but I couldn't find the key to it until the 28th of July in Covid 19 lockdown during the 2021 Olympics in Japan on the morning when Australia won 3 gold medals: Men's and Women's Sweep Oar 4s and Women's 200m freestyle, (Ariarne Titmus). Of course we all had to listen to our boring anthem: "Advance Australia Fair" yet again. Once again I wondered whether I could do better but again I couldn't think of anything strong enough to hold up the nation.
Then it occurred to me to write from the point of view of the continent itself and the ancient, implacable, incomprehensibly wise, spirit belonging to the Australian Plate. I did a little research on the plate, threw in some general things about Australia that we all love and some descriptions of the Australian character as it used to be. I finished with an affirmation of our rebel heart and a recognition of our country as the oldest and therefore the wisest country of all. It was pretty quick really once I saw it from the right perspective, probably only an hour to research and write the first draft of the words.
My first attempt at the tune though resulted in failure. I managed to cobble together something in the traditional style but it always felt forced and I never felt that I had found the heart of something new and good. I know that other songwriters experience this problem but it does NOT normally happen to me. Normally the inspiration just flows through me and I write it out and adjust it until it is perfect.
I knew that I was doing something wrong so I slept on it. In the morning I woke with the realisation that nothing was coming because I was trying to shoehorn the ancient land of Australia into a European mindset. So I thought: "What about a song backed by didgeridoo and clap sticks?" I sat down at the piano played a drone in Eb and the tune came straight out!
Tunes with an obligatory drone are different to traditional European moving block harmony: there are notes and chords that simply don't work and they need to be avoided. Similarly there are notes and chords that are extra effective. Nothing says Australia like a didj and clap sticks and my didj happens to be in Eb which is pretty typical. Job done!
I didn't get carried away immediately though, I slept on it again but when I tried it the next day and found it to be still good I called it a success and wrote a second verse. Then I wrote a piano arrangement and an SATB arrangement in G and even an arrangement for the great highland pipes and drums!
The people I have played it to liked it but they all took exception to the line: "beyond all petty brains". For all of you who similarly find this inappropriate I have this to say: The song is not against brains per se, far from it, it is against the small brains ie: the small minded, the petty, the officious, the stupid, the short sighted, the selfish etc. That is what the line means and I have no intention of removing it!
Here are the words to the 2 verses. The first verse provides an appropriately short anthem which can stand on it's own for most purposes. An interlude and the second verse may be added where a longer song is required.
The Spirit Of Australia
Warren Mars: 2021
I am the spirit of the land of iron, sun and stone,
For 20 million years1 I've floated in the south alone.
I love my plants and animals, my mountains, coast and plain.
I don't give up, I don't back down, I'm not afraid of pain.
I'm creative and resourceful and I always find a way.
Common sense and friendship and a laugh keep me going, come what may.
I'm relaxed but independent and I can't be held in chains.
I am the oldest land on Earth, beyond all petty brains.
This land of mine is special; It's my fav'rite place to be.
The best of it should not be owned, but kept for all to see.
Use my land for what you need but don't push it too far:
Remember that it's not just you and practise C.A.R.
I'm trusting you with all the forms of life that here evolved,
Through epochs2 on this rocky raft as Mother Earth revolved.
Respect my wondrous legacy and try to be my friend.
I've been here since the moon was made3; I'll be here til the end.
"C.A.R." means:
Comprehensive: the inclusion in the National Reserve System of examples of regional-scale ecosystems in each bioregion.
Adequate: the inclusion of sufficient levels of each ecosystem within the protected area network to provide ecological viability and to maintain the integrity of populations, species and communities.
Representative: the inclusion of areas at a finer scale, to encompass the variability of habitat within ecosystems.
You can download the full piano and vocal version here. Remember that this song is built around a drone, (ideally a didgeridoo). Without the drone it will not work. The piano left hand provides the drone in this arrangement but a didj in Eb and clap sticks may be added if available. In fact, the song should work just fine with just a voice, a didj and a pair of sticks, nothing else should be needed.
I commend it to you all.
Excelsior!
Warren Mars - August 25, 2021
1 - The Tasman Gateway between Australia and Antarctica began to open c. 40 to 30 Ma. Palaeontological evidences indicate the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) was established in the Late Oligocene c. 23 Ma with the full opening of the Drake Passage and the deepening of the Tasman Gateway.
2 - This refers to the geological epochs following the separation from Antarctica, during which Australian flora & fauna developed in isolation from the rest of the world, namely: the Oligocene, the Miocene, the Pliocene, the Pleistocene and the Holocene.
3 - The oldest rocks on Earth were formed around the time of the catastrophic collision between Earth and Theia that formed the Moon. It seems likely that the structure of those rocks owes much to the collision. Certainly the Yilgarn Craton in WA contains some minerals that are 4.27 billion years old, roughly the age of the Moon. Other rocks in the craton are around 2.8 billion years old which is much younger but the craton still remembers the collision.