National Anthem/Awesome Music


 * The national anthem of Mexico. Perhaps it's because it oozes nationalism without the lyrics.
 * "Indonesia Raya a.k.a. Great Indonesia". A truly majestic anthem, especially when played by an orchestra.
 * "Rule Britannia/Britannia rules the waaaaaaves/Britons never, never, never shall be slaaaaaves!" Even if it isn't technically the national anthem, it's lively, stirring, and patriotic to wake up to in the morning.
 * Additional heights of awesome are reached when Jeremiah Clarke's "Prince of Denmark's March" is overlaid onto it, as was the case with the now-defunct BBC Radio 4 Theme.
 * The actual anthem for Britain, "God Save the Queen" is awesome on its own, as is England's, "Land of Hope and Glory".
 * "Jerusalem", used by some English sporting teams, was composed by Hubert Parry and orchestrated by Edward Elgar. How can it not be awesome? It was adapted from William Blake's poetry during World War I and the King himself said he preferred it! A demonstration of how good it is? Hearing it being sung by 5 000 people.
 * The tune of "God Save the Queen" was used as the national anthem of a number of countries, including Liechtenstein and (formerly) Switzerland. It was also, in the form of "Heil dir im Siegerskranz" the Royal Anthem of the Kingdom of Prussia.
 * Just the two or so lines that John Lennon sings in Help! is enough to get it lodged in your head. Amazingly catchy national song.
 * The Ankh-Morpork National anthem (the only written anthem which includes muttering, since no one ever remembers the second verse).
 * In the land of Everything Trying to Kill You, it has to be "I Am Australian".
 * Tragically, the actual Australian anthem, "Advance Australia Fair" is probably one of the most boring, uninspiring anthems around. But sung by Adam Hills and set to the tune of "Working Class Man" by Jimmy Barnes? Very awesome.
 * "Waltzing Matilda" is often referred to as the the unofficial national anthem of Australia and with good reason.
 * Canada may not be the first country that comes to mind when it comes to kick-ass music, but its national anthem can be quite majestic..
 * It's even better when used in professional wrestling for Team Canada
 * "O, Canada" can sends chills up a spine, even an American one. Casting all nationalism aside, it's the most beautiful national anthem.
 * The original "Hockey Night in Canada" theme.
 * The Greek National Anthem is pretty good too. Defines Greece and the people. The original one is over 100 verses long!
 * The Israeli national anthem "Hatikvah". Most national anthems sound good when sung aloud, possibly with a backing orchestra. How many sound just as awesome when sung quietly?
 * While we're on Israeli music, "Kan Noladti" has got to be the sweetest little song: "Here, you're with me as well and here are all my thousand friends. And after 2000 years, an end to my wandering!"
 * Israel's unofficial anthem, "Yerushalaim Shel Zahav", in English "Jerusalem of Gold". Best known for its treatment at the end of Schindler's List, but this performance by Ofra Haza is simply beautiful.
 * "Das Deutschlandlied", out of all currently used national anthems, though the original form of "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" is better. It is also the only national anthem with a tune by a composer of the first rank, Joseph Haydn.
 * Which is a bit funny, as Haydn was an Austrian who spent most of his life working for Hungarians...
 * The East German anthem also qualifies as crowning music.
 * "The Star-Spangled Banner". Unfortunately it gets stretched beyond all recognition when rendered into pop form.
 * How about Jimi Hendrix's version? If that ain't Crowning Music of Awesome...
 * Sung a cappella by a choir can make your spine tingle. Something spine-tingling about it without backing. When you take into account the lyrics - the anxiety of not knowing if your country and your fellow men have survived through the night, and then that sight of seeing your flag rising higher and flying and realizing that yes, everything is alright... it's pretty chilling stuff.
 * Fun fact: The tune comes from the drinking song for the Anacreontic Society, an upper-crust British society carried forward into the U.S. colonies. The lyrics to the Anacreontic Song are couched in imagery from Classical Mythology, but the gist basically boils down to "I'll show you how to get laid by getting women drunk."
 * Speaking of performances of the Star-Spangled Banner, many have butchered it but there are few that are just exemplary. The first is Marvin Gaye's soulful performance at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game, backed with only a drum machine, the second being Whitney Houston's showstopper at Super Bowl XXV which became a nationwide hit single and the Dixie Chicks glorious three-piece harmony at Super Bowl XXXVII.
 * Here is a heavenly performance of The Star-Spangled Banner by the Massachusetts All-State Choir. Choir members were crying while singing.
 * This is how it was meant to be heard, sung by the choirs of the US Servce Academies. Absolutely beautiful.
 * The Polish national anthem "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" is really, really awesome.
 * Here is a version with English subtitles. It's already awesome if you don't know what the words mean, even more so if you do.
 * "La Marseillaise". Don't believe me? Just look.
 * In that particular context, it also counts as a Tear Jerker and a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
 * Mirelle Mathieu's rendition is pure awesome.
 * The Soviet National anthem. Defines epic. One of the few things Russia kept after The Great Politics Mess-Up. Regarded as the best national anthem, ever.
 * That tune has had no less than 4 sets of official lyrics . The fact that the tune remained unchanged each time attests to its awesomeness:
 * 1) It was the Bolshevik Party anthem in the 1930s.
 * 2) Stalin adopted it as the official Soviet National Anthem in 1944, with lyrics praising him.
 * 3) Breznev did away with all references to Stalin, and all references to World War II, in 1977.
 * 4) After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation got rid of the anthem altogether, but public sentiment pressured Vladimir Putin to reinstate it (with a completely Communism-free set of lyrics) in 2000.
 * Really, just about anything sung by the Red Army Choir qualifies as awesome. Even "Volga Boatman" -- especially at 1:57 when the full choir comes in, or the roaring climax at 2:39. Absolutely spine-tingling.
 * Not to mention the individual anthems of the Union Republics. Special mention goes to Latvia, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.
 * See also this cover.
 * Dyed in the wool Yankees can find "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" totally awesome.
 * The Republic of Georgia can be proud to have as its national anthem "Tavisupleba" ("Freedom"), a short, sweet, and proudly Georgian anthem whose melody is based on classical opera tunes.
 * The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic had a national anthem written by Aram Khachaturian that far outclasses the present-day Armenian anthem. Probably because it was written by frickin' Aram Khachaturian.
 * Remember in Casablanca when the Germans got "Die Wacht am Rhein" drowned out by the French? Here it is, in the original version from the time of the Kaiser, a song too good to have been a Third Reich anthem.
 * The German Empire (the Kaiser's one, not the Bohemian corporal's) was really good at rousing songs: Preussens Gloria, Hail to Thee In Victor's Crown, The Hohenfriedberg March (which gets bonus points for being written by Frederick the Great) and the Koennigratz March (which was appropriated by the Nazis, with whom many associate it, sadly.)
 * The national anthem of India is incredibly inspirational. Even if you don't understand the lyrics, the whole melody is hauntingly uplifting.
 * The melody of Finland's official national anthem was allegedly stolen from a German drinking song, but "Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius? Boy oh boy.
 * The Argentinean National Anthem: ¡OIIID MORTAAAAALES EL GRIIIIIITO SAGRAAAAAADO! ¡LIBERTAD! ¡LIBERTAD! ¡LIBERTAD!
 * The Swedish National Anthem "Du gamla Du fria" is worthy to join the ranks of the above. For it's the simple fact that unlike most other anthems mentioned here, the Swedish one focuses on the beauty of Scandinavia as a country and place to live, and not the superiority of any nationality, nor how the people of Scandinavia should prepare for war. The only part of the song that could be considered patriotic is when the lyrics focus on "Jag vill leva, jag vill dö i Norden!".
 * While it isn't precisely a national anthem, it's an anthem nonetheless: "The Internationale", the international anthem of the socialist movement. The music is stirring no matter what language is in (and since there are socialists everywhere, it's been in pretty much every language), but the best versions are in the original French and in Russian (it was the national anthem of the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1948). English versions are less awesome, as it is rather difficult to translate.
 * "Mawtini", the former national anthem of Palestine and the new one of Iraq.
 * The current anthem of Palestine, "Fida'i", as well.
 * Even more awesome when sung in Aramaic.
 * The Japanese national anthem is beautiful, and one of the few national anthems based on poetry.
 * The beautiful "Swiss Psalm".
 * Egypt's anthem, "Bilady, Bilady, Bilady" is not epic in the usual sense: it was written by one of the leaders of the Egyptian folk-music scene, Sayyid Darwish. For those playing along at home, it's as though Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" was the US anthem (the title even translates to "My Country, My Country, My Country," which given the vagaries of Arabic could also mean, "My Land..."). Sung as a folk song, it's actually pretty cool; as an instrumental, it sounds like a fairly normal anthem, if a well-executed one.
 * Poland's anthem's title translates to "Poland Has Not Yet Perished". The music is also pretty awesome.
 * The Philippine National Anthem is so awesome it has been translated into English and Spanish, giving it three official versions?
 * The Chilean Anthem must be noted. Here it is with subtitles.
 * "So, comrades, come rally, for this is the time and plaaace..."
 * The WELSH national anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" ("Land of Our Fathers").
 * The Kenyan national anthem is one of the most exotic and majestic anthems.
 * STRONG AND PEACEFUL, WISE AND BRAVE / FIGHTING THE FIGHT FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO SAVE...
 * Now, take a guess what anthem that one is.  . Just as a little refreshment at the end of this page.
 * Libya, Libya, Libya!
 * Gaddafi's anthem isn't half bad either.
 * The National Anthem of South Korea. Majestic and graceful, it's quite befitting of the country it represents. Uri nara mansae!
 * "Ey Irån", the national anthem of Iran. Dar råhe to, key arzeși dårad in cåne må? In your cause, when do our lives have value?
 * Although it's not a national anthem anymore, the Austro-Hungarian anthem is, quite simply, beautiful.
 * The Mongolian anthem uses electric guitars. That alone makes it awesome.
 * The Sealand national anthem sounds pretty epic. Too bad you'll never be a real country.
 * Kazakhstan's new national anthem (not the one from Film/Borat).