Alternate national anthems

Basically, think of an alternate national anthem for a country. The song can already exist, like the Rákóczi March for Hungary, or something that doesn't exist OTL.
 
ANYTHING other then God Save the Queen. Rule Britannia just plain wouldn't work as an anthem however; anyone got any better ideas?

Also there's the issue of England having the same anthem as the UK (to the dismay of many Englishmen); Land of hope and Glory and Jerusalem tend to be the more popular unofficial anthems (least that's what my English friends insist).

Canada has the Maple Leaf Forever but lyrics were far to bombastically loyalist to be acceptable by the very vocal French minority (given the first verse literally describes Wolfe's conquest of Quebec and the whole song goes on to mention "the thistle shamrock rose entwine" with no mention of anything French whatsoever). There was an alternate version made to appease Quebec later down the line but by then it was to late to save it. Shame because it was a top notch tune and.

Oddly enough East Germany had a far better anthem then West Germany, imo.
 
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ANYTHING other then God Save the Queen. Rule Britannia just plain wouldn't work as an anthem however; anyone got any better ideas?

Also there's the issue of England having the same anthem as the UK (to the dismay of many Englishmen); Land of hope and Glory and Jerusalem tend to be the more popular unofficial anthems (least that's what my English friends insist).

Canada has the Maple Leaf Forever but lyrics were far to bombastically loyalist to be acceptable by the very vocal French minority (given the first verse literally describes Wolfe's conquest of Quebec and the whole song goes on to mention "the thistle shamrock rose entwine" with no mention of anything French whatsoever). There was an alternate version made to appease Quebec later down the line but by then it was to late to save it. Shame because it was a top notch tune and.

Oddly enough East Germany had a far better anthem then West Germany, imo.

Jerusalem for England, better than god save the queen any day.
 
Alternate national anthems for the People's Republic of China could include "Ode to the Motherland" or the Chinese version of the "Internationale". Alternatively, if you remove the moderation of the excesses of the Cultural Revolution I could conceivably see "The East is Red" becoming the national anthem too, given how the writer of "The March of the Volunteers" was purged and his song was rarely played, with the aforementioned piece being used in its stead.
 
For Italy: "Fratelli d'Italia" is plain horrible, and this not only my personal opinion. There have been proposals to change it, particularly with the "Va' pensiero" choir from Verdi's Nabucco, which is waaaay better both in music and lyric quality, and a lot more attuned to modern sensibility to boot. Sadly, it has been associated with Northern separatism in recent decades to the point of being seen as an unofficial anthem for "Padania", which is kinda odd historically, but would make adopting it as a new anthem politically impossible IOTL.
Republican Italy would be better represented by "Bella Ciao", but it would be extremely divisive and not really adequate.
An ATL post WWII Communist Italy may pick "Fischia il Vento" (on the tune of Russian "Katyusha").
 
For Italy: "Fratelli d'Italia" is plain horrible, and this not only my personal opinion. There have been proposals to change it, particularly with the "Va' pensiero" choir from Verdi's Nabucco, which is waaaay better both in music and lyric quality, and a lot more attuned to modern sensibility to boot. Sadly, it has been associated with Northern separatism in recent decades to the point of being seen as an unofficial anthem for "Padania", which is kinda odd historically, but would make adopting it as a new anthem politically impossible IOTL.
Republican Italy would be better represented by "Bella Ciao", but it would be extremely divisive and not really adequate.
An ATL post WWII Communist Italy may pick "Fischia il Vento" (on the tune of Russian "Katyusha").

The adoption of the "Va' Pensiero" by the Northern League, as their adoption of the color green, must have the Italian patriots of the Risorgimento turning in their graves.

I don't think that choir could be good anthem material though: it is the song of a defeated, oppressed people who pray not for delivery from their status, but only to be able to bear it. (O t'ispiri il Signore un concento/Che ne infonda al patire virtù! [Oh may the Lord inspire a tune/that gives virtue to our sufferings]).

Maybe a better option could be "La bandiera di tre colori", but its tune is arguably worse than "Fratelli d'Italia".

An independent Sardinia could use "Concedat Deus su Re" if it is a monarchical remnant, or "Procurade e Moderare" if it is republican.
 
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Battle Hymn of the Republic for the United States would be awesome! I could see it getting adopted in the wake of the Civil War.
 
It's a great tune, problem is the same tune is used in a lot of English football chants and even a socialist song

And a zillion parodies that kids sing, like this:

Glory, glory hallelujah
Teacher hit me with a ruler
I bopped her on the bean with a rotten tangerine
And her teeth came marching out...
 
It's a great tune, problem is the same tune is used in a lot of English football chants and even a socialist song

But if it's adopted as the U.S. anthem in the 1860s, it will probably never be appropriated by sports fans and leftists. They, too, will find other tunes to adopt.
 
One of the problems with using The Battle Hymn of the Republic is its overt religiosity. Also, it had the perception of being a Northern, Yankee song which would majorly alienate the South. However, a US run by Radical Republicans and a with a weaker separation of church and state wouldn't mind having the Battle Hymn as its anthem. Also, years down the road might lead to an odd alliance of Secularists and Lost Causers who'd want to change it...:D
 
But if it's adopted as the U.S. anthem in the 1860s, it will probably never be appropriated by sports fans and leftists. They, too, will find other tunes to adopt.

Well, there's always My Country, 'Tis Of Thee.

Lovely thought. Germany wins WW1, and some butterfly effect causes the US to adopt MCToT as its anthem. Come the 1940 Olympics, some event or other sees a Brit, a Yank and a Kraut taking the first three places, with the result that we get God Save the King, My Country 'Tis of Thee, and Heil Dir Im Siegeskrantz played in turn - the same tune repeated three times.
 
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