Alternate national anthems

France: Vive Henri IV. My favourite among all.

Ah yes, that's a good one too.

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.

If you need another variation there's always Liechtenstein's Oben Am Jungen/Deutschen Rhein. ;)
 
Alright, is there any other alternate national anthems for lesser-known countries? I mentioned the Rákóczi March earlier for Hungary, but is there any more?
 
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.

Of course.
I read pretty much everywhere that the choir was to be understood as lamenting the condition of oppressed Italy, although this is by no means apparent fron the lyric in itself.
 
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]).

You are right on this (one wonders if the Lega people actually even bothered to read the thext) but it might work if its adopted post WWII (when "Fratelli d'Italia" was IOTL). And the tune is quite good.

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

It's possible, but it would make for an aesthetic system failure. I'd keep "Fratelli d'Italia", with its bloodlusting and pompous lyrics, over it.

I am hard pressed to find a popular theme that would work as an anthem AND that I would like. I dont' think that "Addio Lugano Bella" or "Gorizia tu sei maledetta" would fit the bill.
 
Alright, is there any other alternate national anthems for lesser-known countries? I mentioned the Rákóczi March earlier for Hungary, but is there any more?

The Netherlands could keep "Wien Neêrlands Bloed" as their anthem. Dunno if that would be an improvement. The Wilhelmus is fucking awful and sounds like a funeral choir, but this one is very mediocre too.
 
Alright, is there any other alternate national anthems for lesser-known countries? I mentioned the Rákóczi March earlier for Hungary, but is there any more?

Deutschösterreich, du herrliches Land for... German Austria.

Vers l'avenir for Democratic Republic of Congo (if it remain influenced by Belgium).

Himno de Riego for Spain.

Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland for Germany.
 
For Serbia: Vostani, Serbie ("Arise, Serbia" - old revolutionary song from 1804) or the Drina March (from WWI). They were both considered as a potential anthem several times, but eventually God of Justice got adopted instead.

For Greece: the Thourios (Battle hymn of Rigas Feraios) would be pretty awesome.

For Ukraine: the Zaporozhian March is a very good tune, and dignified in its own way.
 
Red white and blue,
what does it mean to you?

France? :p

Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland for Germany.

I really do like that song a lot. Not sure if it'd be a great anthem though. I don't think the individual stanzas really work that well on their own. The first few are complete trash as they just reject random German regions as the full fatherland, and the last few are either clearly a response to the previous stanzas, super belligerent towards France, or just kind of random and uninspiring. "The German fatherland is where oaths are sworn with a handshake." Uh, okay.
 
It really doesn't matter. As the late Alan Lothian used to point out constantly in soc.history.what-if, e.g., http://groups.google.com/group/soc.history.what-if/msg/826d10249f4f5b71 the real lyrics of *every* national anthem are "We are right and you are wrong."

E.g., "O Canada":

We a-are right
And you-ou a-are wrong,
we a-are right,
and you-ou a-are wrong...

Or the "Star Spangled Banner":

We are right and you're wrong,
We are right and you're wrong,
We are right and you're wrong,
We are right and you *are* wrong...

Or the "Deutschlandlied":

We are right and you are wro-ong
We are right and you are wrong...
 
I really do like that song a lot. Not sure if it'd be a great anthem though. I don't think the individual stanzas really work that well on their own. The first few are complete trash as they just reject random German regions as the full fatherland, and the last few are either clearly a response to the previous stanzas, super belligerent towards France, or just kind of random and uninspiring. "The German fatherland is where oaths are sworn with a handshake." Uh, okay.

The only opportunity for such a song (to be recognized by the majority of the Germans as their anthem) is a succesful revolution of 1848, since this was one of the last moments in which Austria could become a part of Germany, before other songs take is place (like Die Wacht am Rhein or Das Lied der Deutschen). Even a Weimar republic WITH Austria would have preffered Deutschland Deutschland über alles.

Also, I guess that there are going to some major conflicts with Switzerland and France if this anthem is adopted. A great song, still.
 

Old Airman

Banned
What about America the Beautiful? It would be nice to have a more "paceful" anthem.
Back in 1970-s, growing up a kind behind the Iron Curtain, I thought it actually IS an US anthem :)
OK, my lists:
Tongue-in-cheek:
Belarus: https://youtu.be/fA3tp32S-XM "Be well, live a wealthy life"
Ukraine: https://youtu.be/D-uO6WqiChU "Unsaddle (your war mounts), guys"
Russia: https://youtu.be/2xqM-fKOPMk "A birch tree did stand in the field"
Donetsk People's Republic: https://youtu.be/-QdBK4mxtUY
A bit more serious:
Russia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_Is_My_Motherland once you remove few references to Stalin/Communism. Actually, I have no idea why they didn't adopt it in 1991, temporary reversing to the (semi-forgotten by that time) Patriotic Song
Israel: "Hevenu Shalom Aleichem" or "Halleluyah La Olam"
Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania: https://youtu.be/DZdiY1pTaR4 "Polonez Oginskiego" It was actually considered for Belarus, but they found the music a bit too complicated.
Donetsk/Luhansk: "Do you hear the people sing"
 
The great Irish anthem "Blame it on the alcohol and the English"

Blame it on the whiskey,
Blame on imperialism
Blame it on the Queen
and their racism.

Blame it on the E-E-E-English
The E-E-E-E-E-E....
 
El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido could be adopted by Chile if 1973's coup somehow fails and the country becomes more radicalized in the wake of it. It sure is a rousing tune.
 
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