Question re: music at 98 Olys

[icenut84]

I was rewatching the pairs competition from the 98 Olympics the other day, and when I got to Meno & Sand's short programme, the first part of their music is nice but then the second part starts, and it's "Land of Hope and Glory", the proper full-orchestrated version, aka the national anthem of England! I was a bit surprised when I heard the music, not only with it being a national anthem but with it being for a country other than theirs. Has anyone else ever skated to a national anthem in competition? I don't remember ever seeing one. ??

[Aloft02]

Hi icenut84!

Over here the music is used as graduation processional music without the lyrics, (title "Pomp & Circumstance" by Elgar.) You'll notice also that we've blatantly confiscated the melody from "God Save the Queen" and subverted it into "America" ('My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty....') This was an in-your-face move by rebellious colonists a couple of centuries ago. Another set of lyrics was given to the melody of "Yankee Doodle" to politicize it about the same time, but I don't know it's origin.

All of this music has entered American mainstream consciousness over 200+ years without the connection to it being "borrowed" from England and revised.

It's kind of like European football/soccer crowds singing over the top of each others' signature songs. (My scouse husband is convinced that Liverpool's theme "You'll Never Walk Alone" is so sacred, however, nobody dare mess with it.)

[Sundancer61]

Kurt Browning skated to the Canadian anthem at an exhibition at Worlds, he was trying to show all kinds of activities that could be done in Canada.

[icenut84]

Thanks. That makes sense, it was just very surprising to me to hear them skating to it, especially as it is exactly the same version, same orchestration, as is used for the national anthem. And re: You'll Never Walk Alone - yeah, that's pretty sacred to Liverpool fans. It's probably the most well-known football song there is, or at least that I can think of.

[Princess Leppard 625]

<span style="colorurple;font-family:georgia;font-size:x-small;">Icenut, I am drugged out of my mind on Tylenol cold & flu, so bear with me. Isn't "God Save the Queen" the national anthem of Great Britain? Isn't that what they play when British athletes win at the Olympics?

confused & it's not my fault,

Laura </span>

[icenut84]

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Icenut, I am drugged out of my mind on Tylenol cold & flu, so bear with me. Isn't "God Save the Queen" the national anthem of Great Britain? Isn't that what they play when British athletes win at the Olympics?[/quote]

Yep, you're totally right. "God Save The Queen" is the national anthem of Great Britain, and is played at the Olympics because at the Olympics, Britain competes as one team. However, the countries that make up Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) have their own national anthems too. We compete seperately in things like the Commonwealth Games (did they show any of it on TV in America this year? I wouldn't have thought so, but anyway, the England team won quite a few events so you would have heard the anthem), and also the football World Cup (although for some reason the England team uses God Save The Queen anyway, lol). Land of Hope and Glory is the national anthem for England.