“Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and free.”
Ask any patriotic Aussie, and they’ll agree that those words can bring a tear to the eye of even the roughest, toughest, and “I didn’t cry during Molly’s death on A Country Practice“-est bloke imaginable. They’re words designed to unite Australians and serve as a mission statement to the values for which this country stands.
But given the current climate in this country, maybe it’s time for a change.
Next month marks 36 years since ‘Advance Australia Affair’ was adopted as the official national anthem of Australia, replacing ‘God Save The Queen’ and beating out ‘The Song Of Australia‘, one of the few notable things to come from my hometown.
Since then, its melody – which dates back all the way to 1878 when Peter Dodds McCormick first composed it (thanks, Wikipedia) – has become synonymous with Australia and the values we all hold so dear.
Likewise, it’s also become a way to test the true blue nature of anyone who calls themselves an Aussie, or claims to represent the country as a whole. Why, anyone who doesn’t know the meaning of the word “girt” is likely a true Australian, and anyone who forgets the second verse (with its lyrics of “For those who’ve come across the seas, we’ve boundless plains to share“) is most likely fit to represent the Liberal Party.
However, these lyrics are old, outdated, and no longer represent the country that Australians know in the year 2020.
Check out the Australian national anthem:
Look, there’s no denying the fact that Australia has had one hell of a rough go in recent months. After all, we welcomed in the new year against the amber glow of burning bushfires while Canberra boasted the most polluted air in the world due to the accompanying smoke.
It didn’t stop there though, in fact a poor response from our Prime Minister Scott Morrison soon gave way to continued talk of climate change denial, which was a welcome change from his usual question of “How good is the cricket?”
Amazingly, things managed to get worse. Yes, just when Australians found themselves looking at rebuilding and reclaiming their livelihoods in the wake of the bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic soon found its way down to our neck of the woods.
While these coronavirus cases have continued to spring up around the country, this month has seen the local music industry soon begin one of its roughest times in recent history. In fact, while festivals like Splendour in the Grass and Download have been postponed or cancelled, countless local tours have also been axed, with musicians or those within the industry having lost a combined total of $100m in income so far.
Just today alone, we’ve seen travel bans implemented, indoor gatherings of more than 100 banned, and a renewed call for social distancing amidst the panic of COVID-19.
Is this the country that ‘Advance Australia Fair’ depicts? Forgive me if I sound blunt, but I don’t believe Australians right now are feeling too keen on rejoicing, or singing in joyful strains while our golden soil has been replaced by a charcoal black as Aussies toil to reclaim their wealth.
Maybe it’s time to adopt a new national anthem to truly complement the times in which we live. But just what local song could truly help describe the times in which we live?
Check out ‘Everything’s Fucked’ by the Dirty Three:
Dirty Three’s ‘Everything’s Fucked’ undoubtedly comes to mind, as Rose Tattoo’s ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’ evokes parallels to Aussie resilience, and The Fauves’ ‘Self Abuser’ undoubtedly describes the onanistic tendencies of many in self-isolation right now.
Meanwhile, Hunters & Collectors’ ‘Throw Your Arms Around Me’ seems to serve as apparent anti-anthem to those wanting to remain free of COVID-19, while Bad//Dreems’ new acoustic take ‘I Wanna Self Isolate With You‘ seems to capture the feeling of Aussies returning from overseas.
However, I think it might be worth defying travel bans and looking overseas for the perfect anthem, one that perfectly captures the country-wide feeling of getting repeatedly thrown back to square one every time we seem to make progress. If that’s what we’re in the mood for, may I suggest nothing but the “I get knocked down” lyric from Chumbawamba’s ‘Tubthumping’ on repeat for three minutes?
After all, the catchy nature of the lyrics would finally manage to see every Aussie remember the words, its origins in drinking culture perfectly tie in with Australia’s national pastime, and if ever there was a combination of words that an entire country could relate to, it’s this.
No need for the follow-up of “But I get up again“, either, because if recent history has taught us anything, it’s that any chance of us recovering and moving forward to bigger and better things will quickly be countered by the next national event that knocks us right back down again.
Sure, Chumbawamba might be a sadly now-defunct group of British anarchists, but who knew that when we couldn’t get rid of their unrelenting pub anthem back in 1997 they were actually serving us up a terrifying vision of things to come?
And now, the new Australian anthem:
