An Immigrant-Friendly, Belief-Independent, Gender-Neutral O Canada

To commemorate my boarding the Citizen Ship recently, and as blogged earlier, I took it upon myself to construct a version of O Canada to appeal to Canadians who are now more immigrant-friendly (country’s emerging reality), belief-independent (agnostics / atheists / humanists / non-biblicals ahoy!) and gender-neutral (as much as I’m a typical guy who’d like to have a son as first-born to share fishing and sport with, the state shouldn’t encourage me subliminally with the anthem, you know.)

Not that people have not been trying.

I have given a side-by-side comparison later so that those who are still not a hundred percent on their lyrical prowess and my rendition, can see how I have, er, improved the Original anthem. You may also wish to listen and referesh yourself with the original beforehand, just in case.

The Anthems – Recreated

1. Review and Listen to the Original
2. An Immigrant-Friendly Anthem
3. The Universally Friendly Anthem for All Canadians
4. How it really should be: William Shatner

1. Review and Listen to The Original Anthem

Before going futher, refresh your anthematic senses and get into the great tune…

2. The Immigrant-Friendly O Canada

My Semi-Universal Version against The Original (for the curious and uninitiated)

As written by me. No warranties. O Canada, The New Song. Sing to the tune of O Canada

3. The Universally Friendly O Canada

How about not just to immigrants, but friendly to all?

In my immigrant-friendly version above “Our home and chosen land” (first verse) and “our new home” (4th verse), obviously, are more immigrant friendly.

If we are to make it widely appealing to everyone including immigrants and non-immigrants, both the “native” and “chosen” have to be, er, neutralized and made increasingly, say, universal.

Read my notes at the bottom for respective changes, as marked.

My Universal Version against The Original

As written by me. No warranties. Sing to the tune of O Canada

Notes to the Universally Friendly O Canada

1. No one is ancestrally native here except the true natives
2. Suggestions of demands of performance from only male offsprings is discriminatory and not State’s business
3. On avoiding “True North” phrase: not that I have anything against “True North” but it, to me at least, is poetically quite irrelevant. Besides, the literal ‘true north’ should be the North Pole and I’d rather not ‘officialize’ our stereotypes! True North is also so 19th century and relative only to yee-haw type southern neighbours on big trucks and guns
4. Hammering a repetitive (three times!) “on guard” suggests constant militaristic paranoia from a bygone era to me and glorifies certain interventionist aspirations of today in foreign policy where ‘guarding’ one’s homeland now means going to war and fighting remote in far off lands! However, ‘on guard’ in its true meaning is retained in the last verse, read further.
5. Religion is personal, anthem is universal – we all have, or don’t, different gods – not State’s prescribed version. ‘We’ is more individually and dutifully responsible, instead of passing the buck to a deity for glory and freedom.
6. See Note No. 4.
7. Standing on guard retained here for its true meaning and avoiding repetitive ‘on guard’ paranoid militaristic connotations (see Note No. 4.)

4. The William Shatner Treatment

And last but not the least, a version that takes all anthems to where no anthem has gone before.