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The Alternate Patriotic Music Thread

Ciclavex

Baron Ciclavex of Grittysborough in New Sweden
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We all know about patriotic music, of course - "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" in the U.S., "I Vow to Thee My Country" and "God Save the Queen" in the U.K., and, of course, even for some countries that claimed not to be about patriotism, such as "National Hymn of the Soviet Union", which I understand some people know about around here. What this thread is for is what lookingfor things in the subject of ATLs' patriotic music.

Obviously, you can post examples of things you've modified or written here, either just to put it out there, or if you're looking for ideas, comments, suggestions, or what have you. This can also be a thread for general discussion of the topic: what do you like in alternate takes on patriotic music?

This goes for modifications on OTL songs that eclipse more popular songs in an ATL, or OTL songs that fell out of use but might instead stick around in an ATL ("Hail, Columbia" in practice the U.S.' original national anthem until the 1930s, or "When the King Enjoys His Own Again", the de facto national anthem in England under the post-Restoration Stuarts), or if you're thinking about entirely new work or a variation on one of these themes. Quite a lot can fit under this banner, but I think we can manage it all in this thread.


To start off with my own contribution, here's a patriotic song I wrote for Fashions Made Sacred, called "The Prince's Song", or more commonly in the TL, known by its last line, "Stand Ye, Orangemen!", which is the national anthem of England, Scotland and Ireland. For anyone who doesn't know, the timeline is one where the House of Orange retains the Crown from 1689 until into the 21st century, so, unlike its OTL connotations specifically thinking in terms of the circumstances of William III's reign, and Protestantism against Catholicism (particularly in Ireland), the term is much more about loyalty to the reigning monarchs and their dynasty, and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for an English or Irish Catholic to describe themselves as a good Orangeman or Orangewoman.

The tune is that of "Men of Harlech" OTL, which long predates my PoD, and the tune spreading through the army and throughout the British isles as a patriotic anthem reflects a very large Welsh contingent in the service of the House of Orange during the War of the English Succession, which secured the House of Orange's reign in England forever (while, simultaneously, ending it forever in the Netherlands), though in-universe, this particular version dates from about a century later, canonizing this as the "true" form of the song during the Wars of Anglo-American Independence.

“The Prince’s Song”

Men of England, at the ready
Vuina Irish, hold ye steady
Can ye hear the foe most deadly
March on, Orangemen!


Scotsmen brave, your swords a-swinging
Sons of Wales, your voices singing
Can ye hear the church-bells ringing
Calling Orangemen!


Liberty shall e’er be flaring
Under us, steeds raring
Britons, all, the banners raise
And take a soldier’s bearing


Now, together, we’re proceeding
Side by side, we’re ne’er receding
There our royal prince is leading
Stand ye, Orangemen!
 
Music (patriotic and otherwise) threads its way throughout my "House of Stuart Sequence". In volume two ("The King Shall Have His Own Again") there are details of music played at the Coronation of James III in 1746 and, in later volumes, there are songs sung by British soldiers during the early years of the Great War which, in this alternative timeline, broke out in 1895 with hostilities continuing until the 1930s. The latest piece of music folded into the narrative (of volume nine, almost complete) is the delightful "The Man Who Waters The Workers' Beer"
 
By way of a postscript to the thread above- volume one of the Sequence ("The Year of The Prince") gives details of 18th century Jacobite Christmas Carols and "The Great War" referenced above is fought against Imperial Russia. Germany no longer exists as an independent state following its conquest by Russia in 1860; only a rump "Confederacy of Austria" (including Bavaria) survives the Russian onslaught.
 
There is a variation of O Canada that I found in The Crown Atomic, which is a Kaiserreich after-action report (basically a TL that also acts as a recounting of a game) that centres around the re-consolidation of the British Empire as an authoritarian futurist imperial federation under Edward. It really evokes the dark imperial aesthetic that is emblematic of the imperial elite and their influence over all aspect of life in this alternate Canada:

O, Canada!
Our Empire’s fortress land,
True patriot love in every heart command,
Through common toil, we see thee rise
The True North strong and free,
From far and wide, O, Canada,
All freemen look to thee!
God save the King,
Imperial Majesty!
O, Canada, we fight for peace for thee,
O, Canada, we fight for peace for thee!

The author also made an adaptation of God Save The King tailored specifically for a significantly more centralised British Raj, though it pretty much substitutes the references to the King and replaces them with the Indian title of Emperor and an equivocation to the title of Padishah and not much else.

On my end, I have been conceptualising an anthem for a unified Australasian state incorporating Australia, New Zealand, and some of the other South Pacific realms, and I went about it by taking one of the two's national hymns (I went with God Defend New Zealand) and incorporating themes and motifs in both. It's stalled, but it's something my mind has kept wandering back to as I keep revisiting the world and building it together. I've also mulled an alternative to Die Stem for a federalised, more Anglocentric South Africa, but I think the best thing might just be to run with the English lyrics of the song and rewrite a couple lines. Still, both haven't gotten far and it's really only something I've given a thought or two every now and then.
 
In 1943 the Soviets decided they needed a new national anthem to replace The Internationale. One of the rejected entries was a song called "Long Live Our State" by Boris Alexandrov, which eventually became a popular patriotic song. After the fall of the Soviet Union the song's tune was used to create the national anthem of Transnistria. Here's how the song sounds:



And here's the lyrics:

Long live our country
The Great Fatherland's ideals
the nation of the people's laws
The joy and happiness of the people during these sacred times
For the life and freedom of this land
Our great country in its battles
Brought victory over its foes

Chorus: Over Moscow wonderful
Over the beloved land
It's the sasacred joyful song
For this, our young country
It's the glorious red flag
That symbol of our victories
You shall always burn over us
Like the sun's joyous light shines

According to Lenin's wise precepts
Our Party to happiness leads us
And Stalin warmed the homes and hearts
Of the country and the Soviet People
These rich republics
and the heroic forces do not count
For the country has a national brotherhood
Where labor is valour and honor

Chorus repeats

Distant from the Soviet borders rising
The towers of the ancient Kremlin
Growing cities and villages
And glowing golden fields
And for every grain harvest
And with a new machine
Everything is growing and getting stronger
Over this great country of ours

Chorus repeats
 
There is a variation of O Canada that I found in The Crown Atomic, which is a Kaiserreich after-action report (basically a TL that also acts as a recounting of a game) that centres around the re-consolidation of the British Empire as an authoritarian futurist imperial federation under Edward. It really evokes the dark imperial aesthetic that is emblematic of the imperial elite and their influence over all aspect of life in this alternate Canada:

That is a bit dark, yes. What would have been more interesting is if - even with somewhat archaic language - someone tried to add more translated portions of the French original into the national anthem. For example - from the 2nd verse of the original:
Almighty Love, inspired by Thee,
The Canadian grows and lives strong and free
He was born of a proud race,
Blessed was his birthplace.
Heaven has noted his career
In this world, new and austere.
And always guided by its light,
He will keep the honour of his flag.
He will keep the honour of his flag.
Yes, I'm not the greatest of muses (and I agree that "Almighty Love" is a watered-down version of Almighty God - the original first line of verse 2 is "Sous l'œil de Dieu, près du fleuve géant"), but if someone tried doing something like this throughout we might get somewhere.
 
I actually got quite lucky for A Century Turns, since there's an OTL Zeppelin March to use.


It's also interesting, because when you're working with a setting that's got expanded ability to travel- and more importantly, the cross-comunication and cultural diffusion that comes with it, you can do some really interesting things with it. The song playing in the bar during Part 2 of ACT was actually Maple Leaf Rag, by Scott Joplin. With the increase in cultural diffusion, a lot of really niche music like early ragtime can see performance in places it never historically dug in to, like the south of France.

 
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