| National anthem of |  Novanglia |
|---|---|
| Lyrics | Peter Dodds McCormick November 1878 |
| Music | Peter Dodds McCormick, November 1878 |
| Adopted | 9 July 1981 (43 years ago) |
| Music sample | |
| | |
"God Defend Novanglia" is the national anthem of Novanglia since 1981. Written by a Scottish-born composer named Peter Dodds McCormick, who lived in the province of New Lanchasire, it was first performed as a patriotic song in Novanglia in 1875 and was later used by Prime Minister Joseph Peron. In 1981, Prime Minister Doug Anthony made the song the official national anthem of the nation, after it was the winner of a plebiscite held in May of that year.
The English lyrics of the anthem were composed by Peter Dodds McCormick while the Toba Qom lyrics were written by Qom leader Felix Dunlop. In response to a growing indigenous rights movement within Novanglia, Novanglia's parliament agreed to adopt both the Toba Qom and English versions of "God Defend Novanglia", officially making it a bilingual national anthem. The anthem has received international praise and is often ranked as one of the world's best anthems, but it has also been meant with mild controversy both in Novanglia and abroad.
History[]
Peter Dodds McCormick was born in Scotland in 1834 and eventually moved to Muqaddas to avoid the political tension instability hanging over the British Isles at the time. He eventually moved to New Caledonia before settling in New Lanchasire in 1860. He fell in love with the natural beauty of Novanglia and had begun to write poetry about Novanglian wildlife and nature. He eventually composed "God Defend Novanglia" in 1878 as a plea for God to defend the country's natural beauty. He passed away 2 years later in 1880 and his poetry went into obscurity for the time being. His poetry would eventually be rediscovered by William Sanchez, a newspaper editor for the Hawkinsville Tribune. Sanchez, impressed by the sophistication of the poetry, began publishing them in the poetry section of the Tribune, bringing McCormick's back into focus. A musical composition would be completed in 1910 and "God Defend Novanglia" began acting as the Dominion of Novanglia's unofficial anthem at international sporting events and diplomatic functions.
Felix Dunlop, a Qom leader and proponent of the Toba Qom language being included in Novanglia's anthem
Felix Dunlop, a Qom leader and indigenous rights activist, translated the anthem into the Toba Qom language. During indigenous land protests throughout the 1970s, Qom people began to sign the Toba Qom version of the anthem outside of parliament to protest the government's indigenous rights policies. Doug Anthony, a Conservative Prime Minister who relied on the votes of the rural religious Qom communities to win election, promised Dunlop land reform and greater indigenous representation in Novanglia's government. Dunlop broke with the majority of the Conservative Party on this issue, and instead passed the bilingual national anthem resolution as part of the 1981 National Anthem Act with the backing of the Labor Party in parliament. "God Defend Novanglia" would officially debut as the country's anthem when it was played in Constantinople during Prime Minister Anthony's state visit to Rhomania on 19 July 1981.
Lyrics[]
(First verse: sung in Toba Qom)
'Enauac na naaxat
Shiỹaxauapi na mayipi
Huesochiguii qataq
'Eeta'a't da l'amaqchic
Enec qataq ỹataqta
Itauan ichoxoden ca lỹa
(Second verse: sung in English)
God of Nations at Thy feet
In the bonds of love we meet
Hear our voices, we entreat
God defend our free land
Guard our people near and far
From the shafts of strife and war
Make her praises heard afar
God defend Novanglia