whether it’s a royal wedding or the
World Cup final there’s only one way to
mark the occasion musically welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10 national
anthems
this list we’ve looked at the most
rousing the most patriotic the most
historic and the most interesting
national anthems out there we’re going
to close by singing the African national
anthem Cosi sikelel iAfrika god bless
Africa number 10 in Kosice Galilee
Africa South Africa
first written as a hymn in 1897 this
uplifting effort is also the national
anthem for Zambia and Tanzania
officially adopted by South Africa in
1994 it had been used before Nelson
Mandela’s presidency as an unofficial
anthem of the oppressed people during
apartheid a pan-african song for
liberation its lyrics call on God to
guide South Africa to bless it and to
answer its prayers
the message is simplicity and strength
combined
number nine Kimmy guile Japan
these are the oldest lyrics to be used
in a national anthem and they are among
the shortest as well
but Kimmy Jo is also one of the most
recognizable and arguably controversial
anthems out there
dating back to the Year 1000 or possibly
beyond the words first appeared
anonymously in the poetry anthology the
kokino uh cashews
calling for a rain long enough to see
pebbles turn to boulders and then the
boulders to see moss the anthems used
post Second World War was allowed but
its association with the abolished
Empire was not
number eight in on a Siana brazil arrow
Brazil
and so from a short anthem to a very
long one
there are two stanzas to the Brazilian
entry and 26 lines to each stanza the
song is a story of peace of Pride and of
overriding love for Brazil the place and
Brazil the people national law states
that the second stanza is optional in an
instrumental rendition
but both halves must be sung in a vocal
performance thus the Brazilian crowds
refusal to stop singing during the 2014
FIFA World Cup
number seven the star-spangled banner’
the United States of America
first penned following an American
victory against the British in the war
of 1812 the star-spangled banner’ is a
reference to the American flag which was
then a reduced version of what we know
today with just 15 stars to it
Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics then
although his poem didn’t achieve anthem
status until 1931
you
a musical illustration of the starred
and striped symbol of hope that was Old
Glory on the eve of victory it’s
difficult to sing but impossible to
forget
number six el canto daily italiani Italy
known among Italians as in oedema mainly
after its writer Goffredo memory there
are few national anthems that rouse as
well as this one
the opening instrumental stiffens the
stance and the opening two lines unleash
the vocals
brothers of Italy in case you weren’t
aware Italy has woken from here it’s a
tale of heroic war the search for unity
and for victory
Italian history is a colorful one and
it’s put against a pulsating piece of
music here
it’s crescendo after crescendo after
crescendo
number five Deutschland lead Germany
officially made the German national song
in 1922 during the Weimar Republic this
anthem was applied to West Germany post
Second World War and has been used in
part by a reunified Germany since the
knocking down of the Berlin Wall in 1990
fill the lyrics were written in 1841
before the country’s initial unification
in 1871 the first verse was used by and
is closely associated with the Nazi
regime and has therefore been
unofficially banned today only the songs
third stanza is used as the anthem and
it states that unity and law and freedom
are the foundation for happiness an
ideal worth striving for
number four the state anthem of the
Russian Federation Russia this anthems
been chopped and changed throughout the
USSR s and Russia’s recent history
created in 1944 to replace the
International the Stalin centric
original lyrics were dropped in 1956
upon the dictators death in 53 new words
weren’t written until 1977 and they
focused on the triumph of communism with
the dissolution of the USSR Russia
adopted a new but disliked anthem the
lyric free patria DJ Scalia Pasha just
didn’t cut the motivational mustard
so Vladimir Putin reinstalled the
original USSR anthem with fresh lyrics
in 2000
it’s long-winded but worth it
number three Oh Canada Canada
at 3:00 we have French lyrics at least
originally
Oh Canada was first translated into
English in 1906 and it’s English version
has since undergone a series of
revisions first performed in 1880 at
essentia Baptist Day banquet in Quebec
City though it eventually fought off
early English musical competition like
the maple leaf forever to become the
national song
ryo-san
Canada wasn’t officially recognized as
the national anthem until 1980 but it
had been sung at special occasions for a
long while before that
number two god save the queen’ the
United Kingdom
an anthem that’s as far-reaching as the
British Empire once was God Save the
Queen holds patriotic power the world
over
the anthem for England for Britain
generally and for many of the
Commonwealth realms the first
particularly recognizable version dates
back to 1744
but a 1619 keyboard piece by John Bull
also bears a royal resemblance nothing
symbolizes Britain like the Queen and
the monarchy and nothing soundtracks it
like this anthem
it’s victorious happy glorious and
everywhere in between
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions
number one that messages friends taking
the win in this most rousing of
WatchMojo countdowns is an anthem
conceived amidst the French Revolution
that still has hairs standing on end
the Marseillaise was written as European
powers looked to invade the increasingly
anti-monarchist France in the late 1700s
clutches F huije de Lille was given the
task of writing a rallying cry for
French fighters and boy did he deliver
if the soldier wasn’t inspired by this
then he was on the wrong side MSA is
marches on marches on to the top of our
patriotic pile
do you agree with our list which anthem
did we miss
for more proud top 10s published every
day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com
World Cup final there’s only one way to
mark the occasion musically welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10 national
anthems
this list we’ve looked at the most
rousing the most patriotic the most
historic and the most interesting
national anthems out there we’re going
to close by singing the African national
anthem Cosi sikelel iAfrika god bless
Africa number 10 in Kosice Galilee
Africa South Africa
first written as a hymn in 1897 this
uplifting effort is also the national
anthem for Zambia and Tanzania
officially adopted by South Africa in
1994 it had been used before Nelson
Mandela’s presidency as an unofficial
anthem of the oppressed people during
apartheid a pan-african song for
liberation its lyrics call on God to
guide South Africa to bless it and to
answer its prayers
the message is simplicity and strength
combined
number nine Kimmy guile Japan
these are the oldest lyrics to be used
in a national anthem and they are among
the shortest as well
but Kimmy Jo is also one of the most
recognizable and arguably controversial
anthems out there
dating back to the Year 1000 or possibly
beyond the words first appeared
anonymously in the poetry anthology the
kokino uh cashews
calling for a rain long enough to see
pebbles turn to boulders and then the
boulders to see moss the anthems used
post Second World War was allowed but
its association with the abolished
Empire was not
number eight in on a Siana brazil arrow
Brazil
and so from a short anthem to a very
long one
there are two stanzas to the Brazilian
entry and 26 lines to each stanza the
song is a story of peace of Pride and of
overriding love for Brazil the place and
Brazil the people national law states
that the second stanza is optional in an
instrumental rendition
but both halves must be sung in a vocal
performance thus the Brazilian crowds
refusal to stop singing during the 2014
FIFA World Cup
number seven the star-spangled banner’
the United States of America
first penned following an American
victory against the British in the war
of 1812 the star-spangled banner’ is a
reference to the American flag which was
then a reduced version of what we know
today with just 15 stars to it
Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics then
although his poem didn’t achieve anthem
status until 1931
you
a musical illustration of the starred
and striped symbol of hope that was Old
Glory on the eve of victory it’s
difficult to sing but impossible to
forget
number six el canto daily italiani Italy
known among Italians as in oedema mainly
after its writer Goffredo memory there
are few national anthems that rouse as
well as this one
the opening instrumental stiffens the
stance and the opening two lines unleash
the vocals
brothers of Italy in case you weren’t
aware Italy has woken from here it’s a
tale of heroic war the search for unity
and for victory
Italian history is a colorful one and
it’s put against a pulsating piece of
music here
it’s crescendo after crescendo after
crescendo
number five Deutschland lead Germany
officially made the German national song
in 1922 during the Weimar Republic this
anthem was applied to West Germany post
Second World War and has been used in
part by a reunified Germany since the
knocking down of the Berlin Wall in 1990
fill the lyrics were written in 1841
before the country’s initial unification
in 1871 the first verse was used by and
is closely associated with the Nazi
regime and has therefore been
unofficially banned today only the songs
third stanza is used as the anthem and
it states that unity and law and freedom
are the foundation for happiness an
ideal worth striving for
number four the state anthem of the
Russian Federation Russia this anthems
been chopped and changed throughout the
USSR s and Russia’s recent history
created in 1944 to replace the
International the Stalin centric
original lyrics were dropped in 1956
upon the dictators death in 53 new words
weren’t written until 1977 and they
focused on the triumph of communism with
the dissolution of the USSR Russia
adopted a new but disliked anthem the
lyric free patria DJ Scalia Pasha just
didn’t cut the motivational mustard
so Vladimir Putin reinstalled the
original USSR anthem with fresh lyrics
in 2000
it’s long-winded but worth it
number three Oh Canada Canada
at 3:00 we have French lyrics at least
originally
Oh Canada was first translated into
English in 1906 and it’s English version
has since undergone a series of
revisions first performed in 1880 at
essentia Baptist Day banquet in Quebec
City though it eventually fought off
early English musical competition like
the maple leaf forever to become the
national song
ryo-san
Canada wasn’t officially recognized as
the national anthem until 1980 but it
had been sung at special occasions for a
long while before that
number two god save the queen’ the
United Kingdom
an anthem that’s as far-reaching as the
British Empire once was God Save the
Queen holds patriotic power the world
over
the anthem for England for Britain
generally and for many of the
Commonwealth realms the first
particularly recognizable version dates
back to 1744
but a 1619 keyboard piece by John Bull
also bears a royal resemblance nothing
symbolizes Britain like the Queen and
the monarchy and nothing soundtracks it
like this anthem
it’s victorious happy glorious and
everywhere in between
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions
number one that messages friends taking
the win in this most rousing of
WatchMojo countdowns is an anthem
conceived amidst the French Revolution
that still has hairs standing on end
the Marseillaise was written as European
powers looked to invade the increasingly
anti-monarchist France in the late 1700s
clutches F huije de Lille was given the
task of writing a rallying cry for
French fighters and boy did he deliver
if the soldier wasn’t inspired by this
then he was on the wrong side MSA is
marches on marches on to the top of our
patriotic pile
do you agree with our list which anthem
did we miss
for more proud top 10s published every
day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com
Please follow and like us: