'Boring' national anthem sparks fierce debate among Australians: “I am constantly girt by loonies,” jokes one social media user​

There seems to be a lot of debate surrounding our national anthem, with some people claiming it is boring and antiquated, and others asserting that it is actually quite uplifting and progressive.

So, what do people think?

Well, some Reddit users seem to think that the song is indeed quite boring and that the lyrics are outdated.

One user writes sarcastically: "I make a point of using ‘girt’ in a sentence at least once a day", with a user jokingly replying "This is the police! We have you girt!"

Another says: "I've taught primary school music for the last three years, and I get to teach the anthem. I LOVE teaching them about "girt" (I say "this is my FAVOURITE word in the whole song!!")! They go around the school for the rest of the term using girt in sentences!".

However, not everyone agrees. Another user writes: "Never understood this argument. It's actually got quite an uplifting melody and when orchestrated it sounds great. Also, the lyrics are positive and really nice compared to most other national anthems that mention war and how much better they are than their neighbours. The only issue is we don't sing the second verse enough, which imo, is the best. Should always be sung as ours is very short by world standards with only one verse."
​

Some Reddit users seem to think that our national anthem is quite boring
and that the lyrics are outdated. Credits: Shutterstock​

Another user quips: "My home country's (Guatemala) national anthem takes about 5 minutes and 45 seconds to play in its entirety. We would be forced to listen to it frequently in school.

The Australian one is a breath of fresh air for me. I love it."

'Advance Australia Fair' is actually one of the shorter national anthems, clocking in at just over a minute. In comparison, the national anthem of Greece is a whopping 10 minutes long!

The history of our national anthem is also interesting. It was first written in 1878 by Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, and was originally titled 'Advance Australia'. The lyrics were later changed to 'Advance Australia Fair' in 1974.

According to Wikipedia, it first replaced "God Save the Queen" as the official national anthem in 1974, following a nationwide opinion survey. "God Save the Queen" was reinstated in January 1976, but a plebiscite to choose the national song in 1977 preferred "Advance Australia Fair", which was restored in 1984.

So, what do you think? Is our national anthem boring, or is it actually quite uplifting? And if you were going to change it, what would you change it to? Let us know in the comments!

 

[wazzalox]

It became meaningless when they changed "young and free" to "one and free". In what universe is Australia "one"?

 

[booiemonster]

I was brought up singing God save the King and later the Queen We used to sing advance Australia Fair at School but just as a Patriotic song When it was made the Anthem it never felt like a proper Anthem to me.The one song that gets to me and which I would like as the Anthem is "I am Australian" Properly sung it gives me goosebumps

 

[Jest]

why do these idiots need to change the anthem? How about just changing their attitudes

 

[Doug one]

We will always have "progressives" who will want to change anything that smacks of patriotism, pride and anything old. They are good at criticising but not so good at proposing a better alternative. They don't want to be anchored to something proven by time but would have a meaningless jingle. Leave our flag and anthem alone.

 

[Roberta]

Why do the younger generation want to change everything. Leave our history as it is. Yes how about you all change your attitudes.

 

[Sandygwalk]

why do these idiots need to change the anthem? How about just changing their attitudes

I agree completely. I have loved our anthem since I arrived 44 years ago.

 

[Ricci]

In a list of the most important things to do right now I would have thought that changing the Anthem of Australia would be somewhere near the bottom. However, I wouldn't mind betting that some bureaucrat somewhere is in line for a squillion dollars in order to do an "important" feasibility study!

 

[Rosalyn]

Boring boring boring

 

[Singomate]

Im sorry it is not inspiring

 

[Beppie51]

Boring!!!!

 

[SirExton]

'Boring' national anthem sparks fierce debate among Australians: “I am constantly girt by loonies,” jokes one social media user​

There seems to be a lot of debate surrounding our national anthem, with some people claiming it is boring and antiquated, and others asserting that it is actually quite uplifting and progressive.

So, what do people think?

Well, some Reddit users seem to think that the song is indeed quite boring and that the lyrics are outdated.

One user writes sarcastically: "I make a point of using ‘girt’ in a sentence at least once a day", with a user jokingly replying "This is the police! We have you girt!"

Another says: "I've taught primary school music for the last three years, and I get to teach the anthem. I LOVE teaching them about "girt" (I say "this is my FAVOURITE word in the whole song!!")! They go around the school for the rest of the term using girt in sentences!".

However, not everyone agrees. Another user writes: "Never understood this argument. It's actually got quite an uplifting melody and when orchestrated it sounds great. Also, the lyrics are positive and really nice compared to most other national anthems that mention war and how much better they are than their neighbours. The only issue is we don't sing the second verse enough, which imo, is the best. Should always be sung as ours is very short by world standards with only one verse."
​

View attachment 3126
Some Reddit users seem to think that our national anthem is quite boring
and that the lyrics are outdated. Credits: Shutterstock​

Another user quips: "My home country's (Guatemala) national anthem takes about 5 minutes and 45 seconds to play in its entirety. We would be forced to listen to it frequently in school.

The Australian one is a breath of fresh air for me. I love it."

'Advance Australia Fair' is actually one of the shorter national anthems, clocking in at just over a minute. In comparison, the national anthem of Greece is a whopping 10 minutes long!

The history of our national anthem is also interesting. It was first written in 1878 by Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, and was originally titled 'Advance Australia'. The lyrics were later changed to 'Advance Australia Fair' in 1974.

According to Wikipedia, it first replaced "God Save the Queen" as the official national anthem in 1974, following a nationwide opinion survey. "God Save the Queen" was reinstated in January 1976, but a plebiscite to choose the national song in 1977 preferred "Advance Australia Fair", which was restored in 1984.

So, what do you think? Is our national anthem boring, or is it actually quite uplifting? And if you were going to change it, what would you change it to? Let us know in the comments!

​

The Australian National Anthem is fine! We should use the second verse as well! May God Bless Australia! Amen! & Amen!

 

[TomDevine55]

As a ex Serviceman and a person who has been overseas, I love Australia, but the thing I hate is that national anthem. Advance Australia Fair, what a lot of garbage, it is not inspirational and advances nothing in regards to inspiration at any event or any days of significant. There should be another chance to change the anthem and this should be done through a competition and inspiring choices should be made. I love the flag, I refuse to sing the national anthem, when the choice came in 1977 to change it, they had poor choices and only 43% wanted it.

 

[SierraJuliet]

'Boring' national anthem sparks fierce debate among Australians: “I am constantly girt by loonies,” jokes one social media user​

There seems to be a lot of debate surrounding our national anthem, with some people claiming it is boring and antiquated, and others asserting that it is actually quite uplifting and progressive.

So, what do people think?

Well, some Reddit users seem to think that the song is indeed quite boring and that the lyrics are outdated.

One user writes sarcastically: "I make a point of using ‘girt’ in a sentence at least once a day", with a user jokingly replying "This is the police! We have you girt!"

Another says: "I've taught primary school music for the last three years, and I get to teach the anthem. I LOVE teaching them about "girt" (I say "this is my FAVOURITE word in the whole song!!")! They go around the school for the rest of the term using girt in sentences!".

However, not everyone agrees. Another user writes: "Never understood this argument. It's actually got quite an uplifting melody and when orchestrated it sounds great. Also, the lyrics are positive and really nice compared to most other national anthems that mention war and how much better they are than their neighbours. The only issue is we don't sing the second verse enough, which imo, is the best. Should always be sung as ours is very short by world standards with only one verse."
​

View attachment 3126
Some Reddit users seem to think that our national anthem is quite boring
and that the lyrics are outdated. Credits: Shutterstock​

Another user quips: "My home country's (Guatemala) national anthem takes about 5 minutes and 45 seconds to play in its entirety. We would be forced to listen to it frequently in school.

The Australian one is a breath of fresh air for me. I love it."

'Advance Australia Fair' is actually one of the shorter national anthems, clocking in at just over a minute. In comparison, the national anthem of Greece is a whopping 10 minutes long!

The history of our national anthem is also interesting. It was first written in 1878 by Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, and was originally titled 'Advance Australia'. The lyrics were later changed to 'Advance Australia Fair' in 1974.

According to Wikipedia, it first replaced "God Save the Queen" as the official national anthem in 1974, following a nationwide opinion survey. "God Save the Queen" was reinstated in January 1976, but a plebiscite to choose the national song in 1977 preferred "Advance Australia Fair", which was restored in 1984.

So, what do you think? Is our national anthem boring, or is it actually quite uplifting? And if you were going to change it, what would you change it to? Let us know in the comments!

​

The words are out-dated. In 19th Century when the words were written they were probably very inspiring. But it is the 21st Century where the world is a very different place the words are meaningless; and they do not encompass ALL the people that populate this country (First Nation and migrants). In fact the song 'I Am Australian' written my Bruce Woodley (former Seeker) and Dobe Newton says more about Australia and ALL of its people, than either the current anthem, or the one before that.

 

[DeRobiano]

I like 'we are one , we are many - it is uplifting and sums up our history from the beginning and beautiful and uplifting when sung. Advance Australia Fair - is dated and has been tinkered with so many times. Originally it was a poor reflection of our country.

 

[Mazda52]

I love "I still call Australia Home"

 

[rlbird]

At least we don't seek the blood of our enemy to soak our fields like the striking French anthem.

 

[Jeanmary]

'Boring' national anthem sparks fierce debate among Australians: “I am constantly girt by loonies,” jokes one social media user​

There seems to be a lot of debate surrounding our national anthem, with some people claiming it is boring and antiquated, and others asserting that it is actually quite uplifting and progressive.

So, what do people think?

Well, some Reddit users seem to think that the song is indeed quite boring and that the lyrics are outdated.

One user writes sarcastically: "I make a point of using ‘girt’ in a sentence at least once a day", with a user jokingly replying "This is the police! We have you girt!"

Another says: "I've taught primary school music for the last three years, and I get to teach the anthem. I LOVE teaching them about "girt" (I say "this is my FAVOURITE word in the whole song!!")! They go around the school for the rest of the term using girt in sentences!".

However, not everyone agrees. Another user writes: "Never understood this argument. It's actually got quite an uplifting melody and when orchestrated it sounds great. Also, the lyrics are positive and really nice compared to most other national anthems that mention war and how much better they are than their neighbours. The only issue is we don't sing the second verse enough, which imo, is the best. Should always be sung as ours is very short by world standards with only one verse."
​

View attachment 3126
Some Reddit users seem to think that our national anthem is quite boring
and that the lyrics are outdated. Credits: Shutterstock​

Another user quips: "My home country's (Guatemala) national anthem takes about 5 minutes and 45 seconds to play in its entirety. We would be forced to listen to it frequently in school.

The Australian one is a breath of fresh air for me. I love it."

'Advance Australia Fair' is actually one of the shorter national anthems, clocking in at just over a minute. In comparison, the national anthem of Greece is a whopping 10 minutes long!

The history of our national anthem is also interesting. It was first written in 1878 by Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, and was originally titled 'Advance Australia'. The lyrics were later changed to 'Advance Australia Fair' in 1974.

According to Wikipedia, it first replaced "God Save the Queen" as the official national anthem in 1974, following a nationwide opinion survey. "God Save the Queen" was reinstated in January 1976, but a plebiscite to choose the national song in 1977 preferred "Advance Australia Fair", which was restored in 1984.

So, what do you think? Is our national anthem boring, or is it actually quite uplifting? And if you were going to change it, what would you change it to? Let us know in the comments!

​

national anthem is pretentious rubbish I am Australian yes yes yes

 

[Jeanmary]

national anthem is pretentious rubbish I am Australian yes yes yes

 

[Linde]

I get angry that we have 2 verses but never sing the 2nd verse ,,My grandchildren sang the 2nd one at school but when you go anywhere they only sing the first ..plus some people kill the anthem when they sing it ..Julie Anthony was the only one that could put feeing into it .