Something from the Throne Speech

When I was a child my teacher, a strong willed woman called Miss Freid, told us that we could sing "O Canada" and say "in all thy sons and daughters command".

And this was 1966.

Frankly, I like the line "True patriot love thou dost in us command" ... of course, if you use the French text and translate to English, well, it raises some other issues. Candidly the French text cannot be made politic with a minor word shift or two (see below):

"A sentence in the 6,000-word speech, which was delivered Wednesday afternoon by Governor General Michaelle Jean, said the Conservatives would ask Parliament "to examine the original gender-neutral English wording of the national anthem."

The lyric in question: "True patriot love in all thy sons command."

Under the Conservatives' proposal those words would revert to an earlier version of the anthem written by Stanley Weir in 1908.

"True patriot love thou dost in us command," the line by Weir reads. "

Now, for the French text:


O Canada!
Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
O Canada!
Land of our ancestors
Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers.
As in thy arm ready to wield the sword,
So also is it ready to carry the cross.
Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits.
Thy valour steeped in faith
Will protect our homes and our rights
Will protect our homes and our rights.


Let Parliament try to make that politically correct!!!