Seems I've known this song my whole life. My mother pounded this song out on the piano a thousand times. She was an American that just LOVED Canada. "Hello Mom" and Happy Birthday Canada!!!!
great song. we have it so good here in Canada. free medical care. high minimum wage. and so many other great things! I'm a patriot, but not a nationalist. we're amazing, and so are a lot of others.
Free is a misnomer, we pay taxes. Still better than Americas though. High minimum wage means less employees, because we can;t afford to hire as many. We also can't give benefits, too expensive. Canada is still the best country .
how about insulin, the telephone, the Jolly Jumper, the telephone, Winnie the Pooh...? The US has defended Canada largely out of necessity for itself - Canada is right between the US and Russia as the ICBM's flew over the North Pole.
Bloods is blue it turns red when it meets oxygen but crazy Ontarian is talking about blood cells red cells are for healing white cells are for immune systems
I just love this and any other song that celebrates how great it is to live in The Great White North. Just found the Canadian version of "This Land is My Land". Next thing I'm going to search is Roger Whittaker's "Canada Is" and then, "They All Call It Canada". And then, of course, the song that was sung to celebrate Canada's centennial , They bring back good memories.
The song dates from 1964 in those heady days of the new flag, the Centennial, and expo 67, though it did become widely popular into the early 70s due in no small part to it being the unofficial standard of that iconic program 'Don Messer's Jubiliee.
I'm a young Canadian (23). It was an epiphany hearing the Maple Leaf Forever for the first time. The lyrics were outdated, sure, but the tune? So powerful. Even the words were haunting. This was my grandfather's Canada, which he loved very dearly. Something bittersweet about it. Still, it's a song about colonial Canada; its time had passed. But I do wish STSA had become the national anthem. The content is absurd in places but it stirs genuine emotion, something O Canada frankly can't do for me.
The problem about this song being the national anthem is that the national anthem has to be something very easy to sing clearly. "This Land of Ours" actually requires a bit of rhythm at some parts. I personally prefer The Maple Leaf Forever.
There are revised versions of 'The Maple Leaf Forever' (check on Wikipedia) that are more inclusive and address colonialism but retain the historical continuity of the song. Or check out the Bublé-Olympic version which uses a more general lyric about contemporary Canadian values toward landscape, pride and peace.
HOCKEY IS OUR GAME CANADA IS THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD I LIVE IN NOVA SCOTIA I HAVE TRAVELLED THIS GREAT COUNTRY I FEEL COMFORTABLE NO MATTER WERE I AM LIKE THE MARITIMES QUEBEC ONTARIO MANITOBA SASKATCHEWAN ALBERTA BRITISH COLUMBIA YUKON YELLOW KNIFE NUNVET
sorry I disagree with u My dad may he rest in peace fought for KING/COUNTRY RCAF WE NEED THE MONARCHY JUST LOOK AT WHAT GOOD THE BIRITISH COMMONWEALTH DID IT WAS PRIME MINISTER MULRONEY HE SAID TO DE CLERK OF SOUTH AFRICA RELEASE MANDELA OR WE WILL STOP TRADING WITH SA ALL BRITISH COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES AGREEDED THEN EUROPE JOINED OUR SIDE THEN FINALLY USA WELL WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED MANDELA WAS RELEASED BECAME PRESIDENT SO BRITISH COMMONWEATLTH IS GOOD
The earliest version I remember of this song was recorded by The Raftsmen in the 60's. I have an old 45 of it somewhere around here. As I recall the flip was Kelligrews Soiree
Beautiful song love it almost as much as I love Canada ,and I don't know if I'm the only one who reacted like this, if he mentioned where you're from, but I kinda freaked out when he said "Up to the Maritimes" :) gotta love the true north strong and free ,GO CANADA!!!
No no, not "about 1970. It was already on his show "Something to Sing About" in the early-to-mid-'60s and was a strong contender to replace "God Save the Queen" in 1965.
Ah thank you. I certainly recall it being widely thought by Anglophones the most desirable choice for what to replace “God Save the Queen” with as national anthem in 1965 when Mike Pearson announced the intention. Obviously “The Maple Leaf Forever” was vastly preferable in tune to “O Canada” but the repetitive words of the latter at least didn’t list ancestry of Canadians but only mention English, Irish and Scotch.
Not about 1970. Before 1965 when it was considered among those that could be used as national anthem; "O Canada" was chosen instead. I vastly prefer this.
There are no "Vancouver Islands" as referenced in the chorus of the song. There is, however, a Vancouver Island off the west coast that is part of an archipelago of islands called the Gulf Islands. As a Vancouver Islander this error is kind of a piss-off. Aside from that, great song.
