Women and children do not remove their hats on such occasions. It is traditional for civilian men to take off their hats during the playing of the national anthem. When anthems are played at the end of an event, O Canada should be played last.Īs a matter of respect and tradition, it is proper to stand for the playing of O Canada this is also the case for the anthem of any other nation.

If 2 anthems are to be played at the beginning of an event, O Canada should be played first followed by the other one. It is up to the organizers to determine if O Canada will be sung at the beginning or at the end of a ceremony. There is no specific rule as to when it is appropriate to sing the national anthem at an event. Read the full history of O Canada and learn about the lives of the people behind the anthem. On January 31, 2018, legislation was passed to change the English lyrics from “True patriot love in all thy sons command” to “True patriot love in all of us command,” to make it gender neutral. It was Weir's lyrics that became the official English version in 1980. The music for O Canada was composed in 1880 by Calixa Lavallée - a well-known composer at the time - and the French lyrics were written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier.Īs the song became more and more popular, many English versions were written over the years, including one based on a poem written in 1908 by The Honourable Robert Stanley Weir. History of the national anthemĪfter 100 years of tradition, O Canada was proclaimed Canada's national anthem in 1980. Download the sheet music with the official lyrics in English and Frenchĭownload the sheet music with the official lyrics in English and French. The official lyrics of O Canada are available in bilingual and unilingual versions. Open the file by using a QuickTime Player for Mac or import it into iTunes.Select 'Save link as' or 'Download linked file as'.Press the Control key (Ctrl) and click on the link.Open the file with a media player, such as Windows Media Player.Go to the location where you saved the file.Choose the location on your computer where you want to save the file.Right-click the link and select 'Save link as' or 'Save target as'.Find the link of the file you wish to download.If you would like to download the MP3 files for use with an audio player, please follow the instructions below: Bilingual version sung by Julie Nesrallah and Nathalie Paulin © TSO

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