“Land of the Free” is the national anthem of Belize. The words were written by Samuel Alfred Haynes and the music by Selwyn Walford Young in 1963. It was officially adopted in 1981.
Samuel Haynes
Upon the outbreak of the First World War, Haynes enlisted in the British West Indies Regiment. After being discharged at the end of the war, Hayne returned to Belize where he joined various workers’ movements in Belize and played a vital role in a riot by ex-servicemen against racial discrimination which occurred 22 July. After the riot was suppressed by the colonial government, Haynes began organising the Belizean branch of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and facilitated the visit of its leader, Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey to Belize. Garvey recruited Haynes to work with him in the United States, a move that rendered the UNIA chapted in Belize leaderless for much of the 1920s and that indirectly contributed to the Isaiah Emmanuel Morter controversy. Haynes most likely wrote the anthem as an answer to colonialism’s stifling of Belizeans’ identity. The lofty language and uplifting lyrics referenced Belize’s former status as a slave society indebted to profits from forestry, linking it to the end of Belize’s colonial period, a process that culminated on 21 September 1981. The song was originally titled “Land of the Gods”, a salute to the proliferation of organised religion in Belize.
Nationalist writers have argued that the anthem’s references to the Baymen ignore the multi-cultural diversity of Belize today and have proposed a number of replacements. The most recent complaint of this nature was leveled by Maya-Mestizo-born correspondent Clinton Luna, who suggested that the phrase “sons of the Belizean soil” should replace “sons of the Baymen’s clan” in the chorus in recent issues of the Amandala weekly newspaper.The newspaper itself has previously argued to the same effect. However, Amandala contributor Henry Gordon countered in a later issue that nothing in the anthem represents any sort of bias to any ethnic group in Belize.
Belizeans speak a wide range of languages including English, Spanish, three different Mayan languages, as well as native languages spoken by its diverse Chinese-speaking people, Garinagu, East Indian population, Mennonite community. The anthem, in formal English, has been memorised by generations of children, but not necessarily understood.Because Kriol is the language that binds all Belizeans together, regardless of the origin of their first language, Leela Vernon translated the song into Kriol in 2011 with the hope that the meaning behind the words would be better understood.
Other uses
Late former Prime Minister George Price toured the nation sometime in the early 2000s to promote the singing of the national anthem. He visited schools in rural areas and led children in singing the anthem.
National radio stations generally play a version of the national anthem at morning sign-on. Most feature a recording of Price singing the anthem at piano in a faster tempo than usual or an instrumental version.
In author Zee Edgell’s Beka Lamb, the title character and her friend Toycie Qualo sing the full version of the original song, “Land of the Gods” (of which the two opening and closing lines are mentioned in the story), while parodying the political meetings then being held by the PIP, a reference to the PUP, in Belize City. Edgell acknowledged permission to use the song at the front of the book.
The anthem was prominently featured in demonstrations in Belize in 2005.
Belizeans normally stand at attention facing forward, headgear off, while singing or facing someone singing the national anthem.
Lyrics:
Only the first verse is considered to be official and is performed at official events.
I
O, Land of the Free by the Carib Sea,
Our manhood we pledge to thy liberty!
No tyrants here linger, despots must flee
This tranquil haven of democracy
The blood of our sires which hallows the sod,
Brought freedom from slavery, oppression’s rod
By the might of truth, and the grace of God,
No longer shall we be hewers of wood!
Arise! ye sons of the Baymen’s clan,
Put on your armour, clear the land!
Drive back the tyrants, let despots flee –
Land of the Free by the Carib Sea.
II
Nature has blessed thee with wealth untold,
O’er mountains and valleys where prairies roll;
Our fathers, the Baymen, valiant and bold
Drove back the invader; this heritage hold
From proud Rio Hondo to old Sarstoon,
Through coral isle, over blue lagoon;
Keep watch with the angels, the stars and moon;
For freedom comes tomorrow’s noon!
Arise! ye sons of the Baymen’s clan,
Put on your armour, clear the land!
Drive back the tyrants, let despots flee –
Land of the Free by the Carib Sea.
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