United Kingdom vs. Australia

I am sort of conflicted on whether or not I believe it possible for one writer to accurately represent two different counties, especially a country in which he is not a citizen. The only way I could see this being acceptable is if the person had lived a number of years in both countries (regardless of citizenship). If so, the person most likely has a sense of pride regarding that country and what it stands for, also he would know first-hand what it is like living there, what the people are like, ect. If the person writes the national anthem based on research and a few visits to the country, then I wouldn’t consider that to be acceptable at all. In order to write a national anthem, one must personally know the country and it’s people.
I visited a friend in the United Kingdom over spring break…that does not give me the knowledge or right to write that country’s national anthem. I’d actually consider it an insult to the people who ARE citizens and have pride in their country and know what it stands for/represents.
When looking at the national anthems for Bangladesh and India both written by Tagore, it’s clear that they are very different based on what each country considers important. The Bangladesh national anthem speaks highly of nature and the seasonal beauty. Praise and glory is given to the skies, the air, the fields and the trees. Honestly, if I had read this without knowing it was the Bangladesh national anthem, I would have guessed it to be a poem or an excerpt from a book. It definitely isn’t what I would expect a national anthem to sound/look like. The Indian national anthem, to me, seems to be about praising someone—maybe a King or a Queen, although it doesn’t explicitly state which or who.

The United Kingdom’s national anthem vs. Australia’s national anthem.

I think it’s pretty clear from the title of the United Kingdom’s national anthem, “God Save the Queen,” what the country considers valuable—their Queen (or King). “The authorship of the song is unknown and beyond its first verse, which is consistent, it has many historic and extant versions” (Wikipedia). It is extremely nationalistic and at the time, in my opinion, accurately represented their culture. However, now I don’t think that is the case.

I thought it was pretty interesting that Australia used to have the same national anthem as the United Kingdom. I think that is even more insulting to have the same national anthem as another country then to have someone not from your country write your national anthem. Every country stands for something different. The national anthem that Australia uses today is called, “Advance Australia Fair,” and reminds me of the Bangladesh national anthem because it praises the “golden soil,” “the sea,” and claims it is the “land abound in nature’s gifts of beauty rich and rare.”
Similar to my feelings towards the UK’s national anthem, I believe that the United States National Anthem used to accurately represent our culture, but I definitely don’t think it represents today’s American culture.