Rise O Voices of Rhodesia
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Rise O Voices of Rhodesia was adopted as the national anthem of Rhodesia in 1974, during the years of international isolation that followed its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain in 1965. The tune was that of the "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 ("The Choral Symphony"), which was also used by the Council of Europe, and subsequently by the European Union. The words, written by Mary Bloom, a South African living in Gwelo (now Gweru), were chosen from a national competition.
- Rise O voices of Rhodesia,
- God may we thy bounty share,
- Give us strength to face all danger,
- And where challenge is, to dare.
- Guide us, Lord, to wise decision,
- Ever of thy grace aware.
- Oh, let our hearts beat bravely always
- For this land within thy care.
- Rise O voices of Rhodesia,
- Bringing her your proud acclaim,
- Grandly echoing through the mountains
- Rolling over far flung plain
- Roaring in the mighty rivers
- Joining in one grand refrain
- Ascending to the sunlit heavens
- Telling of her honoured name
The unoriginal choice of tune prompted ridicule among foreign observers. The British writer Richard West, in his 1978 book White Tribes Revisited, remarked; "How can one not...squirm with embarrassment, when television ends at night with the Rhodesian national anthem, sung to the tune of Beethoven's Choral Symphony?" adding that "white Rhodesians are notoriously philistine". Despite the criticism, Rise O Voices of Rhodesia was well-received by the Rhodesian people.
