Length: 106 words
Anthem lyrics (use the arrow on the left to collapse this section):
Saint Vincent, Land so beautiful,
With joyful hearts we pledge to thee
Our loyalty and love and vow
To keep you ever free.
What e’er the future brings,
Our faith will see us through.
May peace reign from shore to shore,
And God bless and keep us true.
Hairoun, Our fair and blessed Isle,
Your mountains high, so clear and green,
Are home to me, though I may stray,
A haven, calm, serene.
What e’er the future brings,
Our faith will see us through.
May peace reign from shore to shore,
And God bless and keep us true.
Our little sister islands are
Those gems, the lovely Grenadines,
Upon their seas and golden sands
The sunshine ever beams.
What e’er the future brings,
Our faith will see us through.
May peace reign from shore to shore,
And God bless and keep us true.
Historical context:
The national anthem of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, “Saint Vincent, Land so Beautiful,” was officially adopted in 1979 as the country gained full independence from the United Kingdom. (The country remains part of the Commonwealth of Nations, and retains Queen Elizabeth II as titular head of state; as a result, “God Save the Queen” is still used as the nation’s royal anthem.)The song and lyrics were authored some years earlier, however, in 1967. This was a period of transition for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which had participated in the unsuccessful West Indies Federation, an experiment in a regional association that ended unsuccessfully in 1962. Saint Vincent became an “associated state” of the United Kingdom in 1969, a novel concept that effectively provided the islands with control over their domestic affairs, but left foreign relations and defense under the control of the United Kingdom.
Associated statehood lasted for two decades. On October 27, 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines achieved full independence, the most recent of the Windward Islands to have done so, and the song was adopted as the country’s national anthem.
Performance: