"Dear Land of Guyana, of Rivers and Plains" is the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

of Guyana.

Robert Cyril Gladstone Potter Robert Cyril Gladstone Potter (1899–1981) was an educator and composer from Guyana and the namesake of the Cyril Potter College of Education. He also composed the national anthem of Guyana, '' Green Land of Guyana''. Potter was born at Graham's ...

composed the music, while the lyrics were authored by Archibald Leonard Luker. Two separate contests were held to determine the words and the tune, respectively. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1966, when the country gained independence from the United Kingdom.

History

The British amalgamated the formerly Dutch colonies of Berbice,

Demerara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state ...

and Essequibo in 1814 into a single colony – British Guiana – and ruled over it until 1966. During the run up to independence in the early 1960s, several attempts were made by government committees to select the text to the new national anthem, but they all resulted in an impasse. Finally, in 1965, a fresh contest was held, and a new committee was formed, composed of individuals who possessed "broad literary and poetic backgrounds". The criteria they formulated for the anthem was that it should be august, inspire a love of country and evoke its unique characteristics, while at the same time be uncomplicated enough so that it could be comprehended by children. It was also supposed to be politically neutral, secular and dissimilar to the national anthems of other countries. The competition saw a total of 266 entries submitted. The committee first narrowed this down to 40, and from that they chose 12 finalists. The lyrics penned by Archibald Leonard Luker were ultimately selected. A second contest was subsequently held to determine the music that was to accompany these lyrics. Another committee, consisting of a hundred people, selected from a

blind audition In a blind audition the identity of the performer is concealed from the judges so as to prevent bias. The performance takes place behind a curtain so that the judges cannot see the performer. Blind auditions have become standard in symphony orchestr ...

. The identities of the composers were not revealed to them, so they chose from numbers that corresponded to the respective songs. In the end, a tune composed by

Cyril Potter Robert Cyril Gladstone Potter (1899–1981) was an educator and composer from Guyana and the namesake of the Cyril Potter College of Education. He also composed the national anthem of Guyana, '' Green Land of Guyana''. Potter was born at Graham's ...

was chosen.

Lyrics

The first stanza of "Dear Land of Guyana, of Rivers and Plains" alludes to the country's geography. The other verses personify Guyana as a mother to its citizens, who have a duty of respect and protection of her.

References

External links

Guyana: ''Dear Land of Guyana, of Rivers and Plains'' - Audio of the national anthem of Guyana, with information and lyricsarchive link

National anthem of Guyana MIDI File
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dear Land Of Guyana, Of Rivers And Plains Guyanese music South American anthems National symbols of Guyana National anthems National anthem compositions in B-flat major