Papua New Guinea
O Arise, All You Sons
1975
1975
Thomas Shacklady
Thomas Shacklady
🤝 Unity ✝ God / Faith 🕊 Freedom 🌿 Nature |
Context
Adopted in 1975 upon independence from Australia. Written and composed by Thomas Shacklady, who was a teacher in Papua New Guinea. The anthem is in English, one of the country's three official languages alongside Tok Pisin and Hiri Motu.
Lyrics
O arise all you sons of this land,
Let us sing of our joy to be free,
Praising God and rejoicing to be
Papua New Guinea.
Shout our name from the mountains to seas
Papua New Guinea;
Let us raise our voices and proclaim
Papua New Guinea.
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Interesting facts
- • Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country on Earth, with over 840 living languages spoken
- • The anthem was written by Thomas Shacklady, a school teacher who had moved to Papua New Guinea from England
- • Despite its incredible linguistic diversity, the anthem is in English, chosen as a unifying official language