The story behind the ‘Song of the Republic’
THE ‘SONG of the Republic’ can be sung any time of the year.
To any Guyanese, the words of that song ought to resonate with all the power and beauty and value as when it was first performed publicly 41 years ago. Yet so little is heard of this powerful patriotic song.
It is not that we have become less patriotic, but we may have become busier with other interests than that of country. The music of the song is electric, matching the meaning of the lyrics. There is no denying its intent — rallying all Guyanese:

From Pakaraima’s peaks of pow’r
To Corentyne’s lush sands…
Her children pledge each faithful hour
To guard Guyana’s lands
To cherish and defend forever
The state that gave them birth

There is no denying the lyricism of the juxtaposed words, the measured metre, the rhythm and the rhyme, all working together to elicit pride of place and love for country. Yet a song as powerful as the ‘Song of the Republic’ almost never was.
Here is that story behind the song that almost never was.
Almost four decades ago, sometime in late 1960s, a competition was set in train to select an appropriate anthem to celebrate Guyana’s attainment of Republic status.
The story goes that the writer of ‘Song of the Republic’ was at the time in the ‘black book’ of the government of the day because a civil issue from which the writer was to benefit was determined politically against him.
It is said the man’s outspokenness landed him many times in hot water, and true to form, he wrote about this slight in his newspaper column.
Afraid his entry may be treated with political discharge, he submitted the words to the competition, using a nom de plume, Thomas Theophilus Halley, his father’s name.
That entry won from 135 submissions.  The judges were A. J. Seymour, Mrs. Stella Merriman and Milton Drepaul; the “judges made certain amendments to the entry so as to accord it greater suitability, and make it eminently sing able.”
It was long after the announcement that his entry had won that he went forward to accept the glory, by which time, the song had gained acceptance. That writer was Cleveland Hamilton, whose death anniversary is marked around this period.
Cleveland Hamilton was a sedate yet busy legal practitioner that ever so often escaped the straightjacket to don the mantle of a poet, letting his imagination go as he immortalised people, places and events. Some of his popular pieces include ‘Requiem for Walter Rodney’, ‘Requiem for Father Bernard Darke’, ‘For Soweto’, ‘For Steve Biko’, ‘To Nazism’, and  ‘Leningrad’.
It is useful to note that Hamilton came into contact with, and under the influence of, other writers whose poetry were also put to music. Some of those writers include J. W. Chinapen, R. C. G. Potter (who wrote the music for the National Anthem) and A. J. Seymour, all patriotic kindred spirits.
The writers of the time were imbrued with a patriotic spirit, and it was manifested in their work; it was a new theme, new impulse in which to dabble, it was post-colonial writing but still influenced by ‘colonial’ form and structure.

The other verses of the Song of the Republic are as follows:

We’ll forge a nation’s mighty soul
Construct a nation’s frame
Freedom our everlasting goal
Courage and truth our aim
Unyielding in our quest for peace
Like ancient heroes brave
To strive and strive and never cease
With strength beyond the slave

Guyana climb that glorious perch
To fame prosperity
Join in the universal search
For world wide comity
Your people whatsoe’er their breed
Their hue or quality
With one firm never changing creed
The nation’s unity

Cleveland Hamilton died on February 22, 1991, on the eve of another republic celebration, which was to be marked by the song he wrote for the Republic, the song that almost never was.

WHAT’S HAPPENING:
·    Coming in March, Guyana’s celebration of World Poetry Day.
·    Also in March, for the first time, Guyana’s celebration of World Storytelling Day; apart from interesting stories from around the world, there will be an emphasis on stories form Guyana, like the Anancy Story, the Balgobin Story, the Jumbie story, among others.

(To respond to this author, either call him on (592) 226-0065 or send him an email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)