Anthem - Intellect

Signifying Europe
From the end of the war in 1945 to the adoption of the ‘Ode to Joy’ in 1972, a
large number of alternative anthems have been proposed for Europe. Here, just one
example will be scrutinised. On 9 May 1948, at the Hague Congress that was the
cradle of much of the following European unification measures, a municipal brass
band supported the participants singing in several languages the anthem ‘Europa
Één!’ (‘Europe Unite!’), specially created by Dutch composer Louis Noiret and Dutch
lyrics by H. Joosten, translated also to English, French and Italian. 425 The first verse
lyrics paint a gloomy picture:
The world of today is overshadowed and grey
her people have suffered much sorrow.
And after the tears of the past bitter years
they pray for a brighter tomorrow;
But from distant shores there are rumours of wars
that threaten all Europe’s foundations,
So this is our call to one and to all,
Unite! Just as one mighty nation.
Precisely two years before the Schuman Declaration, uniting is here depicted as a
safeguard against new dividing wars. The verse melody is in f minor, gently oscillating
up and down, but the mood slowly evolves into more optimistic sounds, in particular
when the F major chorus breaks in, with a fanfare-like figure reminding the listeners
of the opening of ‘La marseillaise’. The call for Europe to unite ‘as one mighty nation’
expresses a federalist perspective that would not be supported by the more sceptical
voices that remain against all efforts to fuse the EU into a new supra-level nation state,
and also tends to contradict the ‘united in diversity’ motto and other policies later
developed to safeguard against such a melting-pot strategy. The chorus then defines
the leading values for this union: ‘Europe unite for happiness and freedom! / Europe
unite to win enduring peace!’ Echoing the ‘Ode of Joy’, happiness, freedom and peace
demand a union that is also a matter of ‘strength’ and ‘might’. The second verse calls for
Europeans to ‘save all our glorious tradition’ in a central position, squeezed between
‘the East’ and ‘the West’—reminding of west and central Europe’s political wish to
uphold some kind of sovereignty between the Communist Bloc and the United States.
The third verse focuses on welfare issues: ‘There are riches to spare for all peoples to
share’, calling for ‘good, honest labour’ to provide new wealth. Thus, the song illustrates
precisely the agenda of the formation of modern European unification, combining
peace and brotherhood with joy and happiness as well as with strength and expected
new riches. While hybridity is not openly focused in this song, there is obviously
an expression of desire and pleasure in joining forces. There is also a clear sense of
elevation both in talking of Europe’s ‘glorious tradition’ and in the image of union as a
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