The Royal Australian Navy Band Melbourne has produced the first official recording of the updated Australian National Anthem in time for Australia Day.
The National Anthem was amended on 1 January in a proclamation by Governor-General, David Hurley.
The amendment changes the words of the second line of the National Anthem from ‘For we are young and free’ to ‘For we are one and free’.
The recording was made by the Navy Band based at HMAS Cerberus, featuring as vocalist, Leading Seaman Musician Tracy Kennedy, pictured above singing at a Christmas carols performance in 2019.
“Whenever I sing the Australian National Anthem, I always feel a great sense of pride and honour, especially when everyone sings along with me,” Leading Seaman Musician Kennedy said.
“I think changing the lyric from ‘young’ to ‘one’ makes our anthem more inclusive for everyone and also celebrates how culturally diverse our country really is.”
She said she was looking forward to performing the anthem on Australia Day and in the future.
New resources covering the updated National Anthem, including word sheets, music scores and audio tracks are available for download at this PS News link.
