Spyros Samaras, Olympic Hymn Composer

Spyridon-Filiskos Samaras (also Spyros / Spiro Samara) (17 November/29 November 1861 Corfu – 25 March/17 April 1917 Athens) was a Greek composer particularly admired for his operas who was part of the generation of composers that heralded the works of Giacomo Puccini. His compositions were praised worldwide during his lifetime and he is arguably the most internationally lauded Greek composer before Dimitri Mitropoulos.

As a young man Samaras studied with Spyridon Xyndas in Corfu. From 1875-1882 he studied at the Athens Conservatory with Federico Bolognini, Angelo Mascheroni and Enrico Stancampiano. His first opera Torpillae (now lost) premiered in Athens in 1879. He went to Paris in 1882 to study at the Paris Conservatoire and became a favorite of Jules Massenet. His other instructors included Léo Delibes, Théodore Dubois, and Charles Gounod. He worked successfully as a composer in Paris for three years and then migrated to Italy in 1885.

Samaras quickly became an important figure in the opera scene in Italy. His opera Flora mirabilis première in Milan in 1886 and in 1888 Medgé was successfully staged at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome with French opera star Emma Calvé in the title role. Samaras became closely associated with Edoardo Sonzogno, a Milanese publisher. Sonzogno founded the Teatro Lirico Internazionale and chose Samaras' La martire for the theater's opening on 22 September 1894. The opera had premiered previously that year in Naples and is based on a libretto by Luigi Illica with many naturalistic elements, which gave space to Samaras musical personality for an equal treatment.

Samaras is also known for composing the Olympic Anthem, the words of which were contributed by Kostis Palamas. The Anthem was first performed during the opening ceremony of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games. It was declared the official anthem of the Olympic movement by the International Olympic Committee in 1958 and has been used at every Olympic opening ceremony since the 1960 Winter Olympics.

The stamp above of Olympic hymn composer, Spyros Samaras was issued by Greece on 2011.

The Stamp Shops of Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand, the darling of tourism in Asia with over 15 million visitors yearly, surely knows how to tickle the fancy of its visitors. Anything the tourists wants, they can surely offer. Where can one see stamp shops inside a mall- only in Bangkok. In fact I was able to see two of these shops in the four malls I visited. These were located in the Pratunam district- the MBK Mall and the Siam Discovery Mall. The small but compact stamp shop of MBK mall was located at the first floor. I was here seven years ago and I was glad and relieved that it was still there after all these years. It has all the issued Thai stamps. Here, I met an Australian stamp collector specializing stamps from Thailand and Nepal. I was able to purchase the World Congress of Gastroenterology stamp and first day cover issued in 2002 and the block featuring a Thai violinist. At the fourth level of the Siam Discovery Mall, one can seen the House of Stamps. They had several stamps from other countries. I was able to obtain the Classic Album Covers sheet and some latin music stamps.

The National Anthem of Malaysia

Before independence in 1957, each of the (then) eleven states of Malaysia had their own anthem (which they have retained to this day), but there was no unifying anthem for the whole country. When independence was approaching, Tunku Abdul Rahman, then the Chief Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (later Malaysia's first prime minister), led a committee to select a new anthem. Hundreds were recieved, but none were deemed suitable. Finally, the anthem for the Malaysian state of Perak was considered, and the melody, due to its "traditional flavour" was selected to be the melody for the new anthem.

In 1888 the Sultan of Perak was invited by Queen Victoria as a guest. When the Sultan's aide was asked what the anthem of Perak was, so that it could be played upon his formal arrival, the aide, not wanting to be embarrassed by saying that Perak did not have an anthem, perhaps giving the impression that his country was "backwards", proceeded to hum a favourite tune of his from the Seychelles, which is believed to have been composed by Pierre Jean Beranger. It was, therefore, from that moment on, the tune for the state anthem of Perak (and later Malaysia).

After an Indonesian opera performed it in Singapore (at the time, part of Malaysia), the tune became popular throughout all of Malaysia in the 1920s and 1930s as the love song "Terang Bulan" (Moonlight).Once the melody was selected, new lyrics had to be written for it. The panel of judges charged with selecting a new anthem wrote the lyrics, with Tunku Abdul Rahman leading the group. The anthem was entitled "Negara Ku" (My Country).

The stamp above features Jean Beranger, the anthem composer. Below is Abdul Rahman, the lyricist.

Levi Celerio on Stamps

Levi Celerio was a Filipino composer and lyricist, born on April 30, 1910 in Tondo, Manila, Philippines. He received a free education to the Academy of Music in Manila and became the youngest affiliate of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. He was a creative songwriter, with more than 4,000 songs to his acclaim including Filipino folk, Christmas, and love songs that are popular pieces, which many consider to be immortal. Famous for being a lyricist, his songs treasure life; express nationalistic sentiments and complete grand philosophies. At one instance or another, no Filipino can miss the song or lyrics of Levi's Christmas songs namely Pasko na Naman, Ang Pasko ay Sumapit, and Misa de Gallo. He is probably best recognized for being a leaf-player, an achievement where he was place into the Guinness Book of World Records.

The stamp above features the composer Levi Celerio playing the violin. The stamp is one in a set of 4 honoring Filipino National Artists issued on November 11, 2010.

Fr. Marcelline Jayakody and the Sri Lankan National Anthem

Fr. Marcelline Jayakody (June 3, 1902─January 15, 1998) was a well-known Sri Lankan Catholic priest, musician, lyricist, author, journalist and patriot, and an exponent of indigenous culture who, according to a former High Court Judge, directed the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka towards the mainstream of national life.

Fr. Jayakody served as the head priest in Duwa in 1939. Duwa is the Passion Play Village in Sri Lanka. A Passion Play is a religious drama of medieval origin dealing with the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Originally, the play used traditional puppets as actors for Duwa Passion play. Jayakody wrote original script for a Passion play influenced by Fr. Jacome Gonsalves and composed new hymns to the traditional "Pasan".

He is the first Catholic priest to win the "Ramon MagsaysayAward" considered the Asian Nobel Prize, (which carried along with it 20,000 US$, a Medal and a Citation) on 31st August, 1983 in Manila, Philippines. Fr. Jayakody also won the international OCIC (Catholic Film Office) and the International UNDA (Radio & Television Homage Awards) as well.

In 1949 Fr. Marcelline Jayakody was invited to train the choir for the song Namo Namo Matha for the 1st Independence commemoration as its composer Ananda Samarakone had gone abroad. Fr. Marcelline Jayakody rose to the occasion, trained the students of the Musaeus College and presented it to be acclaimed by all. There is no doubt that this wonderful performance paved the way to adopt ‘Namo Namo Matha’ as our national anthem.

Above is a stamp of Fr. Marcelline Jayakody playing the violin issued in 2005.

The Coronation Anthem of King Edward VII on Postcard

Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death. He was the first British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which was renamed the House of Windsor by his son, George V.

He was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and ascended the throne on January 22, 1901 upon Victoria's death. Born in 1841 he had to wait a long time to succeed to the throne. He married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863 who bore him three sons and three daughters.

The coronation was originally scheduled for June 26, 1902, but Edward had to undergo an emergency appendectomy operation, so the coronation was postponed until August 9, 1902.

The postcard above contains the lyrics of King Edward's coronation in 1902.

The Polish National Anthem on a 1969 Scout Post Miniature Sheet

The Polish national anthem was written in July 1797 in Reggio near Bolonia by Józef Wybicki, one of the organisers of General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski's Polish Army in Italy. The theme of the original poem was a novel idea in the era of the nation state (that is, most European nations were made up of eponymous nationalities), that the nation does not need a territory to be a nation, it only needs a group of people. This idea was a timely one, as Poland had only been partitioned out of existence only two years earlier. Several more times in subsequent Polish history would an independent Polish nation appear then disappear from the map, which could explain why the song resonates with Poles even today. The original poem also mentions several Polish war heroes of the time, as well as heroes of past Polish wars; also Napoleon is mentioned, as the commanding officer of Dąbrowski and as an example to be held up.

The source of the melody is unclear; it is usually ascribed to Michal Kleofas Oginski, but this has not been determined with certainty. It is most likely based on an anonymous folk song, due to the unusual mazurka tempo (which is often played at a faster rate than most anthems); mazurkas originated in Poland and have always been heavily associated with that nation.

Its familiar mazurka melody and its message - a call to join the fight for independence - inspired numerous 19th century patriotic songs and national hymns of the Slavonic nations under foreign rule (some of which would later become Yugoslavia, which could explain the similar melody of the former Yugoslav anthem.) The opening line of the lyrics was also borrowed by Ukraine (which, of course, speaks of the Ukraine not perishing rather than Poland.) In the early years after Poland's revival in 1918, during the debate about the choice of the national anthem, several candidates were considered. On February 28, 1927 the choice of "Dąbrowski's Mazurka" as the national anthem was officially announced.

The UPAEP Symbols Series 2010- The Anthem Stamp Issuing Countries

Several countries issued a postage stamp based on the theme of National Symbols, the topic for last years (2010) UPAEP series. Most of the stamps issued depicts, flags, national emblems, plants, animals, etc. Some of the countries which issued their national anthem on stamps and these include Suriname, Brazil, Cuba, Uruguay, Paraguay and Ecuador.

The Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal (UPAEP), based in Montevideo, Uruguay, is an association of postal authorities of following countries: Netherlands Antilles, Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, USA, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Surinam, Uruguay, Venezuela.

It was founded in 1911 as a restricted union of the Universal Postal Union. Since 1989, the UPAEP member countries are issuing sets of stamps based on a common theme, which always included the logo of the organization.

The Universal Postal Union (UPU, French: Union postale universelle) is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration, the Postal Operations Council and the International Bureau. It also oversees two cooperatives including the Telematics and EMS Cooperatives respectively. Each member agrees to the same terms for conducting international postal duties. The UPU’s headquarters are located in Bern, Switzerland.

Shown above are the first day covers of anthem stamps from Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay and Cuba issued in 2010

Georgi Dimitri and "Balgariyo Mila"

Bulgaria, "Balgariyo Mila" (Dear Bulgaria) was the National anthem of Bulgaria in use from 1950-1964. The words were written by Nikola Furnadshiev, Mladen Issaev and Elisaveta Bagrjana and set to music by Georgi Zlatev-Tscherkin, Svetoslav Obretenov and Georgi Dimitri.

Once Communist rule was secured in Bulgaria, "Balgariyo mila" was introduced as the national anthem. Interestingly, the anthem was replaced in 1964 while the Communists were still in power. One of the composers of the music, Georgi Dimitrov (not to be confused with the Communist leader of the time with the same name) also wrote the previous anthem.

Georgi Dimitri (born June 18, 1882, Kovachevtsi, Bulg. — died July 2, 1949, near Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) was a Bulgarian communist leader. He helped found the Bulgarian Communist Party in 1919. After leading a communist uprising in 1923 that provoked fierce government reprisals, he was forced to live abroad and became head of the central European section of the Com-intern in Berlin (1929 – 33). He won worldwide fame for his defense against Nazi accusations in the Reichstag fire trial of 1933. He headed the Comintern in Moscow (1935 – 43), then returned to Bulgaria, where he served as prime minister (1945 – 49). He effected the communist consolidation of power that formed the Bulgarian People's Republic in 1946.

The stamps above features Dimitri Georgi, one of the Bulgarian composers of the anthem in use from 1959-1964. It was issued on 1949, the year of his death.

"The Wall of Steel", Taldir Jaffrenou ,Writer and Anthem Composer

Francois Joseph-Claude Jaffrennou (March 15, 1879 - March 26, 1956) was a Breton language writer and editor. He was a Breton nationalist and a neo-druid bard. He is also known as François Taldir-Jaffrennou, since he also used the Druid name Taldir ("Wall of Steel"). He was one of the pioneers of the Breton autonomous movement. He composed the National anthem of Britanny.

Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the traditional province of Brittany in France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations (along with Cornwall, Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man and Scotland). Like the nationalism of many neighboring regions, Breton nationalism combines political as well as cultural aspects.

The political aspirations of Breton nationalists include the desire to obtain the right to self-rule, whether within France or independently of it, and to acquire more power in the European Union, United Nations and other international bodies.

Breton cultural nationalism includes an important linguistic component, with Breton and Gallo speakers seeking equality with French language in the region. Cultural nationalists also seek a re invigoration of Breton music, traditions and symbols, and the forging of strong links with other Celtic nations.

The French government's official position is to consider Brittany as a part of France, a position claimed to date from the time when the March of Neustria was controlled by Roland, but dating officially from the dynastic marriage in 1491 of Anne, Duchess of Brittany with the king of France. This could include a range of views, from allowing Brittany a devolved government to curbing wishes for independence through to the extremes of banning Breton nationalist parties entirely and the Breton and Gallo languages.

Unexpected Music Stamps on an Envelope

It is always a delight to receive mail from friends and sellers with your thematic stamp posted on the envelope.

I once received a letter from Slovakia with a stamp of Beethoven on it; I was truly thankful to the sender. He may even be unaware of what he has done, especially if someone else mailed the letter for him. I was also pleasantly surprised when a letter from Macedonia had not one, but two stamps of Chopin on the envelope. I ordered an envelope with a cancel of the Macedonian anthem, and I got an added bonus of two stamps. I have not thanked him so I’ll thank him now- thank you sir! Good sellers should consider the thematic collections of buyers and should post stamps related to their collection if it is available.

The joy of philately is in the searching, anticipating and acquiring of one’s want list. The wait is even better than the actual acquisition. Sometimes, when a collection is almost complete, collectors feel a sense of melancholia, that there is nothing more to collect- as in the case of my Beethoven collection. If new stamps of the thematic collection are issued, then the flames of excitement are re-ignited.

The envelope above is from Macedonia with two stamps of Chopin, the poet of the piano.

The Irish Who wrote the First Version of Japan's Anthem Kimigayo

The music for the first version of the Japanese national anthem, the Kimigayo, was penned by an Irishman, John William Fenton. Fenton, who was born in Kinsale, County Cork in 1828, came to Japan as a bandmaster with the British army in 1868, the year of Meiji Restoration. In the following year, he started training of the Brass Band in Japan for soldiers of the Satsuma clan at Myoko-ji temple in Yokohama. This band became the country's first military band.

When the Emperor Meiji inspected the troops consisting of 4 clans including Satsuma, the military band played for the first time in public. In this occasion, Fenton hastily composed a ceremonial melody to accompany the poem "Kimigayo". Over time, this became accepted as the national anthem, although the current anthem is different from Fenton's original version. Fenton is also known as the father of brass band music in Japan and is celebrated for his musical contribution to Japan.

Above is a first day composer featuring a conductor with a band on the cachet issued in Japan on 1989.

The Anthem of Mallorca

La Balanguera is the anthem of Majorca (Mallorca), Spain. Majorca ("Mallorca" in Spanish and Catalan) is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands. It is largest by area and second most populated island of Spain (after Tenerife in the Canary Islands).

The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca (in the municipality of Palma).

Like the other Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Formentera and Minorca, the island is a highly popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from Germany, the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent, Ireland. The name derives from Latin insula maior, "larger island"; later Maiorica, "the larger one" in comparison to Menorca.

The official anthem is an adaptation of Joan Alcover i Maspons (1854-1926) poem based on an ancient and popular Majorcan children's song. The music is a work by the Catalan composer Amadeo Vives and in November 1996 the Consell Insular de Mallorca made it the anthem for the Island.

Amadeo Vives (18 November 1871 – 1 December 1932) was a Spanish musical composer, creator of over a hundred stage works. He is also known by the Catalan form of his name, Amadeu Vives. He is best known for Doña Francisquita, which Christopher Webber has praised for its "easy lyricism, fluent orchestration and colorful evocation of 19th Century Madrid—not to mention its memorable vocal and choral writing" characterizes as "without doubt the best known and loved of all his works, one of the few zarzuelas which has 'traveled' abroad" .

The envelope above with a special cancel featuring the score and lyrics of the anthem of Mallorca.

Latvian National Anthem on Stamp

Dievs, svētī Latviju! (God Bless Latvia) is the national anthem of Latvia. The words and music were written by Kārlis Baumanis (Baumaņu Kārlis, 1834–1904), in 1873. Baumanis, a teacher, was part of the Young Latvian nationalist movement. It has been speculated that Baumanis may have borrowed part of the lyrics from a popular song which was sung to tune of God Save the Queen, modified them and set them to music of his own. Baumanis's lyrics were different from the modern ones: he used the term "Baltics" synonymously and interchangeably with "Latvia" and "Latvians", so "Latvia" was actually mentioned only at the beginning of the first verse. Later the term "Latvia" was removed and replaced with "Baltics" to avoid a ban on the song. This has led to the misapprehension that the term "Latvia" was not part of the song until 1920, when it was chosen as national anthem and the word "Baltics" was replaced with "Latvia".

The stamp above featuring the Latvian anthem lyrics and composer, Karlis Baumanis was issued on 2010, the 100th Anniversary of the Republic of Latvia.

The UPAEP Symbols Series 2010: Suriname National Anthem on Stamps and FDC

"God zij met ons Suriname!" (God Be With Our Suriname, is the national anthem of Suriname. The anthem has its beginnings in a Sunday School song written in 1893 by Cornelis Atses Hoekstra called "Suriname's Trotsche Stroomen" (Suriname's Proud Streams). The song was set to a piece of music by Johannes Corstianus de Puy written in 1876. In 1959, after self-government was granted, the government asked the poet Henry de Ziel (whose pen name was Trefossa) to write lyrics for the anthem in the language popularly spoken in Suriname, Sranan Tongo. He also revised Hoekstra's lyrics of the second verse to remove the "negative tones" in some lines. Originally the anthem was song with de Ziel's verse first, but now it is performed with Hoekstra's Dutch verse first and de Ziel's Sranan lyrics as the second verse.

The stamp with FDC features the score and lyrics of Suriname's national anthem issued on September 2010 (UPAEP symbols series).

The Sixth Floor Museum, JFK and Assassinated Composers and Lyricist

Today marks the 47th anniverary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, which took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, at 12:30 p.m. in Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was fatally shot while riding with his wife Jacqueline in a Presidential motorcade. God bless his soul...

I was fortunate to have visited the The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas Texas which is located on the sixth and seventh floors of an early 20th-century warehouse known in 1963 as the Texas School Book Depository. Opened on Presidents Day 1989, the Museum has since welcomed more than 6 million visitors from around the world—people of all ages seeking information and understanding about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The museum tours are self-guided. After the tour, JFK memorabilia is sold at the museum store near the entrance. I was able to get a sticker magnet which showed JFK on a postage stamp.

An assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure, usually for political purposes. Assassinations may be prompted by religious, ideological, political, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by financial gain, revenge, or personal public recognition. Assassination may also refer to the government-sanctioned killing of opponents or to targeted attacks on high-profile enemy combatants.

In figurative language usage, the word assassination may also be used in colloquial speech as a hyperbole, as in the phrase "character assassination", meaning an attempt to impugn another character, and thus kill ("assassinate") his reputation and credibility.

The word assassin is derived from the Arabic word Hashshashin, referred to the Persian designation of the Nizari branch of the Ismā'īlī Shia under the instruction of Hassan aṣ-Ṣabbaḥ during the Middle Ages. They were active in the fort of Alamut in Iran from the eighth to the fourteenth centuries. This group killed members of the Arab Abbasid, Seljuq and crusaders élite for political and religious reasons, but mostly targeted the knights Templar and the ruling Sunni kings in the name of the Fatimid Shia Sultans of Egypt. Later, after Egypt became Sunni during the campaigns of Saladin, Assassins continued on their own account.

The earliest known literary use of the word assassination is in Macbeth by William Shakespeare (1605).

Some of the anthem composers who were killed, shot or assassinated include Thomas Sankara (Burkina Faso), Amilcar Cabral (Guinea-Bissau), Juan Jose Landaeta, Nie Er of China (suspected- drowning) and Barthelemy Boganda of Central African Republic (suspected- plane crash).

The stamp above was issued by Niger in 1998 to commemorate John F. Kennedy's assassination.

The American Anthem in French

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay during the Battle of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.

The poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "The Anacreontic Song" (or "To Anacreon in Heaven"), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing. Although the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today, with the fourth ("O thus be it ever when free men shall stand...") added on more formal occasions. In the fourth stanza, Key urged the adoption of "In God is our Trust" as the national motto ("And this be our motto: In God is our Trust"). The United States adopted the motto "In God We Trust" by law in 1956.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.

Above is a postal card of the American Anthem in French.

"Jerusalem of Gold"

Naomi Shemer (1930-2004) - the most readily identified artist in the world of Israeli music following the establishment of the State. She wrote and composed hundreds of songs that became Israeli classics thanks to her wonderful integration of words and melodies. Her most famous song - "Jerusalem of Gold" - has become, in fact, a second "National Anthem" in Israel.

Jerusalem of Gold" (Yerushalayim Shel Zahav) was written by Naomi Shemer in 1967. The original song described the Jewish people's 2000-year longing to return to Jerusalem; Shemer added a final verse after the Six-Day War to celebrate Jerusalem's unification under Israeli control.

Naomi Shemer wrote the original song for the Israeli Music Festival on 15 May 1967, the night after Israel's nineteenth Independence Day. She chose the then-unknown Shuli Nathan to sing the song. At that time, the Old City was under Jordanian rule; Jews had been barred from entering, and many holy sites had been desecrated. Only three weeks after the song was published, the Six-Day War broke out. The song was the battle cry and morale booster of the Israeli troops. Shemer even sang it for them before the war and festival, making them among the first in the world to hear it.

On 7 June, the Israel Defense Forces captured the eastern part of Jerusalem and the Old City from the Jordanians. When Shemer heard the paratroopers singing "Jerusalem of Gold" at the Western Wall, she wrote a final verse, reversing the phrases of lamentation found in the second verse. The line about shofars sounding from the Temple Mount is a reference to an event that actually took place on 7 June.

The song has been translated loosely into many languages. It was also chosen as the "Song of the Year" in Israel in 1967. The song is the corps song of the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. The corps sings it before every competition.

The stamp above (block) features Naomi Shemer singing issued in 2004. Below is Shemer,part of a sheet of musician, composers, poets and singers.

"God Bless America", America's Unofficial Anthem

With this 2010 stamp, the U.S. Postal Service honors Kate Smith, the celebrated singer and entertainer whose signature song, “God Bless America” (composed by Irving Berlin), has been called America´s unofficial national anthem. The stamp art duplicates artwork created for the cover of a CD titled “Kate Smith: The Songbird of the South.” The artwork was based on a photograph of Smith taken in the 1960s.

Berlin originally wrote the song in 1918 while serving in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York, but decided that it did not fit in a revue called Yip Yip Yaphank, so he set it aside. The lyrics at that time included the line, "Make her victorious on land and foam, God bless America..." as well as "Stand beside her and guide her, to the right with the light from above."

Music critic Jody Rosen comments that a 1906 Jewish dialect novelty song, "When Mose with His Nose Leads the Band", contains a six-note fragment that is "instantly recognizable as the opening strains of "God Bless America"". He interprets this as an example of Berlin's "habit of interpolating bits of half-remembered songs into his own numbers." Berlin, born Israel Baline, had himself written several Jewish-themed novelty tunes.

In 1938, with the rise of Hitler, Berlin, who was Jewish, and a first-generation European immigrant, felt it was time to revive it as a "peace song", and it was introduced on an Armistice Day broadcast in 1938 sung by Kate Smith, on her radio show. Berlin had made some minor changes; by this time, "to the right" might have been considered a call to the political right, so he substituted "through the night" instead. He also provided an introduction that is now rarely heard but which Smith always used: "While the storm clouds gather far across the sea / Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free / Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, / As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer."

More than just the dramatic words and melody, the arrangement for Kate Smith's performance was accompanied by full band, progressing into a grand march tempo, with trumpets triple reinforcing the harmonies between stanzas: the dramatic build-up ends on the final exposed high note, which Kate Smith sang in the solo as a sustained a cappella note, with the band then joining for the finale.

The song was a hit; there was even a movement to make "God Bless America" the national anthem of the United States. However, there was strong opposition by conservative southerners as well as conservatives who lived in rural areas where there were no Jews living in it, stating that because Irving Berlin was a foreigner and a Jew, that they would not accept their national anthem to be composed by a member of the minority class. Congress would have had to repeal the "Star Spangled Banner" in both houses of congress by two-thirds of the votes, which they lacked to this very day.

The National Anthem of the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia. The UAE consists of seven states, termed emirates, which are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. The capital and second largest city of the United Arab Emirates is Abu Dhabi. It is also the country's center of political, industrial and cultural activities.

Before 1971, the UAE were known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a nineteenth-century truce between Britain and several Arab Sheikhs. The name Pirate Coast was also used in reference to the area's emirates in the 18th to early 20th century. The political system of the United Arab Emirates, based on the 1971 Constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language.

The United Arab Emirates has the world's sixth largest oil reserves and possesses one of the most developed economies in the Middle East. It is currently the thirty-sixth largest economy by nominal GDP, and is one of the richest countries in the world by per capita gross domestic product, with a nominal per capita GDP of $54,607 as per the IMF. The country is fourteenth largest in purchasing power per capita and has a relatively high Human Development Index for the Asian continent, ranking 31st globally. The United Arab Emirates is classified as a high income developing economy by the IMF.

The United Arab Emirates is a founding member of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and a member state of the Arab League. It is also a member of the United Nations, Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the OPEC, and the World Trade Organization.

The national anthem of the UAE, "Ishy Bilady" (Long Live My Nation) was without words (and a classic example of the style of anthem known as "Arab fanfare") until 1996, when words were written for it by Aref Al Sheikh Abdullah Al Hassan. The author of the music, Mohamad Abdel Wahab, also composed the music for the national anthem of Tunisia and the royal anthem of Libya (in use 1951-1969).

The souvenir sheet above featured the score of the national anthem issued in 1996 during the Silver Jubilee National Day of the UAE