An Introduction to Patriotic Songs + Favorites
First published: Friday April 26th, 2024
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Introduction
Yet another broken promise of a HOI4 blog being next, but this topic really lingered in my mind recently so I've chosen to write about it. Recently over the past year there is some genre that I really like among these many genres, which I can only describe as patriotic music.
What is "Patriotic Music"?
I believe there isn't a good way to describe this, as it is a big umbrella of songs I find throughout the internet. The best way to describe this is war songs, patriotic hymns, propaganda music, and folk songs relating to countries in general. They don't adhere to a certain type of music, sound, or instruments, as it is a worldwide genre that anyone can played with any instrument, and sung by anyone.
Where do I find such music?
I found 2 main channels that seem to focus only on this music and I'll link them below. I personally like the first more than the second, and 95% of all songs that I'll ever talk about in this category are from the first.
Ingen
By far my favorite, Ingen posts about once a week to a few months depending on if he got a YouTube strike, because some of the songs Ingen posts are edgy (albeit his community is too). Ingen finds some of the best and greatest quality songs with the original language and English translations, and has helped me find most of my favorites. There is an ongoing controversy surrounding him that I personally haven't looked into, but if you want to find songs in this category, check him out.
Link: Ingen - YouTube
Norwegian Baron
I will personally say I haven't listened to many of Norwegian Barons' songs, but I will say he posts weekly with monthly breaks. He also posts similar content to Ingen, and can check him out as a second channel for songs.
HOI4 Mods
Always gonna loop back to this game, but I have found some of my favorite songs through these HOI4 mods. Through a creation of a mod a creator can change the loading screen music and menu background. Sometimes each update they would change the music to match the theme of the country they are updating.
Note: All songs from this certain mod (KaiserreduX) are posted with the original song by NixtroStrike.
Link to picture's song: Etnika - Zifna
Favorite Songs
The following is a list of my favorite songs from around the world. I will say before I list these is that if I do ever list a controversial song in the list, that does not mean I endorse it, support it, or want such lyrics in the song to happen. Another note is that I am not the best person to be describing songs on how good they are, so take my descriptions with a grain of salt. Therefore, lets go into the favorites!
Ezir-Kara
This song is my favorite out of all songs. This song uses a rhythm of a horse gallop and the throat singing of the Tuvan people (a Russian minority near the country of Mongolia) to elevate the essence of the song. Ezir-Kara is about a real horse nicknamed “The Black Eagle” who won 4 times in the traditional horse riding festival of Naadym. The singing is absolutely amazing, and it really reflects the beauty of Tuva, as Mongol, Russian, Chinese, and Turkic music collide to make a beautiful symphony.
Link: Ezir-Kara
“Ezir-Kara, Ezir-Kara, Ezir-Kara, Good Stride!”
The Duce Puts on His Uniform (Βάζει ο Ντούτσε τη στολή του)
If I am to make a “Best of Each Country” blog, you would know that I love songs that mock the enemy, and this is the best of them all. This song is about the Greco-Italian war in WW2, which mocks Benito Mussolini (Il Duce), and his fails on invading Greece, sung to Greek-style Traditional music. Everything about it is amazing. Each instrument is vital and plays an amazing role. The singer I am recommending is absolutely amazing (especially on those long notes!) and the lyrics are genius (they called him a spaghetti eater), making it my 2nd favorite.
Link: The Duce Puts on His Uniform
"Ah Ciano! I'll go crazy, Ciano! Who told me to mess with the Greek soldiers?"
Warning: Political Songs Ahead
I Am A Soldier of Horthy Miklos (Horthy Miklós katonája vagyok)
This is a far-right winged song about the WW2 Hungarian fascist dictator Horthy Miklos and the loyalty people have for him. I believe that this is a good song because Hungarian sounds really cool (maybe I have a thing for Uralic languages) and also the rhythm is really good. Although this is a good song in my opinion, remember I don't endorse this song or any ones ahead, just to make it clear.
Link: I Am A Soldier of Miklos Horthy
"I am a soldier to Miklos Horthy, his finest soldier."
We Stand Like the Mountains (Qëndrojme si malet)
This song is a Albanian communist song, probably made during the reign of Stalinist Albanian Enver Hoxha. I may just like Balkan songs, becuase this song is amazing. I think the vocals put it together (the long note again on Hej) and the violins in it bundle it up into a cool song. Again, I don't endorse any of the words in this song.
Link: We Stand Like the Mountains
"My party, this people conceived you, for us to reawake Mother Albania."
Ending
Overall, I really do enjoy these songs, and although I don't casually listen to these in my free time, or listen to them in an album, but they are really interesting and reflect the conditions and/or culture of the time. I suggest you do take a look, and so many songs that I never mentioned here but love are everywhere. So if you are interested, take a listen to some of these, and I may post a blog talking about my favorites from each country, but for now, I will see you at my next blog, posted from 1-12 months from now!