Edelweiss, Edelweiss? (Austria & America)

Dining Room of the White House, Washington, D.C., 28 February 1984

Austria knew he was supposed to feel grateful for being invited on a state visit to the United States of America for the fist time. He also knew this evening's dinner would probably put a massive strain on his nerves the moment he entered the dining room of the White House and saw his name plate: It was placed right next to the one of a certain "Alfred F. Jones", the friendly, outgoing, optimistic, but at times also ignorant and obtrusive country known as America.

When everyone was seated, the speeches began. Both Austria and his current boss were fluent in English, even though Austria occasionally lapsed into an earlier stage of that language. His acquaintance with England dated back well into the Middle Ages, after all.

Of course, Austria was pleased to hear America's boss call the Austro-American friendship "real, tangible, and enduring", even if he didn't quite see the point in mentioning the musical "The Sound of Music" as a symbol of that friendship.

"Hey, dude", America addressed him after the speeches were over and everyone started to eat. "I just wanted to tell you everyone here really likes you and your people."

"Er… thank you?", Austria replied politely, pushing his glasses up his nose. They weren't actually sliding down, but America's were, even though the other country didn't seem to notice. A very sarcastic voice inside Austria's head told him to better not remind America that Hitler was Austrian-born as well.

"And your national anthem totally rocks, dude!", Alfred went on. "I guess almost every one of my people knows it by heart!" Then, he actually started to sing in his loud voice: "Edelweiss, Edelweiss / Every morning you greet me…"

"Um… America…", Austria said warily, "I don't know how to break the news to you, but actually, that isn't an Austrian song." He had to make an effort to not snap at America: How do you even dare to insinuate I could choose music as mediocre as this for my national anthem? How could the other country even come to think the national anthem of a German-speaking country was in English, anyway? But that was just like Alfred F. Jones, Austria supposed.

"Not?", was the muffled response. It sounded more like Mmmoff?, as America had just taken a rather large piece of meat into his mouth. The look with which he regarded Austria was all wide-eyed astonishment. He swallowed the food in his mouth and said, sounding rather panicky: "You mean … it isn't the Austrian national anthem?"

Austria sighed. Now, he was more resigned than truly angry. "No, it's a song written specifically for the Broadway musical The Sound of Music", he explained. "A musical written by two Americans in New York City, I'd like to point out. My national anthem is called 'Land der Berge, Land am Strome', Land of the Mountains, land by the river."

"But … but surely everyone in Austria knows about The Sound of Music?", America said, full of hope. "After all, it celebrates your country!"

"No one in Austria has ever heard of it", Austria replied sternly. "Just try it. Ask any one of my diplomats to join you in singing the Edelweiss song. No one will know it… Well, no one except for my ambassador here, I suppose."

America looked at him like a kicked puppy and was uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of the dinner.

Austria felt like the mean parent who had just told his little kid that Father Christmas didn't exist.

Notes

In Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, almost nobody has ever heard about the American Broadway musical (1959) turned film (1965) The Sound of Music, which is set mostly inSalzburg. In the musical, the family von Trapp has to flee Austria when Nazi Germany annexes their homeland in 1938 (the so-called "Anschluss"). Baron von Trapp sings the hymn "Edelweiss", praising Austria, in the Salzburg concert hall while facing evil Nazis, and it comes out as a symbol of passive resistance against the annexation.

Laurence Maslon claims in The Sound of Music Companion (2006) that Ronald Reagan (1911-2004, 40th president of the United States 1981-89) "supposedly thought the ['Edelweiss'] song was, in fact, the actual Austrian national anthem" (p. 177). When Rudolf Kirchschläger (1915-2000, 8th president of Austria 1974-86) visited the U.S. in 1984, Reagan had the chapel of the Marines play "Edelweiss" during a state dinner on 28 February. Among the guests of honour attending that dinner also was Baroness Maria von Trapp, then aged 79. It may well be an urban legend that Reagan actually believed "Edelweiss" to be the Austrian national anthem, though: In his speech, he says the song as Baron von Trapp sings it became "a prayer for Austria itself. It is a prayer Americans join in – 'Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow - and bless your homeland forever'" (online at the site of the University of Texas at Dallas). He didn't state it was the Austrian national anthem, at least not in this speech. However, it seems U.S. Trade Representative William Emerson Brock III (*1930) thought so: During the dinner, Brock told Thomas Klestil (1932-2004), then Austrian ambassador and, later on, Austrian president from 1992 to 2004, there were "200 million Americans who know it's [i.e. the "Edelweiss" song was] the Austrian national anthem". At least, this is how Donnie Radcliffe and Sarah Booth Conroy quote him in their article "Campaign Waltzing" in the Washington Post on 29 February 1984 (I took the idea for this ficlet from the dialogue between Brock and Klestil as quoted towards the end of the article).

Kirchschläger and the Austrian diplomats visiting the U.S. with him – among them Heinz Fischer (*1938), then Austrian Science and Research Minister (1983-7) and Austrian president since 2004 – had probably never heard the "Edelweiss" song before. That's why I can imagine Reagan's speech left them rather startled, as Norbert Rief states on 4 April 2004 in his article "'Sound Of Music': Der unbekannte Klang der Musik" (the subtitle means "The unknown sound of music") in Die Presse (very witty, actually, but German only, I'm sorry).