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A community project has been launched to get people singing Sarnia Cherie outside their homes tonight as part of the lockdown Liberation celebrations.
Guernsey's unofficial national anthem was sung on 9 May 1945 as the British Troops liberated the Occupied islanders who had suffered five years of Nazi rule.
Ali Hughes has been credited with the original idea, while Claire Tannahill has been responsible for attracting interest in the sing-along on social media.
"The wonderful Ali Hughes came up with the cracking idea of singing from our doorsteps, loud and proud, at 8pm on 9th May," wrote Claire.
"The idea is that those elderly neighbors of ours can hear and will know we are singing for them. We know there is already a sing along at 3pm on zoom but we were thinking 8pm would maybe be a nice time to bring everyone together at the end of the day and for those who work during the day."
The idea has attracted interest with the Guernsey Isolation Support Group, Positivity Guernsey and other social media groups seeming to embrace the idea.
The words to Sarnia Cherie are below:
Sarnia; dear Homeland, Gem of the sea.
Island of beauty, my heart longs for thee.
Thy voice calls me ever, in waking, or sleep,
Till my soul cries with anguish, my eyes ache to weep.
In fancy I see thee, again as of yore,
Thy verdure clad hills and thy wave beaten shore.
Thy rock sheltered bays, ah; of all thou art best,
I’m returning to greet thee, dear island of rest.
CHORUS
Sarnia Cherie. Gem of the sea.
Home of my childhood, my heart longs for thee.
Thy voice calls me ever, forget thee I’ll never,
Island of beauty. Sarnia Cherie.
I left thee in anger, I knew not thy worth.
Journeyed afar, to the ends of the earth.
Was told of far countries, the heav’n of the bold,
Where the soil gave up diamonds, silver and gold.
The sun always shone, and “race” took no part,
But thy cry always reached me, its pain wrenched my heart.
So I’m coming home, thou of all art the best.
Returning to greet thee, dear island of rest.
REPEAT CHORUS
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