About the Song
The lyrics to Firm Bound in Brotherhood, the official OA song, were written by Dr. E. Urner Goodman, one of the founders of the OA. It is sung to the tune of God Save the Tsar! (Боже, Царя храни!), the anthem of the Russian Empire, which had already fallen out of use following the 1917 Russian Revolution by the time Firm Bound in Brotherhood was written, around 1921.
The tune was originally composed in 1833 by Alexei Lvov, winning a competition to become the new Russian anthem, which can be heard in all its glory here. Note how traditionally, the first half of the song is sung twice, followed by the second half, also sung twice.
Lyrics:
Firm bound in Brotherhood,
Gather the clan that
Cheerful service brings to fellow man.
Circle our council fire
Weld tightly every link
That binds us in Brotherhood
Wimachtendienk.
