Gerard Kemps, who was appointed the priest of the Catholic church in St. Martin in 1954, wanted to create a song about St. Martin, and wrote “O Sweet Saint Martin’s Land” in 1958. Although the official langauge of St. Martin is French, the anthem lyrics were written in English. (As per the lyrics, English is widely spoken in St. Martin). The song is used on the whole island as a local anthem (the other half of the island is a constituent state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Sint Maarten). The French national anthem is the official anthem of St. Martin, being part of France, but “O Sweet Saint Martin’s Land” is used as a local anthem.
Special thanks to: Ben Cahoon for informing me about this anthem and Paweł Ciupak for the music file.