A piece of jingoistic nonsense which even the bloke who composed it objected to.



It's not. hth.

Which is what?

GSTQ is the anthem of the United Kingdon of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And was written as such.

What's the anthem of England?

I always thought it was Land Of Hope And Glory.

There isn't an official anthem, but in practice its either Jerusalem or GSTQ. But, LOHAG was used at either the last Comm Games or World Athletics Championship.

Cheers mate,for me Land Of Hope And Glory is my preferred option.

Without looking the words up I challenge you to reproduce them here

Right now.



go.

Not sure about all the words but I think I know the first verse.

Land of hope and glory,mother of the free
How shall we extol thee,who are born of thee
Wider still and wider,shall the bound be set
God who made thee mighty,make thee mightier yet.

I have no doubt you will prove me wrong Barry.

How does Waltzing Matilda go then, Baz?

'thy bounds', iirc

ie let's go and conquer some more of the world.

Like I said, jingoistic nonsense.

Yeah it is a bit out of date but do you not think it's an uplifting anthem.

I think Pomp and Circumstance March No5 is a brilliant bit of music. Like Elgar, I think putting those words to it ruined it.

I've always thought the theme tune for the Radio 4 soap The Archers would make a good anthem for England. Its extremely English, doesn't have any religious or political connotations and imagine how fun it would be to sing;

LA LALA LALA LA LARR
LA LALA LALARR LARR!!

Plus, as Baz points out, this is what we sing anyway.

Its been ruined by coked up soccer hooligans singing

'We all follow Chelsea...over land and sea (and Arsenal)

We all follow Chelsea... on to vic-tor-eeeeeeeeeee'

etc etc



Shame really

Wrong.

(Without wanting to have a protracted discussion regarding the authorship and intentions of the music...)

I have no problem with LOHAG, GSTQ and Jerusalem being used at big rugby league matches. It is not like you couldn't fit them all around a game in some context.

The 2nd Test at OT 1990 is a perfect example of using two of them.

The team walked out to LOHAG, which again as per Wembley visibly lifted the side, and sung the anthem GSTQ in a very stirring manner immediately before kickoff.

Winners all round.

Ooooooohhhhh Yeeeeahhhhh.

For me its the same one you mention GSTQ. Last time i looked Wakefield seems to be in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, so i guess thats my Anthem, i suppose you could break it down if you so wished but i see no need.

Reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Homer fights Drederick Tatum...

[iDue to popular demand, we will forgo our national anthem[/i

I prefer to sing GSTQ, but I'd like Jerusalem to be sung before hand, abit like Abide With Me is sung before the national anthem at the CC final.

Get some opera singer in, words on the big screen and get it belted out.

The lyrics:

Jerusalem
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen!
And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark satanic mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England’s green & pleasant Land.


Land of Hope and Glory
Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the Free,
How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee?
Wider still, and wider, shall thy bounds be set;
God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet!
Truth and Right and Freedom, each a holy gem,
Stars of solemn brightness, weave thy diadem.
Tho' thy way be darkened, still in splendour drest,
As the star that trembles o'er the liquid West.
Throned amid the billows, throned inviolate,
Thou hast reigned victorious, thou has smiled at fate.
Land of Hope and Glory, fortress of the Free,
How may we extol thee, praise thee, honour thee?
Hark, a mighty nation maketh glad reply;
Lo, our lips are thankful, lo, our hearts are high!
Hearts in hope uplifted, loyal lips that sing;
Strong in faith and freedom, we have crowned our King!

Rule Britannia
When Britain first, at heaven's command,
Arose from out the azure main,
Arose, arose, arose from out the a-azure main,
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain:

Rule Britania!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.

Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
The nations, not so blest as thee,
Must in their turn, to tyrants fall,
Must in ,must in, must in their turn, to tyrants fall,
While thou shalt flourish, shalt flourish great and free,
The dread and envy of them all.
(Chorus)
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Brittons never, never, never shall be slaves.
Rule Britannia (with pronuciation singing guide)
When Britain first, at heaven's command,
Aro-o-o-ose from out the a-a-a-zure main,
Arose, arose, arose from out the a-azure main,
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And guardian A-a-angels sang this strain:
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
The nations, no-o-o-o-ot so blest as thee,
Must i-i-i-i-in their turn, to ty-y--yrants fall,
Must in ,must in, must in their turn, to ty-y-rants fall,
While thou shalt flourish, shalt flourish great and free,
The dread and e-e-e-e-nvy of them all.
(Chorus)
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.

Blake was highly critical of the Christian Church (not of religion, as he was undoubtedly a believer) and many read the original text to be a critique of that Church - his appeal to 'Jarusalem' is an appeal for people to break their relationships with the England of that day (which would have included the dominance of the CofE Church) to create the 'New Jerusalem' (which in Blake's interpretation of Christianity would have meant an overthrowing of the established religious order). I doubt he'd be too happy with how his words have been co-opted the way they have by that very same Church (and the WI etc.)...

That's what i meant in response to you mentioning how its sung at the start of (presumably, establsihed Church) services.

fwiw, I have always rated it - just wish people bothered to actually read the words within the (often critical) context that the author intended.

(ps. even recognising it as a song set to words and not as a poem, it's still not a hymn as it doesn't actually praise God, or any other figure)

Among these dark satanic mills?

was he talking about West Yorkshire?

Rule Britannia would be an apt anthem for the England team to run out to


"Rule Britannia!
Britannia rules the waves.
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves"



I don't think the England side have won a trophy since Admiral Lord Nelson was winning at Trafalgar