[Closed] Does anyone actually like the English/British national anthem?

I don't mind it. Would prefer 'Land of Hope and Glory' though.

It's miserable but it's our and that's that unfortunately. Can't help liking the jolliness of the Italians though.

tiz a yawn fest, I'd much rather have Holst's Planet Suite-Jupiter, or Jerusalem (with new lyrics)

It is the British anthem. England deserves a specific anthem, if you ask me.

Interestingly, the original music notes for the anthem had a much more uptempo scoring, which seems to have been lost in the mire of history.

using the words ":facepalm:" seems to annoy me more

it's the best

EDIT: and the three lions is the best badge and the union jack is the best flag (after st.georges cross of course)

No, but to be fair, I cant stand Flower of Scotland either.
(wouldn't the 1977 version of God Save the Queen be better?)

Its the least uplifting and stirring national anthem of all. Maybe thats why our sports performances following it are so dire lately.

It's an awful anthem and I hate the fact that it's entirely dedicated to a single person, it feels archaic.

I don't like the British anthem. Sounds like it was written on a rainy summers day. I don't like the scottish anthem but love ours but think it has a lot to do with pride

I dont have a royal family so i just try and ignore it really.

the lions are French plantagenet lions and it's only a union jack when it's on the back of a frigate 🙂 All the other times it's the union flag(mini gripe).

Is it time for a new flag?

I like it. I hate to do it, but I agree with Rocketdog.

I like it, but it needs to be played much faster at matches. And don't talk to me about the fact that the RFU insist on having some idiot opera singer warble all over it at Twickenham!

Just play it fairly upbeat with a decent military band and it's far better than alot of other countries offerings. (and shorter)

[b]TooTall - Member
I like it. I hate to do it, but I agree with Rocketdog.
[/b]

what did i do?

It's awful, all of the UK countries should have their own. Englands should be either 'Jerusalem' or 'I Vow To Thee My Country' or Slade's 'Cos i Love You' ;0)

CaptainFlashheart - Member

It is the British anthem. England deserves a specific anthem, if you ask me.

Correct. Jerusalem seems to be the obvious one. Stirring, specific to England and not just the south east of England.

" And was Jerusalem builded here
Among those dark satanic mills?"

It always annoys at the rugby that GSTQ is used for england. Mind you flower of Scotland is a dreadful dirge and many folk don't realise it was written in the 60s.

Honestly TJ?

As far as I'm aware, before it got used as the national anthem it was a Bavarian beer drinki ng song. And just think yourselves lucky it could be the German one. By the way... It still contains the verse, "...Scots to crush..." (WTF!) 8-o

To allow for a few orangemen, we had to write another to sing at away games 🙁 It was always fun singing about fightin' and killin' Sassanachs at Twickers, but no, the orangemen had to go and ruin it all for us.... (tongue in cheek, of course 😛 )

God send that Marshal Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush
and like a torrent rush
the rebellious Scots to crush
God save the King (George obviously!)

Is that the one? 😛

As far as I'm aware, before it got used as the national anthem it was a Bavarian beer drinki ng song. And just think yourselves lucky it could be the German one. By the way... It still contains the verse, "...Scots to crush..." (WTF!) 8-o

I loikes it

4th verse the best.

" Lord, grant that Marshal Wade,
May by thy mighty aid,
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush,
God save the King. "

As far as I'm aware, before it got used as the national anthem it was a Bavarian beer drinki ng song. And just think yourselves lucky it could be the German one. By the way... It still contains the verse, "...Scots to crush..." (WTF!) 8-o

rOcKeTdOg - Member

what did i do?

*facepalm* 🙄

muddydwarf - Member

Honestly TJ?

Not quite sure what you are reffering to.............

The 3 Lions are actually Welsh, they are the Royal Standard of Llewellyn ap Gruffydd (the last Prince of Wales).

At the Wales/Scotland game - the band played Flower of Scotland much quicker than usual - sounded great!

Do you mean the tune or the words? The tune is used by several other countries, though god knows why as it is indeed a dirge.

A "jack" is worn at the FRONT of a warship.

I agree with Billy Conolly, we should use the theme tune from The Archers, just need a few jingoistic lyrics but it would be much more cheerful

My country tis of thee.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Country,_'Tis_of_Thee

For those of you quoting the so-called "fourth verse" about the Scots....it never was the fourth verse, it was an add on sung by a music hall entertainer at the time of the '45.

And that aside, most Scots would in fact have been on the side of the folk doing the crushing. I know that my lowland, Protestant ancestors almost certainly would have.

And England can't have Land of Hope and Glory as that song is actually about the British Empire, of which Scotland was one of the main driving forces.

Of all the UK anthems, the Welsh one is easily the best, especially sung before a 6 Nations match in Cardiff.

And as for world anthems, the French is by far and away my favourite, particularly that scene in Casablanca.

Its so dull hearing it at sporting events. I love the jaunty Italian one!
I would suggest Rule Britannia, very rousing
tune.

[url=

It's an awful anthem and I hate the fact that it's entirely dedicated to a single person, it feels archaic.

I'd agree with that, i'd vote Jerusalem or Rule Britannia

therealhoops - the lions are French

andybach - The 3 Lions are actually Welsh

whatever... they're on my shirt, it says england above them and it's still the best badge 😉

therealhoops - it's only a union jack when it's on the back of a frigate

Nico - A "jack" is worn at the FRONT of a warship

whatever... you and 61,126,829 other people (well about 24 actually) knew what i was talking about 😉 😉

Ya.
My husband & I like it.
You can have other anthems to sing alongside mine, but the National Anthem is ring-fenced, just ask my government.

[b]Now back off you Republican muck or I'll set the Corgies on you![/b]

The fact that the first line has mention of one thing I don't believe in (God) and one thing that should be abolished (the Queen) means that I think its a total anachronism and should be changed to something more relevant as soon as possible.

Love the Welsh anthem - gets the hairs standing on the back of my neck when I hear it, especially the few times I have heard it at the Arms Park or Millennium Stadium - though haven't a clue what the words mean, and would probably object if I did know.

Perhaps we should have a National Anthem like Spain with no official words to upset people.

Perhaps we shouldn't!

Of all the UK anthems, the Welsh one is easily the best, especially sung before a 6 Nations match in Cardiff.

It was better when we used to get to watch Ms Jenkins sing it...

[img] ?1197386174[/img]

[b]TooTall - Member

rOcKeTdOg - Member

what did i do?

*facepalm*

[/b]

nope, not a clue, did i turn down your amourous advances once?

It is an awful national anthem - it says nothing about the people, the country ,our values or what we represent and stand for. The tune is dour and slow it is a trully epic fail as a national anthem. I honestly could not care what god does with the monarch as I have zero affinity to either.
I struggle to stand up for the anthem as I dont agree with the message

[i]should be changed to something more relevant [/i]

Problem is that when you do that you end up with something awful that tries to be oh so PC.

Look at Ireland. They had a great, stirring anthem in The Soldier's Song. But because some folk pretended to be "offended" by it they changed to the utterly bland Ireland's Call. Well as a fellow Celt, Ireland's Call offends me by being so totally inoffensive.

TJ - i was asking about your claim that The Scots Anthem was written in the 60's? 😯

Flower of Scotland was written by Roy Williamson of the Corries (folk group) I think it was first played in the late 60s.

Well i never!

So what was the previous Scottish anthem - was there one???

GStQ is still the offical anthem in Scotland. Scotland the Brave was used at the Commonwealth Games though.

national anthem is dire
jeruselem is a better tune but its got a load of jesus loving nonsense lyrics

muddydwarf - For Rugby, God Save the Queen was used, in other sports such as the Commonwealth Games and I believe some soccer tournaments, Scotland the Brave was used

I have no strong feelings about the national anthem. I certainly don't find it stirring.

I'd like some (any, but if it was the UK that'd be fun) country to replace their national anthem with [url=

Simply replace it's lyric with the name of the country. It's upbeat and fun and even the most boneheaded of sportsmen would have difficulty forgetting the lyrics. 🙂

DIT: and the three lions is the best badge and the union jack is the best flag (after st.georges cross of course)

Union flag please!

The 3 Lions are actually Welsh

And lions are actually from.. Africa or Asia. Right 🙂 FWIW the Scottish thistle is part of an important national story, and the Welsh dragon is also from a legend of national defence except that it refers to the original British against the invading Saxons 🙂

Welsh Anthem:

Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi,
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri;
Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mâd,
Dros ryddid collasant eu gwaed.

(Cytgan - Chorus)

Gwlad, gwlad, pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad.
Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i'r hen iaith barhau.

Translated not quite literally:

The land of my fathers is dear unto me,
Old land where the minstrels are honoured and free:
Its warring defenders, so gallant and brave,
For freedom their life's blood they gave

Land!,Land!,True I am to my land!
While seas secure,
this land so pure,
o may our old language endure

Vindaloo Vindaloo Vindalooo nah nah nah nah nah nah VINDALOO! Nuff said.

Er, the Three Lions are actually lepoards!

Yeah i know, but they are Heraldic beasts and no-one back then had really seen a lepoard so thats what they came up with! Originally they came over with William the Bastard as a duo but became three with the reign of Henry II in 1154.

Remember they were not a National Badge but the personal coat of arms of the King, and each Monarch since has had a different coat of arms.

According to the Observers book of Heraldry page 64 they are lions passant anciently known as leopards a name in use until the 19th century.Some people still speak wrongly of leopards of England,but it does no great harm as it is an ancient expression

I love British national anthem because it's, well, [i]so[/i] British.

Although I think the lyrics should be changed slightly to, "God bless the Queen".

On account that Mrs. Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg doesn't need 'saving' from anyone.

'Cause she got the best soldiers in the world to look after and take care of her...........and Gawd bless'em too.

well if we are being picky
st edmund is the real patron saint of england

the normans ousted him and replaced him with george (who was either palestinian, greek, georgian or albanian)
as part of our colonisation

This thread is all the history we skived at school!

It should be Blake's 'Jerusalem', particularly since its Swedenborgian undertones offend the Church of England....I only found out about this after they strongly dissuaded me from having it sung at my wedding claiming that it was better suied to the WI etc etc. Great man, great anthem.

Can I nominate the [url=

tune from the Flumps[/url]. During medal ceremonies our conquering champions would remain stoic and respectful until the very last bar where they'd do a cheeky little jump and kick their heals.

if we are being picky

st edmund is the real patron saint of england

the normans ousted him and replaced him with george

Which as far as I can figure out, means he is no longer the patron saint of England.

well seeing as im an aetheist like most people in this country saints are all pretty irrelevant

......saints are all pretty irrelevant

Tell me your godless republican heart wasn't touched by Saint Diana..............you sneering commie traitor 😐

Look at Ireland. They had a great, stirring anthem in The Soldier's Song. But because some folk pretended to be "offended" by it they changed to the utterly bland Ireland's Call. Well as a fellow Celt, Ireland's Call offends me by being so totally inoffensive.

just to clarify, we still have Amhrann na bhFiann as our anthem. Ireland's Call is only used for rugby internationals because you get the odd loyalist from the north playing. And actually, it's grown on me over time..."the four proud provinces of Ireland"...possibly pisses loyalists off a little bit anyway, seeing as Ulster is bigger than NI.

WTF! Is it broken? 👿

DD - The odd loyalist? Blimey, that is bit a demeaning to a group that includes the great Willie John McBride.

No.

GSTQ - awful

Flower of Scotland - worse

But does make me laugh when the French slow them down anad play them like a dirge at rugby games.

Best anthem ever was Waltzing Matilda, I think they had to change it because they couldn't remember all the words. Oh Canada ! has it's merits too. New Zealand now has 2 minutes of mumbling while people can't sing the Maori words in the first verse.

.I only found out about this after they strongly dissuaded me from having it sung at my wedding claiming that it was better suied to the WI etc etc

Yes, I have encountered this recently, with exactly the same put-down as to why we shouldn't have it at our wedding. I'm tempted to be insistent now...

Which as far as I can figure out, means he is no longer the patron saint of England.

Depends on your point of view. 🙂 To me, England and the English evolved from the Saxons, not the Normans. Sure, a lot of the aristocacy were French but we speak a language, and live in a society evolved directly from Anglo-Saxon, not French. William the Bastard and his cronies mean zilch to me. I'm English 🙂

Flower of Scotland is fairly slow anyway - its a lament IIRC. the french have been known to slow it further. |its a bit of a dreadful dirge but it caught the public imagination.

PP - the Saxons - you mean that bunch of German invaders?

Mefty, I'm not saying I wouldn't have them in the team. But it has been funny over the years watching (some of the particularly orange ones of) them having to stand for Amhrann na bhFiann...pure devilment on my part, nothing serious. I do love my anthem though.

My mate had Jerusalem at his wedding. Que us 8 serving and retired squaddies and the groom and best man belting it out at the top of our voices and a rather embarrased looking bride and congregation.

England and the English evolved from the Saxons

Well.. the English are evolved from the Saxons and Normans. One of the Norman (plantagenet?) guys decided he really admired the Saxons so led a big 'English' romatic revivalist movement which brought Saxons and Normans together as English. I think it was Edward III.

If you're going to split hairs about English/Normans then you might as well start banging on about Britons/Saxons/Vikings or any of the other immigrant/invading/conquering peoples.

it think we can safely say Wales has the best anthem and flag for that matter 😉

mind you the italian and french ones are good too (anthems not flags)

While we're at it, it seems that the use of the word "celt" in reference to any british people (scots, welsh, cornish etc) is factually incorrect

http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2006/10/mythsofbritishancestry/

http://www.webmesh.co.uk/nice/newhistory.htm

backhander, there was a group of Indo-European peoples with a similar shared culture and similar languages. They all had individual names for themselves, but because they had a taboo against wtiting, their own names have been lost, and the term 'celt' was used by later /or other cultures to descibe them ( like the way the name 'Crow' is used to describe the Absaroka people)
I suspect you knew that but were just stirring.

No, there was a post in the past by someone far more educated than me.
The term celt was invented by the greeks i think for peoples who lived away from the coast.
The term celts when used towards the british people didn't occur until the 18th century and was apparently started by a notoriously poor welsh scholar.
this is all from memory but the gist is correct.

Interesting west kipper. How do we know they had a taboo against writing, did somebody else write that down for them ?

Aye, those Italian leather-skirt wearing skinheads fae Rome :-)(I've forgotten what they're called) did have writing, and made detailed, but biased accounts
Back on topic though; I still reckon we should look at The Sex Pistols GSTQ as the national anthem- can you imagine how brilliant a whole stadium of people all singing "...AND WE MEAN IT, MA A A M MM!" would be?
...Enough to make even me feel British! 😯