British National Anthem

[Mikeus Caesar]

The thread about the American National Anthem being 'butchered' at the Super Bowl inspired me to this. What do my fellow Brits think our national anthem should be? Do you think we should stick with traditional 'God Save the King/Queen'? Or change to something more appropriate, such as 'Land of Hope and Glory' or 'Rule Britannia?

[Ianofsmeg16]

Rule Brittania - It's not French and it doesnt encourage the brutal murder of Scots

[Duke of Gloucester]

Well "Rule Brittania" would be anachronistic given out current navy, and Jerusalem would only work as an English anthem, so those two are out. "Land of Hope and Glory" is awful and the current anthem is not much better. It will have to be GAH.


It's not French and it doesnt encourage the brutal murder of Scots

?

[King Henry V]

Rule Brittania - It's not French and it doesnt encourage the brutal murder of Scots
Hey, but the latter part is good! ~;)
Rule Britannia is too naval and the tune is a bit repetitive. I favour Land of Hope and Glory. So inspiring, so wonderfully reminiscent of Britain's evident superiority. ~D

[Monarch]

We butcher gstq enough, has anybody even heard more than two versus?

http://www.jilldaniels.com/GodSaveTheQueen.htm

But the thing that truly annoys be is that in rugby matches England sing GSTQ, but Wales and Scotland dont. Wales sing a different one which i cant remember and the Scots sing flower of Scotland. WHY? We should be singingh, LOHG, like we do in commonwealth games where england compete seperatly from scots/welsh.

But anyway, I'm not bothered about the national to be honest. I think Swing Low Sweet Chariot would be much better :P

Oh but not rule brittaina, thats just imperilist, nationalist, pre WW1 BS to be honest. We dont rule the waves now, so why sing it.

[King Henry V]

Swing Low Sweet Chariot....euch! An anthem needs to inspiring, its chant needs to pulse through your veins!

[Ianofsmeg16]

But anyway, I'm not bothered about the national to be honest. I think Swing Low Sweet Chariot would be much better :P
Swing low sweet Chariot is a song used by English Rugby fans when they're pleasuring themselves. Not a good anthem.


so why sing it. Cos It's patriotic towards Britain, and for all the other reaons i stated above.
I wouldn't mind LOHG, its a good anthem to have, but I'd prefer Rule Brittania :2thumbsup:

[rory_20_uk]

The Scots aspect is bad? Oh, takes all sorts...

~:smoking:

[Incongruous]

Jerusaleum or Land of Hope and Glory.
Or more favourably Iron Maiden's Trooper, "You fire you're musket but I'll run through"...YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS! GO BRUCE FOR KING!

[lancelot]

Oh but not rule brittaina, thats just imperilist, nationalist, pre WW1 BS to be honest. We dont rule the waves now, so why sing it.

What? so a national anthem should change according to what is going on in the world at that time???

Read the lyrics to the French anthem (its about a million pages long :laugh4: )
Now that is a seriously out of date and bloody sickening anthem if I ever heard one...

Imperialist and nationalist...you say that like its a bad thing... :2thumbsup:

[Duke Malcolm]

Rule Brittania - It's not French and it doesnt encourage the brutal murder of Scots

"God Save the Queen" had that particular verse omitted a few years after the '46 Rebellion, and only encourages the crushing of Rebellious Scots, of whom there are few nowadays. The Anti-Scottish air of it was propagated by the SNP some decades ago... People should go about removing the myth of "God Save the Queen"... My rather enlightened English teacher commented upon the song saying that the first line of the second verse was "Crush the Scots", which is not only wrongly quoted which destroys the meaning and gives it a more racist feel, but is wrongly placed -- the second verse is about showering Her with the choicest gifts in store...

"Rule Britannia" or "Land of Hope and Glory" would be fine.

The former had its words written by a Scot and the tune by and English man, very unifying.

The latter is just plain good, and about the Empire, although I don't see wider and wider our bounds being set going on much nowadays, and extolling from those born of her...

I would object to "Jerusalem" since, although it is a good hymn and fine for more private affairs, it is about England.

And while "Kill the Humans" is an excellent song, and anthem should not advocate the killing the citizens of its nation...

[ShadesPanther]

Rule Britannia is probably the better ones. Although it is sad wth the Navy's current shape.

On a related note it is actually legal to shoot welsh people with a crossbow. :inquisitive:

[The_Doctor]

While "Kill the Humans" does have a catchy tune, it would be a bit strange for humans to sing it. Unless they pretending to be aliens in order to blow up other aliens.

We could right a new one. By we I mean you, the British people of the Org. I am too busy, you know saving the universe and all that.:2thumbsup:

[master of the puppets]

whats the name o da one that goes sumthin like...
hail brittania, brittania rules the seas... blah blah blah
well anyway it became popular when Elizebeth the 1st beat the spanish armada.

[drone]

God save the queen her fascist regime
It made you a moron a potential h bomb !

God save the queen she ain’t no human being
There is no future in england’s dreaming

Don’t be told what you want don’t be told what you need
There’s no future no future no future for you

God save the queen we mean it man (God save window leen)
We love our queen God saves (God save... human beings)

God save the queen cos tourists are money
And our figurehead is not what she seems
Oh God save history God save your mad parade
Oh lord God have mercy all crimes are paid

When there’s no future how can there be sin
We’re the flowers in the dustbin
We’re the poison in your human machine
We’re the future your future

God save the queen we mean it man
There is no future in england’s dreaming

No future for you no future for me
No future no future for you
God Save the Queen, of course!

[discovery1]

Rule Brittania, since I mistakenly told someone that's what your national anthem is......

[GoreBag]

I voted 'Kill the Humans' because it's closer to 'F*** the Humans', which kind of a classic song and allegory in my subculture.

[InsaneApache]

Originally Posted by Sex Pistols
God save the queen her fascist regime
It made you a moron a potential h bomb !

God save the queen she ain’t no human being
There is no future in england’s dreaming

Don’t be told what you want don’t be told what you need
There’s no future no future no future for you

God save the queen we mean it man (God save window leen)
We love our queen God saves (God save... human beings)

God save the queen cos tourists are money
And our figurehead is not what she seems
Oh God save history God save your mad parade
Oh lord God have mercy all crimes are paid

When there’s no future how can there be sin
We’re the flowers in the dustbin
We’re the poison in your human machine
We’re the future your future

God save the queen we mean it man
There is no future in england’s dreaming

No future for you no future for me
No future no future for you
God Save the Queen, of course!

I disagree, this would be much better in my opinion.


"Anarchy In The U.K."

Right! Now ha ha ha...

I am an antichrist
I am an anarchist
Don't know what I want
But I know how to get it
I wanna destroy the passerby

'Cause I wanna be Anarchy
Now don't worry

Anarchy for the UK
It's coming sometime and maybe
I give a wrong time stop a traffic line
Your future dream is a shopping scheme

'Cause I wanna be Anarchy
In the city

How many ways to get what you want
I use the best
I use the rest
I use the N.M.E
I use Anarchy

'Cause I wanna be Anarchy
It's the only way to be

Is this the M.P.L.A or
Is this the U.D.A or
Is this the I.R.A
I thought it was the UK
Or just another country
Another council tenancy

I wanna be Anarchy
And I wanna be Anarchy
(Oh what a name)

And I wanna be an anarchist
(I get pissed, destroy!)

If only because no one else on the planet knows what a 'council tenancy' is.:laugh4:

:book:

[Ja'chyra]

Anything by The Proclaimers :2thumbsup:

[Captain Fishpants]

Just FYI, the current British national anthem was introduced in order to make the Hannoverian dynasty more acceptable and popular. Thomas Arne's utterly splendid setting of "Rule Britannia" was an anthem, but never really a national anthem; it was more of a celebration of British triumphs in the 1750s.

The current national anthem is a complete oddity, if you think about it for a second. Every other nation on earth has a song which runs along the lines of "this is a great place, we're better than everyone, our beer is nice, here we come, watch out, our tanks are rolling forwards, [and the Revolution/Counter-Revolution was a great day for us all] and by the way our trees are neat and cool too... blah-de-blah-dee-blah". But not the British.

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

I like GSTQ but i prefer Jerusalem over it. I like Rule Britannia as well mind

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

Anything by The Proclaimers :2thumbsup:

"Take a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK, up the railtrack" etc.

classic. I hated them when at primary school.

That would make a great national anthem.

edit: misremembered lyrics

[Duke Malcolm]

whats the name o da one that goes sumthin like...
hail brittania, brittania rules the seas... blah blah blah
well anyway it became popular when Elizebeth the 1st beat the spanish armada.

It is "Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves" -- Rule Britannia

The tune and words were written in the 18th century, quite some time after Elizabeth I...

[GiantMonkeyMan]

i say keep the old 'God Save the Queen'
it is funny when football fans etc sing it and it is completely out of tune/time and sung more like this :furious3: which is quite funny but hardly patriotic

i like jeruselum but it is more about england and since we are not really great britain any more and more the UK we can't really have Rule Britannia so keep GSTQ

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Keep the present one. Nice tune.
.

[Al Khalifah]

God Save the Queen isn't technically the British national anthem. It is just a song that is used so. There is no single authorised version of the song and it has never been adopted as national anthem by any formal channel (ie Act of Parliament, Royal Proclamation).

It does the job. We are the United Kingdom. The song isn't strictly about the current monarch anyway. The song is referential to the preservation and continuation of our monarchy and hence the preservation of British unity - since if there ceases to be a monarch, we cease to be a nation.

It's also used by a few Commonwealth countries but they're gradually replacing it and rather curiously it is the national anthem of Liechtenstein (though not in English). And it's so good, the USA stole the melody for My Country, 'Tis of Thee.


I'd like to see Jerusalem as the official anthem of England, but not of Britain.

[Mikeus Caesar]

The current national anthem is a complete oddity, if you think about it for a second. Every other nation on earth has a song which runs along the lines of "this is a great place, we're better than everyone, our beer is nice, here we come, watch out, our tanks are rolling forwards, [and the Revolution/Counter-Revolution was a great day for us all] and by the way our trees are neat and cool too... blah-de-blah-dee-blah". But not the British.

We're so great we don't need an anthem saying so. Everyone just automatically thinks Britain and thinks of rebellious tribesfolk with spears getting pwned, and thinks 'wow, Britain are 1337!'

[Just A Girl]

I say kick every 1 but the welsh out...

"MAE HEN WLAD FY'N NHADAU YN ANWYLL I MI...."

[Craterus]

I vote Rule Britannia.

It's great. Very inspiring.

[Duke Malcolm]

I say kick every 1 but the welsh out...

"MAE HEN WLAD FY'N NHADAU YN ANWYLL I MI...."

That one has an excellent tune which puts a tear in my eye and swells my chest whenever I hear it...

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Land of My Fathers does indeed have a lovely melody. It's a nice tune.

Personally, I would take any of the the songs listed there over God Save the Queen-We desperately need to get rid of it, it's a complete dirge. Music to limp to.

[Just A Girl]

I believe that Rule britania goes...

Rule britania Britania rules the waves. Britain Never ever ever Shal be slaves...
Rule Bri....

A bit Of an Ego thing going on there id say...

so I say

Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi,

Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri;
Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mad,

Tros ryddid gollasant eu gwaed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Hen Gymru fynyddig, paradwys y bardd,
Pob dyffryn, pob clogwyn i'm golwg sydd hardd;
Trwy deimlad gwladgarol, mor swynol yw si
Ei nentydd, afonydd, i mi.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Os treisiodd y gelyn fy ngwlad tan ei droed,
Mae hen iaith y Cymry mor fyw ag erioed,
Ni luddiwyd yr awen gan erchyll law brad.
Na thelyn berseiniol fy ngwlad.

Is Much better..

"Basicaly says, that we have pledged our aligence to this country, 'thats wales not england" Becous of the blood of our fore fathers that was spilt by the english, And we will NEVER let our language die.


(thats why we up north dont like those non welsh speakers down south..
But mid and west wales arent so bad In our Welsh based oppinion)

To try and explain what i feel when i hear hen wlad fyn hadau would be to complicated, due to the fact that most cant understan welsh.

So i will try to translate some of the words that strike a chord deep inside of me when i hear the song.

Mae hen wlad fyn nhadau yn anwyl i mi
"this land of my fathers is very inocently presious to me"

"hen iath parhau"
Old language survive.

Collasaint ei gwaed.
"loss of their blood"

Mae hen iaith y Cymry mor fyw ag erioed,
"the old language of the welsh is as alive as ever"

paradwys y bardd,
Pob dyffryn, pob clogwyn i'm golwg sydd hardd

"the poet embeded for history. every stream and hill in sight that are beutiful"

I translated those as best as i could. The 1st 1 was the worst Anwyl is dificult to translate as it has a multitude of meanings and feelings all balled in to 1.
and the last 1 Im not to happy about either.

But those are bits that strike an imideate chord with me..

Then. there's welsh people who dont speak welsh
*Spits on the floor*
They Are going Right against Our national anthem And Everything the welsh Were! and at heart Still are.

Any way Dont need to go in to that..

and il continue by saying.
I would post the english translation Like i was going to.
But its ludecrous and dosent Translate it at all.
It just uses english words to fit with the music.

So il just post a link.
for those who want to know what the english decided to do to our national anthem Thinking there clever.
http://www.wngga.org/HenWlad.html#anchor111369

Heres the song being sung (not to well)
There probably english who are reading phonetics.
http://www.wngga.org/Hen%20Wlad.mp3

*whistles hen wlad fyn hadau*

[Mikeus Caesar]

I don't know why the Welsh keep on going with the Welsh language. I mean, come on, you got pwned by us, the English, nearly 1000 years ago, and the large majority of people in Wales speak English. Just give it up i say, it's quite pathetic they're trying to keep an impractical and more or less dead language alive.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

"Hells Bells"-AC/DC :2thumbsup:

[Tachikaze]

The anthem should be "Won't Get Fooled Again" by the Who.

[Just A Girl]

now why would you burst in here with such an insulting remark on a nation of proud people?

wheres that report bad post button

[English assassin]

wait wait wait, what, Shambles you are WELSH? I never knew.

Anyway of the options I would prefer Jerusalem although obviously that could only be an English anthem. All about making a better place to live rather than my artichokes are better than your artichokes, much more grown up.

For a British anthem I favour Smack My Bitch Up.

[Tachikaze]

now why would you burst in here with such an insulting remark on a nation of proud people?

wheres that report bad post button
A song about being politically active and cautious in political support makes a better anthem than having the strongest navy or promoting monarchy.

It might be difficult to sing at national events, however.

[Incongruous]

THE TROOOOOPER!

You’ll take my life but I’ll take yours too
You’ll fire you musket but I’ll run you through
So when your waiting for the next attack
You’d better stand there’s no turning back

The bugle sounds as the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of arcrid smoke and horses breath
As you plunge into a certain death

The horse he sweats with fear we break to run
The mighty roar of the russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall

We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And the russians fire another round
We get so near yet so far away
We won’t live to fight another day

We get so close near enough to fight
When a russian gets me in his sights
He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds take my horse below

And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My body’s numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan

http://truemetal.org/metalwallpaper/images/thetrooper.jpg

[King Edward]

Scots ane Welsh sing their anthems to remind tmeselves that they have their own nations. The English sing GSTQ to remind the scots and the welsh that we hold sovreignty over thier nations :laugh4:

Jerusalem is a grat song but somewhat nationalistic (which i love but doesnt go down well in the current political climate)

Land of Hope and Glory is the anthem of England I believe but i find it a bit of a dirge.

And the Uk Navy isnt in 2 bad a shape. we have the most advanced destroyer in the worls and 2 new carriers on the way next few years (unfortunatly the planes wont be ready until a year later)! Not to mention our entire Nuclear capability is submarine mounted.

you dont need much more than that as the days of the battleship are long gone.

[Duke Malcolm]

Scots ane Welsh sing their anthems to remind tmeselves that they have their own nations. The English sing GSTQ to remind the scots and the welsh that we hold sovreignty over thier nations :laugh4:

I must say, Scotland has no actual anthem. Some say "Flower of Scotland", although it has little meaning other than as the propaganda of the SNP. "Scots Wha Hae", well, no young folk know it. "Scotland the Brave" would be fine if anyone knew the words, and could hear the words over the bagpipes.

Perhaps also I should remind you that 1) The United Kingdom exists as a result of the King of Scots taking the English, Irish, and French thrones and 2) The First Lord of the Treasury was born and educated in Scotland 3) The Second Lord of the Treasury is undeniably Scottish, as are the Speaker of the House of Commons, Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Defence, Secretary of State for Transport, and no doubt other senior state officials...

[InsaneApache]

Yes get the buggers out of England. We only want sassanachs to govern for us. :laugh4:

[Duke of Gloucester]

The United Kingdom exists as a result of the King of Scots taking the English, Irish, and French thrones

This is not quite correct is it? This might give three (or four) kingdoms with the same monarch, but acts of union and the treaty of 1922 created the UK in stages.

[Meneldil]

La Marseillaise, obviously. If you don't chose it voluntarily, bad EU institutions will enforce it upon you.

[King Henry V]

I must say, Scotland has no actual anthem. Some say "Flower of Scotland", although it has little meaning other than as the propaganda of the SNP. "Scots Wha Hae", well, no young folk know it. "Scotland the Brave" would be fine if anyone knew the words, and could hear the words over the bagpipes.

Perhaps also I should remind you that 1) The United Kingdom exists as a result of the King of Scots taking the English, Irish, and French thrones and 2) The First Lord of the Treasury was born and educated in Scotland 3) The Second Lord of the Treasury is undeniably Scottish, as are the Speaker of the House of Commons, Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Defence, Secretary of State for Transport, and no doubt other senior state officials...
No wonder the country is in such a sorry state...~;)
I now also propose for an anthem I Vow to Thee My Country, an absolutely beautiful piece of music (even if it was written by a Dane).

[Duke of Gloucester]

I think we will claim him as English, British and a native of Gloucestershire.

"Gustav Holst, a British composer who was born in Cheltenham, England in 1874 and died in London in 1934."

The Gustav Holst website http://www.gustavholst.info/

[English assassin]

THE TROOOOOPER!

I like your thinking, but close, but no cigar. if we are going Iron Maiden, then it has to be the live version of "Aces High" from "Live after death", complete with the "we shall fight them on the beaches" intro. Imagine the scene at Wembley as Churchill concludes "We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be. We shall never surrender" and the opening riffs blare out.

We'd never get any football played, it would be a riot every time.

[Reenk Roink]

Many of these suggestions are much too elated for a nation that has lost all imperial glory and now is the pet of choice of its former servants...

Try:

Black - Pearl Jam: "and now my bitter hands, cradle broken glass, of what was everything..."

Outshined - Soundgarden: "i got up feeling so down, i got off being sold out, i've kept the movie rolling, but the story's getting old now, i just looked in the mirror, things aren't looking so good, I'm looking california, and feeling minnesota...i'm feeling outshined"

Crossfire - Stevie Ray Vaughan: "i am stranded...caught in the crossfire..."

:laugh3:

[Duke Malcolm]

This is not quite correct is it? This might give three (or four) kingdoms with the same monarch, but acts of union and the treaty of 1922 created the UK in stages.

But the Union of the Crowns led to the first United Kingdom in 1707, which remains in the current United Kingdom...

[Strike For The South]

British National Anthem

The Star Spangled Banner I mean by MC logic it works right? Welsh<English<USA<TEXAS

But Texas is to good for yall:laugh4:

[Duke Malcolm]

The Star Spangled Banner I mean by MC logic it works right? Welsh<English<USA<TEXAS

But Texas is to good for yall:laugh4:

Perhaps "Scots Wha Hae" should be the national anthem, then, because Texas<Scotland, and we Scots don't exclude anyone except the English and the French and the tee-totallers...

[Ianofsmeg16]

Highway to hell!!!!

[Quietus]

Redemption Song!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redemption_Song[/quote) (samples) :2thumbsup:


Old pirates, yes, they rob i;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took i
From the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong
By the ’and of the almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
’cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
’cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look? ooh!
Some say it’s just a part of it:
We’ve got to fulfil de book.

Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
’cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Wo! have no fear for atomic energy,
’cause none of them-a can-a stop-a the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say it’s just a part of it:
We’ve got to fulfil de book.
Won’t you help to sing
Dese songs of freedom? -
’cause all I ever had:
Redemption songs -
All I ever had:
Redemption songs:
These songs of freedom,
Songs of freedom.

[Kaiser of Arabia]

La Marseillaise, obviously. If you don't chose it voluntarily, bad EU institutions will enforce it upon you.
Hey it would fit the brits better than the French :furious3: :dizzy2: :book: :juggle2: :laugh4:

[ShadesPanther]

I have to admit that La Marseillaise is probably the best national anthem in the world.

Rule Britannia is probably the best of the well know unofficial anthems.

[Axeknight]

Oh land of our birth,
Oh gem of God's earth,
Oh island so strong and so fair

Built firm as Barrule,
Thy throne of home rule,
Makes us free as the sweet
Mountain air

[Ianofsmeg16]

Oh land of our birth,
Oh gem of God's earth,
Oh island so strong and so fair

Built firm as Barrule,
Thy throne of home rule,
Makes us free as the sweet
Mountain air
Best.....Anthem......Evar!:laugh4:


c'mon everybody, guess who's anthem that is?

[Proletariat]

I have to admit that La Marseillaise is probably the best national anthem in the world.


Always sounded too dainty for an anthem, imho.