Johnny Hates Jazz

With English Cricket and English Rugby adopting Jerusalem as their 'English Anthems' it will be interesting to see what happens in the Commonwealth Games and the Soccer World Cup.

Jerusalem

A favourite of congregations as disparate as Church of England services, Labour Party Conferences and the terraces of Twickenham, this stirring and beautiful hymn is a melody dating from 1916 by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry and of course the inspiring words are a poem by William Blake.

Surely no English person can fail to be stirred whenever those famous opening lines are sung, though few people outside of cathedrals and rugby clubs could claim to know all the words. But although it is a seemingly obvious contender, is Jerusalem really national anthem material? A dark poem, like the satanic mills Blake writes about, it is a radical lament about the social injustices of industrialisation, a worthy theme that if it were written today, would probably be considered by some as political correctness! And the conclusion is one of negativity, with a stirring call to action imbued with hope, but negativity none the less. As David McKie put in in The Guardian "But it's hard to see what encouragement players could gain from much of the text, most of which Blake devotes to asking questions (Did those feet walk on England's mountains? Was the Lamb of God seen on English pastures? Was Jerusalem builded here among dark, satanic mills?) to which the answers, unhappily, always seem to be: no" (The Guardian, 7 March 2002). Would any country really want a national anthem that, far from celebrating all that is best about a nation, actually sends people away lamenting the present, to come back with hope and do better next time. Surely we have had enough of that feeling with the football World Cup and Wimbledon!

The main issue with Jerusalem, however, is that it is an overtly Christian hymn. No-one, from any part of the political spectrum, would deny what a multicultural society that England is in 2002, and yet Jerusalem's lead character is the Lamb of God, a concept that probably means very little outside of churches in an era when the majority of people don't go to church. And is this something that English Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs agnostics and atheists (and people from all other faiths and none) could identify with? And the other, perhaps even more uncomfortable issue is that in 2002, do we really want to choose an English national anthem whose title is the place in the world most torn apart by conflict and hatred and somehow symbolic of the religious and cultural intolerance that blight our world? Jerusalem in 2002 is a very different concept than the one intended by Blake and to ignore that sad and uncomfortable fact would surely be insular and insensitive.

One also has to suspect that Blake himself, the mystic, would be horrified that his critique of life in 19th Century England ended up as the anthem of his country two centuries on so it would seem a little strange that 80,000 voices were singing Jerusalem at Wembley if Blake was turning in his grave in a corner of this green and pleasant land! Whatever the choice for an English national anthem, this will continue to be one of England's great songs, but like Blake, should we continue to revere it, but leave it be? Or should we ignore our concerns and elevate the song that is already seen by many as England's unofficial national anthem?

Have you got an opinion

Vote Here http://anthem4england.co.uk/

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English Democrats SAY NO To European Union

English not British not European
- It's time to decide at the 2009 European Elections

Johnny Hates Jazz

Just for some balance .............

What is wrong with God Save the Queen?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with God save the Queen apart from the fact that it is the British anthem; the musical equivalent of the Union Flag..............Oh and, as a song, it blows.

The English should sing an English, not British, anthem. God Save the Queen can continue to be the British anthem, to be sung as a celebration of Britishness or the monarch, by the individual nations of Britain, or by the English, Scots, Welsh and Irish when they are gathered together as Brits.

However, the British anthem should not be sung by the English as an English anthem. It may be politically convenient for the UK Government to encourage Scottishness and Welshness whilst keeping Britishness to the fore in England but it serves neither Britain nor the monarchy to do so. Not only that but it is disrespectful to England, Scotland and Wales to conflate England with Britain in this way; for England is a nation every bit as much as Scotland and Wales, and those Scots and Welsh that still consider themselves British are now obliged to boo their own anthem for fear of being regarded as traitors by an increasingly nationalistic tendency.

Those people that will accuse us of trying to diminish the monarchy, or of trying to hasten the decline of Britain, should consider how perverse it is for the Scottish and English teams to line up together with the Scots singing a Scottish anthem and the English singing a British anthem. Doesn't God Save the Queen apply equally to the English and Scottish; are we all not British?

It is worth noting that the fourth nation of the UK, Northern Ireland, also sings God Save the Queen as their national anthem. For political and sectarian reasons their case is more complicated than that of England's, but no less compelling for being so.

__________________
English Democrats SAY NO To European Union

English not British not European
- It's time to decide at the 2009 European Elections

Anthony Butcher

I would go for Land of Hope and Glory.

Jools

Despite all the country's problems, I'm still proud to be a Brit I get quite choked when I sing Land of Hope and Glory or Jerusalem, and I'd be happy to sing either (or even both!) on sporting occasions, with God Save the Queen at "British" events.

Angryjohn

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN is sung in the United Kingdom as a matter of tradition. It has never been proclaimed the national anthem by an Act of Parliament or a Royal Proclamation.



Lyrics

God save our gracious Queen
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen:
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save the Queen.

O Lord, our God, arise,
Scatter thine enemies,
And make them fall:
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On thee our hopes we fix:
God save us all.

Thy choicest gifts in store,
On her be pleased to pour;
Long may she reign:
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen.


I heard once that it was composed in honour of King Louis xiv of france but he didn't like it. However there are all sorts of myths about is origin.

I've never been a fan of the tune and the words are all about the monarch rather than the nation itself. I would much prefer land of hope and glory or rule britannia.

kernow

So would I! It always brings the hair up on the back of my neck and a
mist to my eyes!

Captain Apathy

with global warming, i vote for

itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow pokerdot bikini

i can realy jive to that.

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www.insanefaith.com

Westcountryman

It's either that or Jerusalem for me.

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Manus haec inimica tyrannis ense petit placidam sub libertate quietam - "This hand of mine, which is hostile to tyrants, seeks by the sword quiet peace under liberty."

RADICAL UKIPPER

Jerusalem was chosen as the anthem for 1991 world cup for rugby union,a top ten for dame kiri. will carling and the squad wanted
i vow to thee my country' played before every twickenham game.

kernow