So after one has had supper, and retires to the drawing room with a port, wearing a favourite smoking jacket…
The vinyl starts to spin and classics such as “Rule Britannia” (controversial) and “Land of Hope and Glory” play…
I can’t help but wonder why on earth Land of Hope and Glory isn’t the national anthem…
Doesn’t ‘God save the King/Queen’ predate ‘Land of hope and glory’ by a couple of hundred years?
Swapping and changing should be discouraged, otherwise we could end up with an anthem by whoever is top of the pops at the time of choosing!
A little historical background…
Some have deemed Land of Hope & Glory as “too jingoistic” - & maybe it’s marginally more “Imperialistic” than God save The Queen?
Although a cursory Google comes up with the idea that England should have its own national anthem, especially for sports. That’s an interesting idea! Now, what would I choose…?
Jerusalem is one idea
Not a big one for anthems anyway, but changing one thing once is hardly a slippery slope situation. Decimalising currency after centuries didn’t lead to decimalising time.
Careful there. My Uncle Derek tells me that the EU are going to force that on their members next year and try to sneak it into the trade deal as well.
Let me guess your uncle Derek also thinks the covid 19 vaccine also contains a tracking chip?
It doesn’t? Next you’ll be telling us that 911 wasn’t an inside job, and that the moon landings were real…!
Perhaps we could get Stormzy or Camelphat write a new anthem?
No. He got that in one of his RN vaccinations
On a side note Decimalised Time has already been invented & was used for a time in France.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_time
I think most monarchies used the Royal Anthem for the national anthem when the national anthem became a thing
(factoid - God Save the King dated back to the 1600s)
I vow to thee my country has my vote.
This gets my vote.
Just stick with God Save The Queen. It’s a fantastic song.
It’s already used at the Cricket and would make sense.
No not Jerusalem!
I vote land of hope and glory.
Only if this version
Alright. After a few beers and a bottle of wine I can compromise on that.
[trivia] The house where ‘Jerusalem’ was written isn’t far from where I live. It’s in a village called Rustington in West Sussex. There’s a blue plaque on the external wall and Parry actually died in the house [/trivia]