General Chat

Let's have a vote Land of Hope & Glory our National Anthem .says we are a proud Nation .my opinion one vote anyway xx Barbara

No, it's a jolly song but far too 'Empire' driven.


Equally, not that awful dirge Jerusalem ;-)

* I Vow To Thee My Country *another good choice . I personally think our God Save Queen or King needs updating ..No disrespect to The Queen .she is well loved .but not a fan of Prince Charles

I agree with Barbra. Hubby and I were just watching the D-Day programme on BBC and we both said together when Land of Hope and Glory was played that it should be our National Anthem. I like Jeruselem too but not for the National Anthem.

Kath. x

Theme from Titanic

LOL Island !

"KEEP RIGHT ON TO THE END OF THE ROAD


Keep Right on to the End of the Road
Ev'ry road thro' life is a long, long road,
Fill'd with joys and sorrows too,
As you journey on how your heart will yearn
For the things most dear to you.
With wealth and love 'tis so,
But onward we must go.

Chorus:
Keep right on to the end of the road,
Keep right on to the end,
Tho' the way be long, let your heart be strong,
Keep right on round the bend.
Tho' you're tired and weary still journey on,
Till you come to your happy abode,
Where all the love you've been dreaming of
Will be there at the end of the road.

With a big stout heart to a long steep hill,
We may get there with a smile,
With a good kind thought and an end in view,
We may cut short many a mile.
So let courage ev'ry day
Be your guiding star alway.

Chorus:
Keep right on to the end of the road,
Keep right on to the end,
Tho' the way be long, let your heart be strong,
Keep right on round the bend.
Tho' you're tired and weary still journey on,
Till you come to your happy abode,
Where all the love you've been dreaming of
Will be there at the end of the road."

"This song was written by Sir Harry Lauder shortly after his son was killed in action in World War I."

'I vow to thee my country' can't be bettered in my opinion. The strong music is obviously used by others but that does not detract from its appeal and the lyrics are fantastic.

'Jerusalem' really is dark and threatening, I think. It surprises me that the WI has stuck by it as I always think it is a divisive and battle-type of hymn when compared with the words of 'I vow to thee'.

'God save ...' is outdated and doesn't sit well with all sections of society. So, yes, time for a change methinks.

Edit:
I vow to thee was one of the funeral hymns for Diana, P o W, if I recall correctly. Not that that would sway me, of course, as I really think it is a suitable Nat Amthem for England.

Let's not.

If the Tories want one of their house songs as national anthem they might as well pick the Eton Boating Song and have done with it.

The voice given through the war poets and writers of the men who gave their all was far far away from bombastic patriotic songs.

The whole matter of the national ( not the English ) anthem was debated in parliament no very long ago. The conclusion was that GSTQ had stood the test of the time and was something we could all unite around. It also has the great feature of being short in its usual rendition.

I quite like this though:

"No man, no madness
Though their sad power may prevail
Can possess, conquer, my country's heart
They rise to fail
She is eternal
Long before nations' lines were drawn
When no flags flew, when no armies stood
My land was born
And you ask me why I love her
Through wars, death and despair
She is the constant, we who don't care
And you wonder will I leave her - but how?
I cross over borders but I'm still there now
How can I leave her?
Where would I start?
Let man's petty nations tear themselves apart
My land's only borders lie around my heart "

Andersson / Ulvaeus.[

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61DiWi00d2w

Too slow, Rollo. Words are good but tune is a bit of a drag.

You're right though, I can't see anyone with clout proposing that we change from God Save the Queen in the near future. It'll take some tact to propose that we have a National Anthem for England alone and use God Save when the occasion pertains to the whole of the U.K.

well try this then, my father always liked it but then as an east ender he would.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTsIMVIWjlQ

Land of Hope and Glory - used for rugby matches and the Commonwealth Games. Far more rousing than GSTQ.

2016 poll 57% want England to have it's own anthem and Land of Hope and Glory was by far the favourite.

Of course here we have Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau which children learn in school or the URDD. Failing that most people can manage: Gwlad, Gwlad and mumble the rest of the chorus

;-) ;-)

I like that Rollo.

Trouble is my favourite patriotic songs ( bar "There'll always be an England") are from other countries :-)

"The minstrel boy to the war is gone;
In the ranks of death you'll find him;
His father's sword he has girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
"Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,
"Though all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!

The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he loved ne'er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and bravery!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free
They shall never sound in slavery!"

My father and GF liked this one too but probably could not get an airing today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTsIMVIWjlQ

I have London Pride growing in my garden :-) We've always had some in every garden we've had.

Too much London, Rollo. Someone from say, Cornwall or the Lakes may not take a shine to it.

Dad always had roses, London Pride and primula growing wherever we went, Rose. I don't.

Incidentally, although I really like 'I vow to thee ...', some people do not like hymns at all. Three members of my close family are like that.

GSTQ it is - for the foreseeable future at least.

'I vow to thee my country' - great tune but it starts really low and goes quite high so not easy to sing en masse. 'God save the ...' - it's short and easy and no-one forgets the words, a bit like 'Happy Birthday'.

What about 'Between the Wars' Billy Bragg ;-)

Aren't all national anthems a bit dirgey :-\
Italys is a bit more dancie and uplifting. :-D

Well IMHO the Japanese naitonal anthem "Kimigayo" takes the biscuit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWS6Bln9TUI

My GGF, serving with the British Army in Yokohama, played a large part in assisting John Fenton in creating this anthem. It was revised about 1880 supposedly to be a bit more brisk and update but the difference is vanishingly small.

The anthem is said to be based on GSTQ (Victoria).
As the 2020 Olympics are in Tokyo get used to hearing it loud and often.

Thank You for comments I am proud of my Country would love a National Anthem that raises the roof .. :-D

Yeah , raise the roof, no problem

https://ok.ru/video/16635464388

IOW 1970