Our National Anthem

I dislike our national anthem which isn’t really “a national anthem” at all . We only ever hear the first verse and it’s just a verse of how great the queen is and how grateful we should be to have her.
I would like a real national anthem about being proud of our country and it’s people .

I don't really have a problem with the anthem we have. The monarch (or head of state) is the personification of the nation, and I do want my nation to be victorious (in defence), happy and glorious, and long-lasting. The tune is uplifting, which an anthem should be. The subsequent verses of it, and lots of other patriotic songs, are embarrassing, but who ever sings them?

I can see the need for separate English and UK anthems, and I would argue that the English one should have been written/ composed by somebody English, and the U.K. one by somebody British or Northern Irish.

Isn't a national anthem by its very essence a bit jingoistic?

Nannarose yes it's from Carousel. I like the words.

grumppa trouble is I don't think our anthem is uplifting. I also don't want to sing of victory unless it's on the sports field. I'm not sure if I think of the monarch as the personification of the nation either tbh.

I want our anthem to reflect the British values of today and according to Ofsted the five British values to be promoted in schools are

▪️ Democracy
▪️ The rule of law
▪️ Individual liberty
▪️ Mutual respect
▪️ Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

It would be good to have an anthem that reflects this kind of thing that's rousing enough to make us want to stand up and sing about them.

I remember Billy Connolly suggesting that, as the national anthem was so slow and boring, maybe the theme tune from The Archers would be a good replacement! (I don't know about the words though!)

Mary eliza54. Sad if all you can associate it with is the Tories.
Like the U.S our anthem should represent the country and people.
Land of Hope and Glory should be our anthem.
Isn't this why so many of those, many persecuted, from other lands wish to live here.? They see freedom and hope
Looking at the future, where UK monarchy is concerned, I have no desire to stand up and sing to what is our present anthem.

I love the idea of using the Archers tune, it’s so jolly ( unlike the miserable drawl of the current NA) and being a member of the WI I love Land of Hope and Glory too .

I find it interesting that many other anthems are about their country, while ours is about the monarch. I don't really care but dislike jingoism.

Pardon my ignorance Gaggi3 but what is “jingoism” ?

I’m wondering if I might dislike it too

gillybob. 100% in agreement and as stated by others I certainly do not see a monarch as the personification of our nation.
The world has and is constantly changing since this present anthem was brought into being.
Ofsted have got it right and we have to ensure that not just now but future generations are made aware of this and a new anthem is one way of getting this across and .
regardless of ones faith can there be no better way of making sure these are carried out than the introduction of a new anthem into our schools.?

It is a dirge but it would be difficult to find a good substitute.
I like French, Scottish & Irish rugby anthems- they are far more rousing than ours.

I'd like to move away from jingoism too. Wikipedia defines it as

Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests.

I just think it's patriotism taken to extremes.

The rhythm of our national anthem is actually a dance called a galliard, which was a favourite dance of Queen Elizabeth I. It was a vigorous dance, particularly danced by men. They tried to prove their virility by jumping higher than their rivals. Elizabeth was said to dance 6 or 7 in a morning when she was in her fifties. However the music would have to be played at twice the speed if you want to dance to it. Perhaps we should sing it twice as fast!

The national curriculum now covers citizenship which touches on the monarchy and it's role with Parliament, but school children are not taught the national anthem.

Perhaps that's a deliberate strategy not to promote the anthem as part of a being a British citizen.

I don't dislike the National Anthem but I agree that Land of Hope and Glory is very rousing, Jerusalem is very moving.
Quite a few anthems are dreary, I'm not sure that ours is the worst offender.

sarah I am far from being the only one who associates it with the Tories - it IS associated with the Tories and it would never become a NA because of that. Nor would the Red Flag ?

Nice flag, shame about the song. I've always hated it. As others have said, it's a boring repetitive dirge.

I have always liked "I vow to thee my country" or how about "Rule Britannia" even if it is about victories at sea. Coming to think of it, what about "Hearts of Oak"?

Let's stop being politically correct or worrying too much about the words being a teentsy bit violent or imperialistic - hardly anyone else does. We need something inspiring and fun to sing FFS!

Let's do it!

Hearts of Oak?Seriously. Rule Brittania? Ditto. Words do matter and both would provoke ridicule - aircraft carriers without aircraft - it would have Johnny Foreigner rolling in the aisles

If the NA is changed to reflect the values of today, then would it not mean changing it every 10 years or so as different principles evolve? Any existing song/tune would be objected to by someone. The current NA may not be ideal but I can't see the majority of the population accepting an alternative

I agree it won’t be changed and quite frankly it wouldn’t be worth the time, resources and effort involved.NZ tried to change its flag relatively recently and after much time, effort and expense ended up with the status quo. The monarchy and the NA are an irritation but both are here for the long duration and there are many other things that need time and effort spent on them that would make a material difference to our society and if effected might better reflect the values we should care about.

Being a member of the WI I love Land of Hope and Glory ????? What planet am I on today ? I meant Jerusalem of course .

You're not on a planet gilly but you are on cloud 9

You’re right maryeliza I am.

I like our national Anthem, but Land of Hope and Glory would be nicer.In Sweden the national Anthem is about the Country.They play our national Anthem TUNE in Norway,
Jerusalem is the WI song, sang before every meeting and sung with great pride.

‘I vow to thee my country ‘ would be better. Taken from Holsts Planets.... Jupiter I think , the bringer of jollity.