New National Anthem

Lovetopaint037

Yes Land of Hope and Glory or Jerusalem would fit the bill beautifully.

All about England and taking over other lands.

Totally unsuitable for the current United Kingdom.

" But none will be as good as the Welsh National Anthem" 😁 Totally Agree. I do not know what the words say, but when sung by a Welsh Male Voice Choir it would "Bring a tear to a glass eye"

FarNorth

Lovetopaint037

Yes Land of Hope and Glory or Jerusalem would fit the bill beautifully.

All about England and taking over other lands.

Totally unsuitable for the current United Kingdom.

I did say England needs its own anthem too 🙂

Granny23

When the National Anthem was played every night at close down on the TV, my Dad would spring to his feet - and sprint to turn it off. Taking my cue from him, I totally refuse to stand for the anthem (rebellious Scots to crush - aye you and what army?)

I agree that Jerusalem has a great tune but again it is anglo centric and the King it praises is not our monarch but rather God. A brand new anthem, (perhaps using an old tune) which celebrates the 4 corners of the realm and the diversity of its people is much needed.

I see no reason whatsoever to change the National Anthem - if only because I dread to think what bouncy woke ditty might replace it. And I have no problem with the (long since defunct) verse about crushing 'rebellious Scots' - since my clan fought on the Government side in the '45.

MiniMoon

Oh yes please! It's an awful song. The full lyrics are all about crushing foes.

'Rebellious Scots to crush' actually, which is why many north of the Border aren't fans - to put it mildly.

Yes, I have to agree that not only is our current anthem a bit of dirge, but the words are far too sycophantically Royalist for a modern democracy. I would suggest replacing it with the hymn, "I Vow To Thee My Country", created in 1921 when music from Gustav Holst's "Jupiter" from The Planets Suite had a poem by Sir Cecil Spring Rice set to it. The words are neither jingoistic nor militaristic, and the second verse in particular conveys a message of peace and love.

I agree with Nanadana. It’s beautiful. Spot on.

The words aren't entirely suitable but the music is beautiful.

‘I vow to Thee ‘has a perfect tune but in an increasingly secular society it isn’t quite right.

It talks about sacrificing one's life for one's country.

New words?

I love this topic. It comes up again and again on GN and elsewhere and almost always with the same arguments.
I think England needs a national anthem, in the same way as Wales, Scotland and N Ireland use music special to them.
I’d like I Vow To Thee My Country for the same reasons as NanaDana.
Another reason I’d like that, is because I think is important that all those who live here, or come to live here should accept that the National Anthem is for the country they have chosen to live in or join.
So I vow to thee my country, if it became the England Anthem would be specific to here, without any way disregarding their country of origin or of their ancestry.

Let's change it to 'Trelawny', the Cornish anthem, to be followed by a rousing rendition of Oggie, oggie, oggie, aye aye aye. But then I'm a bit biased plus very tongue-in-cheek, being Cornish. (Can't stand the National ~Dirge~ Anthem.)

I don't mind the National Anthem. Nobody ever sings all the verses.
However, I hate, loathe and detest Jerusalem. It's so annoying and makes no sense at all.

Aveline, I don’t mind Jerusalem, but I certainly don’t want it as a national anthem, whether for England or the UK.
I know about the original meaning of the words, but nowadays, Jerusalem is associated with conflict and we don’t need any more of that.

I don’t know how, in an increasingly secular country we can be expected to sing with any enthusiasm about a mythical God “saving” an extremely privileged (by accident of birth) person. Surely a national anthem should emphasise unity and love for one’s country.

There are four countries and unity ? No.

I like the tune It's tbe words.

For sport:

May England be the best,
Outscoring all the rest,
Come on England!
Whate'er the sport we play,
Be sure we'll win the day,
Encouraged all the way:
Come on England!!

For the monarch:

Let us now celebrate:
Our worthy Head of State
Stands for us all.
Here's to our Head of State,
May they not hibernate,
But strive until it's late,
Ans'ring our call!

For the PM

Praise our Prime Minister!
Dexter or sinister,
May they succeed.
Only some time will tell
Whether they govern well.
In times of need.
If they turn out a flop,
Then they will get the chop,
Just like a weed.

Thank you grumppa.👏👏

The National Anthem offers a strong link to our past history and to the people who lived here in 1745. I think it’s dire musically and the words aren’t taken seriously but once/if the monarchy is abolished, then is the time to sing in praise of our new world! Such as it might be.

Everyone knows the lovely rousing tune to Land of Hope and Glory, it just needs some appropriate words, not involving kings, queens or any jingoistic references to war and victory.
Personally I don't like "I vow to thee my country", it's old-fashioned and dull.
We need something rousing and lively, like the French or Italians have, something that younger people would enjoy singing with gusto.

Katie 59 Something new relating to Englandno problem but remember it should reflect on all UK nations. It's the British national anthem after all.

The Marseillaise may be rousing but the tune is complicated and the words are extremely aggressive and militaristic. I think the French should be ashamed of the words nowadays.
Land of Hope and Glory is obviously imperial and needs some new words, but the tune is fabulous. Come on Simon Armitage, it's up to you as Poet Laureate.

Anything but the current one. It’s awful. So is the Australian one but at least that doesn’t just concentrate on one person in a sycophantic way.

MiniMoon

Oh yes please! It's an awful song. The full lyrics are all about crushing foes.

Yes, well if you look at the texts of other countries national anthems they are all much of a muchness.

Generally speaking they were either written at a time of national crisis or adopted as a national anthem during one.

And it is hard to know what would be better.

It may seem easy to write a text that basically says that you love your country, but really only Sweden has managed to do so without either sounding martial or in the case of the Danish anthem about the country regretting the time when the country was greater,

Certainly the Danish anthem is dated now, but even if new anthems are written they will be old-fashioned in the course of quite few years.

Most of us probably sang both Land of Hope and Glory, and Kipling's Land of our Birth as schoolchildren with enthusiasm, but are made slightly uncomfortable now by the sentiments expressed. The same thing is likely to happen even if you do succeed in getting a new British National Anthem.

I agree absolutely, the National Anthem is sooooo dreary! Those from other countries are uplifting and inspiring whereas ours is just a dirge. We should have a referendum, I'm sure the majority would vote for a change.