Off Topic English Anthem

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What Should The English National Anthem Be?

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    25
Stroller

Stroller

Well-Known Member
Jun 28, 2013
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Eastcote
With the Rugby World Cup starting tonight, the England team will line up to sing the turgid dirge God Save The Queen. Irrespective of anyone's views on Jeremy Corbyn and the Monarchy, shouldn't we have a better song?

The views of non-English board members are welcome.
 
As a partially half-English person...my views are only partially valid.
We Welsh have the magnificent Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, Scotland have Flowers of Scotland, a modern day folk Song written in the 1960s...The Irish are going to use an Ireland's Call, which is again recently written.All 3 of those are rousing songs.
.................GSTQ is not.....

Jerusalem is rousing, and is built on the great myth that Jesus visited Glastonbury (when Eavis farm still had cows?)...and if you forget the religious stuff...it fits the bill down to the ground.

but you English stick with GSTQ, you might have fallen asleep by the time you get on the pitch,....as that is the only chance that the injury-ridden Welsh have of getting through (that is assuming that we have beaten Fiji, which is also currently unlikely)
 
GSTQ is mercifully short and doesn't leave the team in tears like the Welsh one.

I'd favour "Please, Please, Please Let Me get What I Want" by the Smiths.
 
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Stroller said:
With the Rugby World Cup starting tonight, the England team will line up to sing the turgid dirge God Save The Queen. Irrespective of anyone's views on Jeremy Corbyn and the Monarchy, shouldn't we have a better song?

The views of non-English board members are welcome.
Click to expand...

Don’t agree its turgid or anything to get wound up about (or crow bar in Corbyn).

I’m quiet enjoying this song at the moment. Maybe you could stick this on in the head phones while its happening.

Impossible not to be in a better mood after listening to a bit of this.

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Stroller said:
With the Rugby World Cup starting tonight, the England team will line up to sing the turgid dirge God Save The Queen. Irrespective of anyone's views on Jeremy Corbyn and the Monarchy, shouldn't we have a better song?

The views of non-English board members are welcome.
Click to expand...
Can't beat history ........... God save the Queen will do me ............ and I'm an Aussie!
 
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Anything but Jerusalem, England is pretty much a secular country or at least making big strides towards it, to have anything religious would just be ****ing embarrassing.
 
I'd like to vote for Captain Jack.

Wayne Rooney does the bit of the one bloke who starts it then the rest of the team repeats what he says.

Whooa Captain Jack
Meet me by the railway track

etc etc.
 
TimPR78 said:
Anything but Jerusalem, England is pretty much a secular country or at least making big strides towards it, to have anything religious would just be ****ing embarrassing.
Click to expand...

I don't consider Jerusalem to be religious necessarily.
 
Stroller said:
I don't consider Jerusalem to be religious necessarily.
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You surprise me Strolls. It was certainly intended as a deeply religious poem based on the myth of Jesus visiting England with Joseph of Arimethea (sp?) and briefly establishing heaven on earth, plus bits of Revelations. William Blake was a genius, but definitely of the mad variety.
 
sb_73 said:
You surprise me Strolls. It was certainly intended as a deeply religious poem based on the myth of Jesus visiting England with Joseph of Arimethea and briefly establishing heaven on earth, plus bits of Revelations. William Blake was a genius, but definitely of the mad variety.
Click to expand...

If Blake was living now, I don't think he would be religious. I view the poem as a kind of allegory.
 
Most if not all national antrims (as we called them as children) are tiresome and painful to have to listen to.
The old Soviet Union anthem came closest for me to being a piece of theatre and always captures my attention.
The problem with anthems is that when yours is being played you want the opposition to stand in muted admiration and when they don't as is often the case resentment can build so the mood can change for no good reason.
At sporting events the only tunes played should be comic tunes. No need to get upset then when opposing fans behave like children in church.
 
Another reason not to have Jerusalem is rugby fans would be immensely smug and that would be unbearable
 
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