National Anthems

[GlennB]

Blake''s Jerusalem it annoys the Church., but I do like the tune.

I second Jerusalem. It mentions England

[Alan Stubbs]

I like the irish one and the extra one they sing something Ireland!!!!

 

 

Judy, do you mean this?

 

Come the day and come the hour

Come the power and the glory

We have come to answer

Our Country's call

From the four proud provinces of Ireland

Chorus

 

Ireland, Ireland,

Together standing tall

Shoulder to shoulder

We'll answer Ireland's call

2

 

From the mighty Glens of Antrim

From the rugged hills of Galway

From the walls of Limerick

And Dublin Bay

From the four proud provinces of Ireland

(Chorus)

3

 

Hearts of steel

And heads unbowing

Vowing never to be broken

We will fight, until

We can fight no more

For the four proud provinces of Ireland

 

 

 

 

My favourite is the Welsh poet Nigel Jenkins' phonetic version of the Welsh anthem 'Ma hen wlad fy nhaddau'

 

My hen laid a haddock, one hand oiled a flea,

Glad farts and centurions threw dogs in the sea,

I could stew a hare here and brandish Dan's flan,

Don's ruddy bog's blocked up with sand.

Dad! Dad! Why don't you oil Auntie Glad?

Can whores appear in beer bottle pies,

O butter the hens as they fly!

Edited June 5, 2006 by Alan Stubbs

[corydoras]

Why is it that the Scots, Welsh and Irish have their own national anthems at large sporting events yet the English have to suffer the idnigity of having to stand to the BRITISH anthem?

Easy! England doesn't have one!

 

Neither does Scotland have any 'official' anthem. Most Scots would probably choose "Flower of Scotland" but it is maybe a tad antii-English .

I prefer "'Scots, Wha Hae', for an anti-English anthem or 'A Man's A Man For A' That' for something a wee bit more inclusive

Edited June 5, 2006 by corydoras

[nursejudy]

thanks Alan thats the one.... trouble is i love The Fields of Athenry that they sing as well.

[Severn Wolf]

Isn`t Land of Hope and Glory the `unofficial` anthem of England? Thats a great tune and shows pride in a country rather than forced serf worship and glorification to the monarch.

[Alan Stubbs]

thanks Alan thats the one.... trouble is i love The Fields of Athenry that they sing as well.

 

The Fields of Athenry is Bernadette's partypiece. I still have an ambition to sing 'Four green Fields' and 'Bold Fenian Men' in the local Orange Lodge, just to spite the bigotted fools.

[DavyR]

"And did those feet in ancient time

Walk upon England's mountains green?"

 

Insensitivity towards natives of Lincolnshire. Or anywhere much outside of Cumbria, really.

 

"And was Jerusalem builded here

Among these dark Satanic mills?"

 

Too Northern (if you're a Southerner). Unappreciative of the finer points of industrial architecture (if you're a Northerner).

 

[nursejudy]

Athenry is trevs fav too... the tune is so haunting ...and the words speak volumes!!!!! i would love to go to Dublin to watch the irsh play rugby ...just to listen to the singing...well watching the game would be good too.

[RobStubbs]

As mentioned England seem to adopt god the save the queen, which is obviously a british anthem. At events like the commonwealths however they play land of hope and glory I think for England. Whatever they choose it makes sense to at least be consistent.

 

Rob.

Edited June 5, 2006 by RobStubbs

[Tony U]

"And did those feet in ancient time

Walk upon England's mountains green?"

 

Insensitivity towards natives of Lincolnshire. Or anywhere much outside of Cumbria, really.

 

In Blake's day even the north downs were mountains; erosion innit

Edited June 5, 2006 by Tony U