News7 mins ago
Is 'God Save The Queen' the British national anthem, or the English one?
Bit of a hoo-ha this morning because Ryan Giggs and Ifeoma Dieke refused to sing the national anthem.
I found this on an old report frm the BBC:
The little-known and even less-sung sixth verse of God Save the Queen implores God to come to the aid of Marshal George Wade, who was sent to quell rebellious Scottish highlanders in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1715.
It says: "May he sedition hush, And like a torrent rush, Rebellious Scots to crush."
So was the national anthem originally that of England, which should be recognized by the whole country, or are the Scots and Welsh right to view it in the context within it was written?
(By the way - did anyone else know that there were so many verses???)
I found this on an old report frm the BBC:
The little-known and even less-sung sixth verse of God Save the Queen implores God to come to the aid of Marshal George Wade, who was sent to quell rebellious Scottish highlanders in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1715.
It says: "May he sedition hush, And like a torrent rush, Rebellious Scots to crush."
So was the national anthem originally that of England, which should be recognized by the whole country, or are the Scots and Welsh right to view it in the context within it was written?
(By the way - did anyone else know that there were so many verses???)
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http:// www.tel egraph. ...the- Queen-l yrics.h tml
This says it's the de facto British national anthem
http:// en.wiki pedia.o ...ki/G od_Save _the_Qu een
In other words, there isn't an official one. So Scots can sing Flower of Scotland if they want.
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This says it's the de facto British national anthem
http://
In other words, there isn't an official one. So Scots can sing Flower of Scotland if they want.
I quite like some of the royal family - the sharp republican edges I once had have been worn down over time to the degree that I quite like having a royal family now. But only the main characters: not oxygen thieves like Edward.
That said, I agree with Kiki - our national anthem should be about the nation. It should not be about an individual. I'm more surprised that some players bother to sing it than I am that some don't. It just seems a bit odd to sing a song about an individual, which is not at all representative of our nation.
That said, I agree with Kiki - our national anthem should be about the nation. It should not be about an individual. I'm more surprised that some players bother to sing it than I am that some don't. It just seems a bit odd to sing a song about an individual, which is not at all representative of our nation.
As the Queen said recently, there are some things that we, as a nation, might have done differently or not at all, so whatever misdeeds were in mind all those years ago no longer apply, and we regret them. Goodness me. Are you going to bring up the slave trade next? Time has moved on. Surely the National Anthem recognises that we're a monarchy, and long may that be. I can't think of any other music that would stir us to the same extent when we see the Union Jack hoisted for our Olympic medal winners, and make us proud to be British. If Giggs and Co. want to play politics, shame on them.
I take your point, Tommo, but the fact remains that it's a hymn to the monarchy and not the nation. It's also a god-awful dirge of a tune, which just happens to be the same as the American 'My Country Tis of Thee'. Like Tizzi, I think 'Land of Hope & Glory' would be better, or perhaps 'Rule Britannia'.
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sp1814, it is customary for Twickenham crowds to get through one line of Swing Low Sweet Chariot before hitting the wall. They appear to have sung it first in honour of a black England player, Chris Oti, scoring three tries against Ireland on his debut. He played only 12 more matches, but the one-line song lingers on.
http:// en.wiki pedia.o ...ot#U se_in_r ugby_un ion
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Chuck, the song appears to have become popular when it was sung in honour of George II after the British army had been beaten by the Young Pretender's army at Prestonpans. There's some suggestion that the Stuart supporters sang it too, in honour of their own man, though presumably not the last verse about crushing rebellious Scots.