English anthem

The Queen has one great advantage - it's SHORT - and unless the Monarch is present you only ever need play SIX BARS of it!

Jerusalem? Nice tune, fey words from a slightly wet poet... all complete nonsense anyway.

I understand Elgar was not happy with the addition of Jingoistic words to his Pomp & Circumstance March.

I Vow to Thee... Verse one is OK I suppose, but v.2 gets all tied up with 'another country' which is, I suppose a reference to the Christian idea of a heavenly kingdom. No thanks. But then, basically you are stuck with a hymn tune however you slice it.

Wilma Thanks I was just not sure about that.

For me it's Rose of England then. That will certainly stand up to Flower of Scotland as a robust and stirring tune.
It is also an easy tune and one that could be belted out by a sports crowd.
Ivor Novello tune is brilliant.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3dD05mu3qQ

The Lyrics
Grown in one land alone,
Where proud winds have blown;
There’s not a flow’r
Born of the show’r
Braver than England’s own.

Though gales of winter blow
Piercing hail and snow,
Shining she stays,
Bright as in days of yore,

Old England’s pride still blossoms
fresh on England’s shore.

REFRAIN:

Rose of England, thou shalt fade not here,
Proud and bright from rolling year to year.
Red shall thy petals be as rich wine untold
Shed by thy warriors who served thee of old.

Rose of England, breathing England’s air,
Flower of Chivalry beyond compare;
While hand and heart endure to cherish thy prime,
Thou shalt blossom to the end of Time.

Nellie it's about England having its own anthem. A bill passed its first reading in parliament today, so it was on the news.

England national anthem

I agree that our national anthem is a dreary dirge that is all about one person rather than the country and its people.

Is this about the "National Anthem" ie Great Britain or an anthem for singing about England itself when it's a sporting event.

The God Save the Queen tune is a dirge and about the Queen not the nation.

No! not Jerusalem as others have posted "Jerusalem" is a rant against the industrialisation of England and the building of the "dark satanic mills" and the associated appalling working conditions. Parry's tune is good but not with those words.

No! please! not Howard Goodall. The man who ruined the tune of the hymn of "Love Divine" with his new version.

The words of Land of Hope and Glory "shall they bounds be spread bit" smacks too much of Empire these days and the ills of our British Empire are not something we should not be proud of.

Jalima I really like the "Rose of England" tune even though it was written by a Welsh man. Like Parry! Why do the Welsh bag all the best tunes.
We need to find a good tune first and then some appropriate words.

There is a choral version of the John of Gaunt speech from Richard ll about this Earth this Realm this England.

I love the music to I Vow to Thee my Country but I think the words should be re-written. The current ones seem to me to be all about war and sacrifice.

"The love that asks no questions" - sounds a bit like "my country, right or wrong" ........

"That lays upon the alter the dearest and the best
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice"

I dislike the sentiments of Land of Hope and Glory for similar reasons - several references to "might" "mightier" and "mightiest"

I like Jerusalem very much but there is disagreement as to what Blake meant - some saying that he was being ironic.

I agree with hilda and think "There's No Place Like Home" is a sweet and gentle song - but probably most people would not think it "grand" enough to be a national anthem - shame.

Or, why not ask a well known poet to write lyrics to an English anthem and then ask some reputable composers to compose a piece of musicand then put it to the country to vote for their favourite?

I Vow to Thee my Country is too religious (2nd verse).
I think we need one that is secular - perhaps new words to that music?

There'll Always be an England for me, or how about Rule Britannia?

Vindaloo vindaloo

If I had a choice it would be I Vow To Thee My Country too.

Fantastic music and patriotic lyrics that fit modern day England. Traditional enough to be proud to sing your heart out to on any occasion. And I say this as a patriotic Scot. Given that this would effectively be England choosing a new anthem, everything else has the wrong connotations in this day and age.

None of those wartime songs - sends out the wrong message!

To many connotations with WW2 in my opinion grumppa

Ferret! Not fairy!!

A fairy????

Wasn't it a ferret?

Jalima i can't listen to Rose of England without hearing the Monty Python version... "I've got a fairy sticking up my nose...."

But we don't have bluebirds in England grumppa and I don't suppose they'd allow tits.

There'll always be an England contains references to Britons and the Empire. How about blue birds over the white cliffs of Dover?

Cheers, Roses

I don't think The Proms has anything to fear.

But I still like Jerusalem ( Merlot's two songs come second and third.)

It's not bad Jalima it could be a contender.

There'll always be an England...

I thought 'Rose of England' wasn't very rousing, but, having played it two or three times this evening I think I could hear it sung by the England Rugby Team

What about "Home sweet Home". I know it doesn't actually refer to England, but it sums up what home is.
Mid pleasures and palaces
Were'ere we may roam
Be it ever so humble
There's no place like home.
Although, perhaps the tune isn't very rousing.