English anthem

I think the way this thread is going shows we need to remove religion from the equation.
I only said Jerusalem as that was my preference of the two that were being bandied about on TV this morning.
I definitely think we need something that is purely about the beauty of England and our patriotism.

Merlot sheer brilliance! I love it. Although the chance of the Archers theme tune being chosen is very low, I can see the great British Public ( the ones on the Clapham omnibus) choosing the Eastenders theme.

X posts RR

I think the tradition was that he was here before he started his three years ministry. Another is that Joseph of Arimathea, who lent him the tomb, travelled to England and that Jesus visited him.

stephenliddell.co.uk/2015/04/04/did-jesus-christ-visit-england/

The story ( and it's only a story!) is that he travelled with his uncle who was a merchant.People do like their stories, and Glastonbury does very well out of that one. Just as Nottingham does well out of the Robin Hood myth.

Rosesarered, Jesus certaintly got around in three years , Na he didn't come to England , a refugee ?

I'm working on it, merlot but I do like yours!

I think the middle eight might be trickier to do though.....

I was just thinking along those lines, Alima! And everyone's head would bob jauntily as they sang the words...it's a bit too up-tempo, I think.

I am not keen on using the Archers theme. Does it remind anyone else of the Worzels?

Maybe Countryfile could run a competition for an anthem to the tune of The Archers.

Walking down a country lane
Smiling in the sunshine
Not for long, here comes the rain
Spoiling everyone’s fun
Will our weather be
Ever trouble free
Must we shiver and freeze?
England’s ploughmen stir our souls
Coz they like their pickles with cheese.

C'mon Phoenix

Oh I can imagine the players belting out Jerusalem, it would sound very inspiring.

The thought of the England Rugby team singing an anthem to the tune of The Archers beggars belief.

And I'm not sure about the suitability of the WI signature tune either.

Sorry Merlotgran, the Roger Miller song does not ring true nowadays. I never see any bobbies around, let alone two of 'em on bikes. Don't you see, this could be our chance to shine? Surely with all our experience we could knock up some appropriate anthem for England? Something rousing, relevant and a darn sight more enjoyable than GSTQ. Shall we give it a go?

Hmmmn, the Archers Theme...... A possibility!

Jerusalem is very Christian and England is therefore excludes the majority of the population - only a minority are churchgoers. Weren't the dark satanic mills the industrial revolution ones. Poetic licence.
I agree Land is about conquering other nations! "wider still and wider shall her bounds be set".
Thinking about the anthems I am familiar with - some of them are dirges, some of them are un-singable (USA!!! and all those operatic sounding ones -and the ones that go on an on and on in the Olympic ceremonies...).
My favourites are the African part of SA anthem and of course NZ.
Advantage of both of these is that they both have a good, singable tunes and you can sing them fairly slowly in a stadium but also play it as an instrumental piece at a reasonable pace.
How about All You Need is Love.
Or actually what about I Vow to Thee My Country. First Verse only. That would keep the military types happy and has a fairly good rousing tune.

How about I Vow to Thee my Country? Nicely jingoistic, nice tune.

There was a suggestion by Bill Turnbull on the BBC news this morning that words could be written and sung to the Archer's theme. What do others think?

Billy Conolly once suggested the Archers theme!

Well you know ab there is a story that Jesus did walk Englands green and pleasant land, at least around Glastonbury ( you don't have to believe it.)
dark satanic mills was just written as a contrast to the green and pleasant bit, town and country sort of thing.

"God save the Queen" is really a personal anthem for the sovereign, like "Hail to the Chief" is for the US president.

True, the words of Land of Hope and Glory are distinctly jingoistic. Good tune though.

I believe the "dark Satanic mills" are thought to mean the pagan stone circles (like the milling round the edge of coins - which incidentally was done to prevent people trimming off bits of silver and melting them down to make extra coins)

If the tradition had been true that Jesus visited these islands, the circles would have been here then, but the Industrial mills would not.

The extent to which i hate 'Land of Hope and Glory' has become a standing joke among our friends. I thought i read somewhere that Elgar hated it too. Although i love 'Jerusalem', i think 'I Vow to Thee My Country' would be a good choice. It goes against the the grain to say it, since i would defend Her Maj to my dying breath, but God Save the Queen is an awful dirge that does nothing at all for most people. When she goes, it will be time for a change.

I also think England needs an anthem , but Jesus didn't walk England's land and satanic mills are a shame in history not something to celebrate

Land of is not only for England it is for the UK and I think the claims that God
made us mighty is offensive to the many countries we occupied under the Raj , also the majority are atheists

It's not just footballers who would sing it though.
It would be good if someone wrote something new. It would need a rousing chorus.