to never sing along with God Save the Queen?

[LovleyRitaMeterMaid]

The fact I never sing it comes up now and again and today was one of those times, at our local remembrance day parade. Right at the end the minister said 'and we'll now sing our national anthem'. I can't recall God Save the Queen being part of it,before but regardless I just stand and don't song. I don't make a big thing of it, I just don't sing.

Simiraly the Edinburgh tattoo it was sang, I stood alongside everyone but didn't sing.

I don't make a big fuss and thankfully I'm not at any events where it's sang

Dh says it's rude. I say she's not my queen, I wish her no ill but I will not sing that song.

You mean the point that nobody would dare go an tell people in parts of West Belfast that Liz was their Queen? The implication being that the response would be unpleasant or violent.

No. If you'd bothered reading either my post or treacle's post properly, you would have seen that the point was concerned with whether citizenship, and acceptance of the head of state and the terms of government, were a matter of self-determination. It might not be true that Liz is the queen of all UK-born residents. It's probably a matter of constitutional law (if only the UK had a written constitution!).

But go ahead and call it bollocks if you're a constitutional law specialist, of course

Sing it or don't sing it, nobody actually gives a shit.

What I find hilarious is the 'rebels' on here who don't sing it and think we are going to be impressed.

We're not.

"What I find hilarious is the 'rebels' on here who don't sing it and think we are going to be impressed."

This ^^. And the fact that they feel they have to make such a big deal of it to make a point. Who cares.

Nothing to do with being a rebel or wanting to impress you punkrockergirl. I couldn't care less if you're impressed or not.
It just doesn't hold any meaning for me personally. The ordinary men and women of this country do and I think it's a shame that our national anthem doesn't reflect that. Especially on Rememberance day.

We hear some very robust singing at football matches. The only time my daughter was really annoyed was when the royal family were given a verse. She stood on her seat and shouted , stop i love the queen i really do.

Oh mumsnet - it's a discussion! There are clearly singers, standers and sitters so why shouldn't people discuss their reasons? And why are all those who 'don't care' bothering to say so?

I usually sit and don't sing. If I'm in church for wedding or funeral I don't kneel during prayers because I'm not praying. But I must confess to singing the hymns because I love them! At least I'm an honest hypocrite...

What does strike me as strange is that I don't think anybody would think it unusual if somebody didn't sing the national anthem in Ireland. If you didn't stand for it, that would be a big thing, but if you didn't sing, I can't imagine anybody commenting

I feel the same about Scotland. I can't remember hearing the anthem sung at public gatherings, save the CW Games. I wouldn't exactly be surprised to hear it sung, but it would be unusual enough to stick in the mind

And Wales...I have never to my memory heard GSTQ sung in Wales. Plenty of the Welsh NA, which the Welsh in general IME seem pretty passionate about. I can't imagine anyone I know feeling patriotic about GSTQ and I think of it more as the English NA - not linked to me at all - rather than the British NA.

I'm in Scotland and as I've said it is usually sung at the remembrance service I go to. I wouldn't have thought there were huge numbers of occasions it was sung anywhere in the UK though, just remembrance and big sporting events. When I was young it used to be played before TV shut down for the night, but obviously that doesn't happen anymore.

I won't sing it either OP.

fatlazy the second sentence of your last paragraph doesn't make sense.
Just saying.

Kings and queens are the left over from tribes and their head chiefs really. Hereditary chiefs. I heard Seamus Heaney (N.I.) once say on some radio or tv show about objecting to being included in a book of British poets because the tribe was wrong. So although the UK is a country politically, the hereditary chief of that country may not be regarded as their chief by all the tribes.

Mind you, some people may just not buy into the magic of a hereditary head chief zapped and anointed and appointed by God himself from his holy heaven, even if they belong to the same tribe who regard the chief as sacred.

The Welsh national anthem is quite moving, isn't it. I've never seen the words before.

I don't sing, & I don't have a lot of time for QE2 or her family. An appalling bunch of dimwits & racists, for the most part, up until the latest generation who are merely vacuous as far as I can see.

She's 'my queen', yes. I also have 'my verruca' & I don't sing songs to the greater glory of that, either.

I'd rather we just pulled a random National Insurance number out of a hat every year & let the holder be Head of State for 12 months.

I don't mind standing up whilst other people sing it; I think it's impolite to make other people uncomfortable if they're all standing. But no, I don't actively join in.

I do think it's funny to see people posting saying angrily that they don't care what we do.

punkrock it makes perfect sense to me. Just saying.
The National Anthem should be about the British people as a whole, not just one person and 'god'. Thats my opinion. And once again, couldn't care less about you not 'being impressed'.

YY Pangurban.

The BEST atmosphere ever IMO is in a pub in Wales, just before the Rugby starts. Everyone without exception (that I've ever seen) will sing it drunkenly before the match with everything they have. I can take or leave rugby, but I will always go somewhere to watch a match just for the singing

I quite like Queenie and co. However im a devout athiest so I dont really like the God Save The Queen. Agree with the calls to use Land of Hope and Glory or Jerusalem. They're songs you can have a proper old sing song to.

Daughter in law duties saw me attend Catholic mass over in Ireland today. I stay seated throughout the service which some may see as rude but im not going to start pretending, especially with priests like todays - I spent most of the time tutting internally.

BadLad my point wasn't absolute bollocks. My point was regarding the statement that if you accept the democratically elected government then you must also accept that the queen is your queen. So what I was asking was if you don't accept the democratically elected government as being your government, does it then follow that tells queen is not actually your queen?

The bit about West Belfast had one of these afterwards to indicate that I was making a joke. The reason I made the joke was just to emphasise how strongly some people might feel about it all. That's all. It certainly wasn't bollocks

The problem with God save the Queen is that it is about a person not a country. So IMO that makes it a poor national anthem.

Fatlazy. You are protesting so much I, I've obviously touched a nerve.

Those of us who don't care are entitled to say so on this thread. It's a public forum Coo. Nothing wrong in saying we don't give a shit to posters who are clearly wanting a round of applause for not singing. As many have said, sing it or don't sing it, nobody is as interested as you'd like us to be.

punkrocker no you really haven't . I just thought your initial post was a tad arrogant. People can have their own thoughts about things without thinking about impressing other people such as yourself.

And why do you think people want a 'round of applause'? We're just stating our opinions, the same as you.

I am just as unimpressed by those who do stand up and sing it- especially the ones who do it unquestioningly without having ever consciously thought about why they are doing so sheep

Don't know why any of you feel the need to come on a thread and proclaim that you sing it

Just sayin'.