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AIBU?

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Original poster

To wish we had a different national anthem

136 replies

katmeouws · 14/10/2022 21:29

Just listening to The Marseillaise, which I much prefer to "God Save the King". Cant we have something more appropriate to a 21st century democracy.

OP posts:
Bramblejoos · 15/10/2022 07:56

Use the tune from Jerusalem and change the words. It's an uplifting tune.

LikeTearsInRain · 15/10/2022 08:13

What about Come On Eileen or The Proclaimers?

JustDanceAddict · 15/10/2022 08:28

jewishmum · 14/10/2022 22:30

The Israeli anthem makes me cry it's very sad. I like the American one as a tune. I like the You'll take the high roads and I'll take the low roads and I'll be in Scotland before yeee one too.

Agree re the Hatikvah - much prefer singing it to GSTK

sashh · 15/10/2022 08:29

happyinherts · 14/10/2022 22:15

Jerusalem is safe - uplifting, non-racist overtones, lovely words.

Land of Hope and Glory - talks of British Empire, colonialism, God making us mightier yet - not appropriate today.

But about a legend of Jesus visiting England, so another Christian song and not inclusive.

The South African is inclusive with lines in the most common languages spoken in SA, but it has a bit of a 'God' problem.

I think a true national anthem would include more languages, either to reflect the indigenous languages or the languages widely spoken in the UK.

KimberleyClark · 15/10/2022 09:01

I wouldn’t mind hearing the England football fans at Wembley belting out English Country Garden.

balalake · 15/10/2022 09:03

Look up the second verse of The Marseillaise!

I think that when a sporting team or other group is representing England as opposed to Great Britain or the United Kingdom, they should sing Jerusalem.

PaperDoves · 15/10/2022 09:17

I'm not British, so maybe that's why I like yours. But then Americans liked yours so much that we took it, changed the lyrics and made it one of our own songs. 😂

In general national anthems are all a bit dull though.

667TheNeighbourOfTheBeast · 15/10/2022 09:46

KimberleyClark · 15/10/2022 09:01

I wouldn’t mind hearing the England football fans at Wembley belting out English Country Garden.

Love it ! 😂

EmotionalSupportLynel · 15/10/2022 10:09

Danny Boy is a great tune and would sound brilliant as a belted out anthem, with some new words. That's my choice.

jetadore · 15/10/2022 10:13

YANBU, I hate the godawful dirge! For a county which considers itself to have such a great music culture our anthem gets absolutely shat on by the French/Russian/Italian ones.

jetadore · 15/10/2022 10:16

And an atheist from a non-Christian background I couldn’t care less if the anthem mentions god or Jesus, as long as it’s a banger like Jerusalem.

jetadore · 15/10/2022 10:19

Malfi · 15/10/2022 07:18

Jerusalem as an alternative wouldn’t work at all - it’s all about England.

Could easily change England for Britain. The current one has something on about killing rebellious Scots!

SnoozyLucy7 · 15/10/2022 10:29

It’s archaic, medieval and outdated. We should be singing about our nation and the people in it etc, and not about one man with a crown and how utterly amazing he is. What nonsense. We need to move with the times.

NoodleSnow · 15/10/2022 10:36

The 5 Live Sports Report theme tune would make a brilliant national anthem. I think we should be like Spain and not have lyrics, because it’s always going to be too divisive.

Malfi · 15/10/2022 11:04

jetadore · 15/10/2022 10:19

Could easily change England for Britain. The current one has something on about killing rebellious Scots!

Show quote history

No, that doesn’t work. Britain isn’t the right term either - because it doesn’t include Northern Ireland, for example.

BashfulClam · 15/10/2022 11:17

@MaChienEstUnDick Flower of Scotland isn’t about Culloden considering the Jacobites were defeated there. The Jacobites were made up of Scots and English just as the British Army was comprised of many Scots too. Culloden was never Scots V English it was Jacobites v the British Army. It’s not Ant-English if you listen to it in full ‘those days are past now, and in the past they must remain..’ so it’s saying we have to leave the past behind.

MarieIVanArkleStinks · 15/10/2022 11:31

For me, winners of the thread are

  1. Italy. Fabulous tune, lyrics a bit combative but there are worse. Talking of which ...
  2. France. Tune one of the best, but very bloodthirsty lyrics
  3. Russia. Rousing music, non-combative lyrics representing pride in the country rather than fighting others (ironic, I know).
  4. USA. Great lyrics representing the birth of their nation, uplifting tune. Given the native American history though, I can see why even that would be problematic.
  5. Welsh. Absolutely great.

But in sum, nearly everybody's is better than ours.

DozyFox · 15/10/2022 13:24

TheHouseonHauntedHill · 14/10/2022 21:58

Definitely, ours is boring and completely irrelevant.
It does nothing to inspire feelings of pride.
I like Jerusalem.

I adore Jerusalem and wish it would be adopted more officially as England's national anthem - obviously it can't really be the U.K. anthem as it's quite specifically about England.

I don't know what we should have as the U.K. national anthem to be honest, but God save the King is spectacularly dull

girlfriend44 · 15/10/2022 15:21

yes agree.

miceonabranch · 15/10/2022 15:39

I love the Ukranian one 😃

FuzzyPuffling · 15/10/2022 15:44

LikeTearsInRain · 15/10/2022 08:13

What about Come On Eileen or The Proclaimers?

The Proclaimers are Scottish Nationalists.
Not sure that would work for a UK anthem.

FuzzyPuffling · 15/10/2022 15:45

EmotionalSupportLynel · 15/10/2022 10:09

Danny Boy is a great tune and would sound brilliant as a belted out anthem, with some new words. That's my choice.

Danny Boy is a lament. Great tune, but shouldn't be sung "con belto".

FourChimneys · 15/10/2022 20:24

miceonabranch I hadn't really listened to the Ukranian one before. It's great, isn't it?

SerendipityJane · 15/10/2022 20:43

All we need is for King Charles to say he wants a different one. There really is nothing else that needs to be done.

I was hoping he'd ask for Jerusalem, as he's a Parry fan (and his BBC4 documentary on Parry was quite watchable). It's aspirational and written by a mystic. Britain doesn't have too many of them ...

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 15/10/2022 21:55

NoodleSnow · 15/10/2022 10:36

The 5 Live Sports Report theme tune would make a brilliant national anthem. I think we should be like Spain and not have lyrics, because it’s always going to be too divisive.

Which is why Barwick Green (The Archers) is the only correct choice.

Jolly, up beat and so totally British as well