This was the charter, the charter of the land,
and guardian angels sang this strain:
Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!
Britons never, never, never will be slaves!
non-lyrical military march version
a public performance w/ a symphony orchestra
I wish our national anthem was this pleasant on the ears but at the same time this powerful, this grand! And while I do love Great Britain's current lullaby-anthem, I think I prefer "Rule, Britannia" despite my pacifist leanings. It's just a more ... I dunno, manly song? That's not the right word, but ... I think "Rule, Britannia" does a better job of instilling pride in a nation than does "God Save the [Regent]".
3 comments:
Rule, Brittania! is actually not the UK National Anthem, it's (unfortunately) the dirge God Save the Queen. Rule, Brittania is a much better fit though.
Yes, I know. See "Great Britain's current lullaby-anthem" in the original post, Mack. ^_^;
Are you still in England? Having fun? :)
While "Rule, Brittania!" is very beautiful, I don't really get "powerful" and "grand" from it, but maybe that's because years of USA-centrism has bred associations with that melody and images of stereotypically posh brits or effeminate Englishmen. I'd say our official anthem beats Great Britain's official anthem hands down, though ("My Country Tis of Thee" too)
Something you may or may not know about our anthem: it was discussed in my choir class and I've heard professional vocalists talk and bemoan about it, but I like the fact that our anthem is actually incredibly difficult to sing properly and requires a singer with especially good range. It's part of the reason the song is so often butchered at baseball games and rallies.
While I'm on the subject, it was not until I moved to Indiana that I heard the song "God Bless America" played at local baseball games. I was totally baffled! Why did so many people know the words to this song and why were they singing it at a public school's baseball league? In RI, it was always the National Anthem, but you tricky Hoosiers just had to slip in this easy, crappy religious song which I had somehow managed never to have heard before.
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