Path: news.nzbot.com!not-for-mail
From: "::darkshadows::" <bat@cave.org>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rolex
Subject: What is the British National Anthem?
Message-ID: <d1us051r6j8vrbgjjv2butokkf4i0bsjqa@4ax.com>
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 4.2/32.1118
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS 090515-0, 05/15/2009), Outbound message
X-Antivirus-Status: Clean
Lines: 131
X-Complaints-To: abuse@easynews.com
Organization: EasyNews, UseNet made Easy!
X-Complaints-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly.
Date: Sat, 16 May 2009 03:27:10 -0500
Xref: news.nzbot.com alt.fan.rolex:8679
What is the British National Anthem?
The British National Anthem
The National Anthem is God Save the Queen.The British National Anthem
originated in a patriotic song first performed in 1745. It became
known as the National Anthem from the beginning of the nineteenth
century.
On official occasions the first verse is sung, as follows:
God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen.
The second verse is occasionally sung as well:
Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour,
Long may she reign.
May she defend our laws,
And give us ever cause,
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen.
When is the British National Anthem sung?
The National Anthem is played whenever The Queen makes a public
appearance and is played by the British Broadcasting Corporation every
night before closedown.
It is also sung:
* at the end of all Remembrance Day services.
* Medal ceromonies for Team GB (representing all countries)
* English football matches (the Scottish use Flower of Scotland,
the Welsh use Land of my Fathers - Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and Northern
Ireland uses Londonderry Air).
The Full version of the British National Anthem
1. God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us;
God save the Queen!
2. O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all!
3. Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour;
Long may she reign;
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen!
4. Not in this land alone,
But be God's mercies known,
From shore to shore!
Lord make the nations see,
That men should brothers be,
And form one family,
The wide world over.
5. From every latent foe,
From the assassins blow,
God save the Queen!
O'er her thine arm extend,
For Britain's sake defend,
Our mother, prince, and friend,
God save the Queen!
History of the National Anthem
The British National Anthem dates back to the eighteenth century.
'God Save The King' was a patriotic song first publicly performed in
London in 1745, which came to be known as the National Anthem at the
beginning of the nineteenth century.
The words and tune are anonymous, and may date back to the seventeenth
century.
In September 1745 the 'Young Pretender' to the British Throne, Prince
Charles Edward Stuart, defeated the army of King George II at
Prestonpans, near Edinburgh.
In a fit of patriotic fervour after news of Prestonpans had reached
London, the leader of the band at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane,
arranged 'God Save The King' for performance after a play. It was a
tremendous success and was repeated nightly.
This practice soon spread to other theatres, and the custom of
greeting monarchs with the song as he or she entered a place of public
entertainment was thus established.
There is no authorised version of the National Anthem as the words are
a matter of tradition. Additional verses have been added down the
years, but these are rarely used.
The words used today are those sung in 1745, substituting 'Queen' for
'King' where appropriate. On official occasions, only the first verse
is usually sung.
The British tune has been used in other countries. European visitors
to Britain in the eighteenth century noticed the advantage of a
country possessing such a recognised musical symbol.
In total, around 140 composers, including Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms,
have used the tune in their compositions.
|
|