| Lyrics: God Save The Queen |
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| Written by Joanne Leyland | |||||||
| Monday, 28 November 2005 | |||||||
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Now we know this is a little off-the-wall as the National Anthem, many would say, is not the most exciting song in the world. Indeed, in recent times there have been calls for 'God Save The Queen' to be scrapped, although in my own opinion the song is almost sacrosanct to our national identity, at least here in Britain. However, the rabble-rousing and admittedly more moving 'Jerusalem' is fast becoming the more favoured tune of many Brits, although it would be a brave Government that decides to scrap forever 'God Save The Queen'. The anthem does still receive many an airing, especially at major sporting events. At such major soccer championships as the European Championships and the World Cup, the England team is always boosted by a rousing rendition of 'God Save The Queen' by the many thousands in the stadium. In 2004 there was a farcical scene and many bemused faces when the tune was played twice - once in honour of the England team and also in honour of the Liechtenstein squad, the reason being the two nations share the same anthem. This is not unique. The Queen if, of course, the monarch of all the Commonwealth nations. However, in some Commonwealth countries 'God Save The Queen' is the royal anthem but has been superceded by a distinct, regional national anthem - for instance, Australians now sing 'Advance Australia Fair' while Canada has 'O Canada'. Other countries in Europe also sing the same anthem as the English, albeit with regional variations (i.e. God Save The King instead of the Queen). Another country which shares the English national anthem is Norway (sung, of course, in Norwegian), the reason being the two Royal Families are descended from Queen Victoria. It may be one of the most famous songs in the world but a sad fact is that the majority of people would not know the words after more than the first or second verse. This is understandable as it's very rare that we hear a full rendition. Usually, the most we hear is just the first two verses, primarily when the Queen is in attendance. For other members of the Royal Family just one verse is sung. Also, would you believe that there is no concensus regarding the tune's origins? Nor has there ever been an officially sanctioned version of God Save The Queen. Anyway, here we present the full version of 'God Save The Queen'. So remember, folks: next time the Queen comes to your town, get gargling with the salts and print this out! The Lyrics of God Save The Queen 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 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 Oh, save us all 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 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 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 Comment on this article
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