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The National Anthem
'God Save The King' was a patriotic song first publicly
performed in London in 1745, which came to be referred to as the National Anthem
from 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 thereafter. 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.
On
official occasions, only the first verse is usually sung,
but sometimes verse 3
is also added. The words used are those sung in 1745, substituting
'Queen' for 'King' where appropriate.
The British tune has been used in other countries - as
European visitors to Britain in the eighteenth century noticed the advantage of
a country possessing such a recognised musical symbol - including Germany,
Russia, Switzerland and America (where use of the tune continued after
independence). Some 140 composers, including Beethoven, Haydn and
Brahms, have used the tune in their compositions.
I particularly draw your attention to the
sentiment of verse 6.
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 o'er.
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!
6. Lord grant that Marshal Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
And like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the Queen!
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