god save the British national anthem.
a song about a wealthy landowner is not it, guys.
Good day, spectators,
This morning a bit of fun.
In true Irish fashion, I woke up and chose violence against the British. I won’t beat around the bush and instead, I will dive headfirst into…erm…the bush?
The British have a terrible national anthem, so terrible that I consider it offensive to national anthems the world over to even categorise the song as such.
I mean, have you ever actually sat down and properly digested the lyrics? I'm not talking about humming along or trying to muster the words in a pub as England prepares to lose another World Cup semi-final. I mean really have a listen? The whole song is about one person. Literally just one wealthy landowner. “God save the King” (or Queen, depending on who’s wearing the crown at the time). That’s it. The whole thing. Protect this one person, keep them alive, and, you know, do everything in your power to serve them and make them happy.
Here, let’s take a closer look:
God save our gracious King,
Long live our noble King,
God save the King!
That’s the opener. It continues in the same vein, with lines like:
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the King!
This is an anthem about one person. Not about the British people, not about the history of the nation, not about culture or community which makes the country what it is today. Nope. It’s just a request that our deities protect the royal family.
Isn’t that weird?
National anthems are usually supposed to represent the people. The nation. It’s quite literally right there in the name! When other countries belt out their anthems, they’re singing about their history, their land, and, more importantly, the strength of their people united. Then England comes onto the field and sings about an old man who was ‘chosen by god’ to own all the land.
a better example
Okay let's not pretend I am not biased here but I'm going to tell you that the Irish national anthem is one of, if not, the most potent national anthems on the planet. It should act as a blueprint for every other national anthem.
Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland;
Some have come from a land beyond the wave,
Sworn to be free, no more our ancient sireland,
Shall shelter the despot or the slave.
It’s simply a banger. It’s a song about the resilience and fight of the Irish people. It goes on about standing up against invaders, embracing their culture, and being a proud nation. It’s about the people. This, my friends, is a song which you can imagine a crowd singing that and actually feeling like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. Plus, it’s got a beat you can tap your foot to. You won’t catch anyone foot-tapping to “God save the Monarch.”
It’s not just Ireland, either. Loads of countries have anthems that reflect the struggles, strength, and culture of their people. France’s La Marseillaise is literally just a battle cry:
To arms, citizens,
Form your battalions,
March, march!
Let impure blood
Water our furrows!
It’s fierce, it’s sexy, and it’s definitely not about keeping one person on a throne.
i get it
And look I'm not going to write disingenuously here I completely understand that the British monarchy is ‘very important to the culture of the country’ but it's 2024 and the King (or Queen) has no real relevance to 99% of people’s daily lives, yet there is still this song that suggests they’re the only thing that matters. Almost 50% of the population doesn’t even want the monarchy to exist anymore so maybe it’s time for an upgrade? Something that reflects the diversity, resilience, and good banter of the actual British people – you know, the ones paying the taxes that keep the whole show running.
But until then, the country is stuck with this pompous royal dirge, depressingly chanting for a monarch they’ll never meet, while the rest of the world gets to sing uplifting songs that actually feel like they mean something.
Thanks for reading as always, everyone!
I loathe it. I’ve been places in the past where literally almost everyone but me was singing it. I will never sing it. I don’t support the so called Royal Family and wish, to be honest, they’d all just bugger off.
I suddenly feel violently ill. The History Thieves by Ian Cobain is about the unfathomable atrocities that that the demonic British Empire hid in the A chiv s through the 'Official secrets Act' but is now coming out the woodwork to reveal the parasitic maggots that the British Establishment really are. It's an anthem to Fascism and the grotesque racial supremacy of the White mans burden which the British establishment have never ever mov s on from. The killing fields of Gaza is ultimately down to the British empires historic betrayal of all that they dealt with,the Arabs especially. The real Axis of Evil is an Anglo-American Zionist axis period.