In England's Green and Pleasant Land by St_Vincent
When it comes to singing, the English are just not in the same league as other parts of the UK. The Irish of course are famous for their ?diddley-diddley? music usually accompanied by a jig with a few pints of Guinness completing what is known as the ?craic?. The Welsh are also well known for their singing with their impressive Male Voice Choirs who have their history in the mining industry. Who can forget that stirring rendition of Men of Harlech by the Welsh Regiment in the film Zulu. The Scots are probably the least melodious when it comes to singing, probably partly to do with the harsh accent and partly to do with the fact that they mostly only sing when they?re drunk. So then we come to the normally reserved English, not well known for their singing ability, as many residents of European cities will find when they are invaded by a hoard of drunken English football supporters. One of the problems is our (or more correctly Britain's) slow and dour National Anthem, God Save the Queen, which when it comes to generating national pride is on a par with a funeral march. It's just not a patch on stirring anthems like The Star Spangled Banner, La Marseillais or Advance Australia Fair. If you watch any big sporting event that plays our anthem beforehand you will see that those singing will always go faster than the music, I always think this is because they want to get it over with. Sometimes at sporting events between the countries that make up the UK you will hear Land of Hope and Glory being played which some consider to be the real English anthem. For rugby supporters, and also famously played at the Last Night of the Proms, it is poet William Blake's Jerusalem that is most popular.All together now,
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear! O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire.
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.
