Just watching the (extremely poor) match between France and Brazil and was struck by how abysmal the Brazilian national anthem is. You'd have said it was composed by an 11 year old with very little mastery of music. Totally non-hummable. But then I considered that most national anthems are piss-poor. God Save The Queen is an insufferable dirge, which is so basic I could play it on a bamboo flute I got in my Xmas stocking when I was 10 despite not being able to play any other song. I was attracted by its extreme simplicity. Surely it should be pensioned off in favour of Land of Hope and Glory (not sure about the hope or the glory, but it's a good toon). The Japanese anthem is so soporific that you invariably fall asleep before it has ended. The Italians and the Germans are rare in having great national anthems, and La Marseillaise, despite it's warlike lyrics, isn't too bad either. So, any more contenders for completely shite national anthems, or indeed some good ones?
Hi I am proud scot but I must admit I hate flower of scotland. It is so dour and all we do is sing about another nation. I think that is sad. I think the French one is good and I quite like the Italian one.
i now youve already mentioned it glidd, but ours is surely one of the worst..never mind the meaningless semi fascist lyrics...not to mention that it is shared by about a dozen countries from lichtenstein to the proud peoples republic of Um Bongo...its been used by Denmark, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland to name but a few, but were still stuck with it and its jarring tedium....wasnt it Billy Connolly who suggested that we use the theme from the Archers?? Billy Connelly : National Anthem - YouTube i thought so.. :smile:
We are lucky enough to have three really great anthems, namely Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia, and Jerusalem. Unfortunately none of these are used as the national anthem, and instead we are stuck with the dreary, offensive dirge God Save the Queen. No wonder nobody stands up for it, unless the Queen is present in person.
The whole focus of the anthem around the person of the king or queen is a bit anachronistic now, isn't it? It should be about the love of your country and all it means, rather than allegiance to a feudal lord or lady. I think the whole God Save The Queen thing is well past its sell-by date. Wot chance King William cans it? He looks like a reasonable sort of bloke, fairly in touch with the times.
Jerusalem gets my vote....if only it wasnt called Jerusalem....might as well call it Beirut, Baghdad, or....well you get the idea...but i love the sentiment, the melody, the harmony...always brings a tear to my eyes and makes me proud to be English, sorry British...no, fugg it..English..
I just can't take Jerusalem seriously. It's first few lines just make me think .... "Errr No" ... "No" ... "No" ... "Definitely not" ... and "Get them your bleedin' self" !!
I cant take Jerusalem seriusly after i saw the Worzels singing it at the Great Dorset Steam Fair, Sounds weird, but it was brilliant !!!!!
