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''God Save the King/Queen'' is a Patriotic song whose origin remains a matter of speculation. The practice of using it at state events in Great Britain is also one of the first examples of a nation adopting a song as a National Anthem . Today, it is used as the national anthem of the United Kingdom , one of the two national anthems of New Zealand , and the Royal Anthem of Canada , Australia , and the other Commonwealth Realm s, as well as the royal anthem of the British Royal Family . When the British Monarch is male it is ''God Save the King''. ''God Save the King'' (or ''... Queen'') is also the royal anthem (but not the National Anthem ) of Norway – sung there in Norwegian – as the Norwegian and British royal familes both descend from Queen Victoria . There is no single authorised version of the song; indeed, the anthem has never been officially adopted by Royal Proclamation nor Act Of Parliament . In general only one, or on rare occasions two, verses are ever sung {Link without Title} . HISTORY The origin of the tune is surrounded by uncertainty, speculation and a certain amount of misinformation. In the ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Percy Scholes devotes about four pages to this subject. He points out the similarities to an early Plainsong melody, although he points out that the rhythm is very distinctly that of a Galliard and gives examples of several such dance tunes that bear a striking resemblance to ''God Save the King''. He quotes a keyboard piece by Dr. John Bull (1619) which has some strong similarities to the modern tune (rather more or less like it, depending on the placing of Accidentals which, at that time, were, in certain cases, unwritten and left to the discretion of the player—see '' Musica Ficta ''). He also points to several pieces by Henry Purcell , one of which includes the opening notes of the modern tune, set to the words ''God save the King''. The first definitive published version of the present tune appeared in ''Thesaurus Musicus'', in 1744 , as a setting of the familiar first verse. Undoubtedly, the song was popularized in the following year (with the landing of Charles Edward Stuart ). It was certainly sung in London theatres in 1745 with, for example, Thomas Arne writing a setting of the tune for the Drury Lane Theatre . Scholes' analysis includes mention of "untenable" and "doubtful" claims, as well as "an American misattribution". Some of these are:
Scholes recommends the attribution; "traditional" or "traditional; earliest known version by John Bull (1562-1628)". The '' English Hymnal '' (musical editor Ralph Vaughan Williams ) gives no attribution, stating merely "17th or 18th cent.". Traditionally, the first performance was thought to have been in 1745 , when it was sung in support of George II after the defeat of his army at the Battle Of Prestonpans by the Jacobite claimant to the English and Scottish thrones, Charles Edward Stuart, whose forces were mostly Scottish . To express this support verse 6 was added, but as its call to crush the rebels now suggests an anti-Scottish sentiment it is rarely (if ever) sung nowadays. Because of this, the anthem may cause great offence when sung in some parts of Scotland. Joseph Haydn was impressed by the use of ''God Save the King'' as a national anthem during his visit to London in 1794 , and on his return to Austria wrote a tune to the national anthem, the '' God Save Emperor Franz '' (''Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser''), for the birthday of the Emperor Franz Of Austria . The tune of ''God Save the King'' was later adopted for the Prussian national anthem ''Heil Dir im Siegerkranz''. USE IN THE COMMONWEALTH It was formerly used as a national anthem by most of the Commonwealth Realm s, including Australia , Canada , and Jamaica . It has since been replaced by '' Advance Australia Fair '', '' O Canada '', and '' Jamaica, Land We Love '' respectively, though it remains those countries' Royal Anthem and is played during formal ceremonies involving the Royalty or viceroyalty ( Governors-General , Governor s, and Lieutenant-Governor s—see Vice Regal Salute ); in Canada, '' God Save The Queen '' is sometimes sung together with '' O Canada '' at public events. It continues to be recognised as the national anthem of New Zealand , together with '' God Defend New Zealand '', although it is almost never performed as such. It is also the former national anthem of Ireland , replaced in the 1920s by '' Amhrán Na BhFiann '' (in English, ''The Soldier's Song''). USE ELSEWHERE ''God Save the King'' was the very first song to be used as a national anthem (although the Netherlands ' national anthem, the '' Wilhelmus '', is actually older). Its success prompted a number of imitations, notably in France and, later, Germany who, as part of constructing a concrete national identity, commissioned their own songs for nation-building. The first German national anthem was a copy of 'God save the King' with the words changed to 'God save the Emperor' and sung to the same tune as the British version, and its tune was either used as or officially adopted as the national anthem for several other countries, including those of Russia (until 1833 ), Sweden and Switzerland . It is also the melody to Patriotic Song s in the United States '' My Country, 'Tis Of Thee '' and in Iceland '' Eldgamla Ísafold ''. The tune is also used as Norway 's Royal Anthem entitled '' Kongesangen ''. The rock band Queen plays ''God Save the Queen'' at the end of all of their concerts. The tune is still used as the national anthem of Liechtenstein . This was a source of embarrassment to Winter Olympic officials in 1980 when Hanni Wenzel won this country's first gold medal ever, and they had no record of her country's national anthem. There was also an amusing incident when England met Liechtenstein in a Euro 2004 qualifier, which necessitated the same tune being played twice. The melody of ''God Save the King'' is used in Christianity as well. The United Methodist s of the southern United States, Mexico, and Latin America play the same melody as a Hymn . OTHER UK ANTHEMS Frequently, when an anthem is needed for one of the component countries of the UK — at an international sporting event, for instance — an alternate song is used:
PERFORMANCE The style of performance most commonly heard in official performances was that proposed as the "proper interpretation" by King George V , who considered himself something of an expert, in view of the number of times he had heard it played. An Army Order was duly issued, in 1933, which laid down regulations for tempo, dynamics and orchestration. This included instructions such as that the opening "six bars will be played quietly by the reed band with horns and basses in a single phrase. Cornets and side-drum are to be added at the little scale-passage leading into the second half of the tune, and the full brass enters for the last eight bars". The official tempo for the opening section is a metronome setting of 60, with the second part played in a broader manner, at a metronome setting of 52. This slow and sombre pace can sound dreary to those having more modern tastes than George V, and more recent performances sometimes use a faster and livelier Tempo to reduce the dreary effect. Comedian Billy Connolly performed a sketch broadcast on TV comparing the UK's slow tune to the lively ones of many other nations and suggested that it should be replaced by the theme tune to '' The Archers ''. At the end of theatre performances the audience was expected to stand to attention while the anthem was played. In cinemas this brought a tendency for audiences to rush out while the credits played at the end of the film to avoid this formality. The anthem was traditionally played at closedown on the BBC and with the introduction of commercial television to the UK this practice was adopted by some ITV regions. BBC Two never played the anthem at closedown, and ITV dropped the practice in the late 1980s, but it continued on BBC One until 8 November 1997 , and is still done on BBC Radio 4 . The rock band Queen put a version of ''God Save the Queen'' on their 1975 album '' A Night At The Opera ''. During the Queen's Golden Jubilee Pop concert at Buckingham Palace on 4 June 2002 , Brian May performed the anthem on electric Guitar from the Palace's roof. The Broadway musical '' West Side Story '' ( 1957 ) also features the Jets (a street gang of Polish-Americans) whistling the first six Bars of ''My Country 'Tis of Thee'', which has the same tune as ''God Save the Queen''. In 1970, the rock band ''Gentle Giant'' put a version of ''God save the Queen'' on their album ''Gentle Giant''. Eight bars of ''God save the Queen'' were performed by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games . LYRICS In the United Kingdom, the First verse is the only verse typically sung, even at official occasions, although the third is sung in addition on rare occasions. Since ''God Save the Queen'' is the Royal Anthem of Canada , the first verse has been translated into French for use in that country, as shown below. As sung in English in Canada, ''God Save the Queen'' has an additional English verse, sung after the first or second verse, which is also given below. In general use in Canada, however, only the first verse is sung. In New Zealand , the second verse, which proved to be more militaristic, was replaced with the fourth verse, otherwise known as a ''Commonwealth verse''. However, that verse is primarily used only when the anthem is played past the first verse. ; 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 the Queen. ; 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'' 1. Although in the original lyrics, verses 4-6 are now omitted entirely - partly to reduce the length of the anthem and partly due to the 'rebellious Scots to crush' line in verse six: ; 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! Verse 6 was a reaction to Sir John Cope 's defeat by the Jacobites at the Battle Of Prestonpans with a prayer for the success of Wade's army then assembling at Newcastle . The Jacobite forces bypassed his force and reached Derby , but then retreated and when their garrison at Carlisle surrendered to a second government army led by King George's son the Duke Of Cumberland another verse was added, according to Fitzroy Maclean : The verse he quotes appears to have a line missing. ; 7 : George is magnanimous, : Subjects unanimous; :: Peace to us bring: : His fame is glorious, : Reign meritorious, :: God save the King! In the 19th century, there was some lively debate about the national anthem. Even then, verse two was considered to be slightly offensive. Notably, the question arose over the phrase "scatter her (or his) enemies". Some thought it placed better emphasis on the respective power of Parliament and the Crown to change "her" to "our"; others pointed out that the theology was somewhat dubious and substituted "thine" instead. In 1836, William Edward Hickson wrote four alternative verses: ; 1 : God bless our native land! : May heaven's protecting hand : Still guard our shore: : May peace her power extend, : Foe be transformed to friend, : And Britain's rights depend : On war no more. ; 2 :O Lord, our monarch bless :With strength and righteousness: :Long may she reign: :Her heart inspire and move :With wisdom from above; :And in a nation's love :Her throne maintain ; 3 :May just and righteous laws :Uphold the public cause, :And bless our isle: :Home of the brave and free, :Thou land of liberty, :We pray that still on thee :Kind heaven may smile. ; 4 : Nor on 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 The first, third, and fourth of these verses are appended to the National Anthem in the '' English Hymnal ''. However, only the fourth seems to get even the rarest airing nowadays, often with the first word erroneously changed to "not". Charles T. Brooks, in 1833 , translated a German Lutheran Hymn also starting with the words ''God bless our native land''. This hymn inspired Rev. Samuel F. Smith to write the words to the American patriotic song '' My Country, 'Tis Of Thee '' (also known as ''America''), sung to the same tune, in 1832. ; 1 : God bless our native land! : Firm may she ever stand : Thro' storm and night! : When the wild tempests rave, : Ruler of wind and wave : Do Thou our country save : By Thy great might. ; 2 : For her our prayer shall rise : To God above the skies; : On Him we wait. : Thou who art ever nigh, : Guarding with watchful eye, : To Thee aloud we cry, : God save the State! To this hymn is often added the fourth of Hickson's verses. First verse in French, as sung in Canada : Dieu protège la reine : De sa main souveraine! : Vive la reine! : Qu'un règne glorieux, : Long et victorieux : Rende son peuple heureux. : Vive la reine! Bilingual verse in Canada - often sung on Remembrance Day : Dieu sauve notre reine, : Notre glorieuse reine, : Vive la reine! : Send her victorious, : Happy and glorious, : Long to reign over us, : God Save the Queen!! Additional verse sung in Canada : Our loved Dominion bless : With peace and happiness : From shore to shore; : And let our Empire be : Loyal, united, free : True to herself and Thee : ''God save the Queen''. Official peace version Although known as the "official peace version, 1919 ", these less militaristic verses are not the official national anthem. They are found in some hymn books. ; 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 : One realm of races four : Blest more and ever more : God save our land! : Home of the brave and free : Set in the silver sea : True nurse of chivalry : God save our land! ; 3 : Of many a race and birth : From utmost ends of earth : God save us all! : Bid strife and hatred cease : Bid hope and joy increase : Spread universal peace : God save us all! FOOTNOTE # When the monarch of the time is male, the word Queen is replaced with King i.e.'with heart and voice to sing, God Save the King' Also, she; her, etc. are replaced with he and him. A NAVAL VERSION : God save Great George our King, : Long live our Noble King, : God Save the King! : Fulfil his heart's desire, : And all our youth inspire, : With pure celestial fire, : Thy praise to sing! : When insults rise to wars, : Oak-hearted British Tars : Scorn to be slaves; : Ranged in our wooden walls, : Ready when duty calls : To send our cannon balls : O'er oceans' waves. MEDIA SEE ALSO
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