God Save the Queen

Over the past several months I have learned a lot about Britain's patriotic songs. One thing about singing in choirs is that patriotic songs often make a great finale for performances in the community. Just as my involvment in American choral groups means I know the words to The Star Spangled Banner and can also sing many other American patriotic songs, I have had to learn the British patriotic songs for the two choirs I have joined in Hartlepool.

Many Americans think that The Star Spangled Banner should be replaced by America The Beautiful as the US National Anthem, and Britain is no different. God Save the Queen is performed at sporting events, but it fails to stir the hearts of the British and most prefer the song Land of Hope and Glory and believe it should replace God Save the Queen as the British National Anthem.

The good thing about British Patriotic songs is that the tunes are all familiar to me. God Save the Queen is set to the tune of My Country Tis of Thee (or probably vice versa, but this is from my perspective) and Land of Hope and Glory is set to the tune of Pomp & Circumstance known as the Graduation March to most Americans. 

There are also two other well known patriotic songs, Jerusalem which is a hymn set to a famous William Blake poem and Rule Britannia which also has a familiar tune. I like Jerusalem, but I can't actually bring myself to sing Rule Britannia because I can't get past the imagery it conjures. Play the clip below and see what images come to mind, and I am sure you will agree that this is a song that just doesn't need words (the distinctive chorus starts at 0:35). 

Rule Britannia is a song which is most distinctive in its instrumental version. It is often used in TV shows and movies when the setting switches to London and clips of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Tower Bridge are shown to immediately switch the minds of viewers to this new locale. Just like Hail to the Chief always conjures images of the US President, Rule Britannia always conjures images of London tourist landmarks for me and I can't manage to sing this song because I can't seem to get over the stigma that the song actually has words.

There is one thing that struck me as I read and learned the words to these patriotic songs and it made me appreciate America's songs much more. One thing about British patriotic songs is that they were mostly written during the time of Imperialism and the days when the sun never set over the British Empire. Lyrics like "Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set. God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet." from Land of Hope and Glory reflect a time of colonialism and divine right that don't seem very relevant to modern Britain.

Many Americans don't take the time to learn or understand the words to The Star Spangled Banner but I do think they are important and still relevant to modern America. I suppose if the USA had a history that spanned more than a couple centuries we might have some more archaic patriotic songs, but The Star Spangled Banner is representative of a major turning point in American history and an event that would forever shape the North American continent and the world. Even if Americans don't know what ramparts are, I still think The Star Spangled Banner is a good choice for our national anthem. 

In the end I suppose it doesn't matter how relevant the British patriotic songs are, people really love singing them and take so much pride in them and I guess that is what really counts. 

This week's British TV Review:

Horne & Corden

BBC Photo

Horne & Corden is a spin-off sketch comedy show on BBC 3. The comedy duo James Corden and Matthew Horne come from a very successful sitcom Gavin & Stacy and this new sketch comedy show was much anticipated, but I think it fell a bit flat. As I watched the show there were some moments that amused me but nothing that made me laugh out loud. The sketches were a bit too short and by the time I caught onto what was going on with the characters the sketch was over and they had already moved onto the next segment. 

Something about British comedy either really works or fails to deliver and so much British comedy revolves around cross-dressing, nudity, swearing, drinking and bodily functions.  It could be the legacy of great comedy acts like Benny Hill and Monty Python that make generation after generation of British comedians follow this formula but after you have seen the originals do it so well, a show like Horne & Corden just seems like something I have seen before.

I believe Horne & Corden were hoping to mirror the success of the show Little Britain, another male comedy duo who have made an amazing career out of the same type of sketch comedy. I guess when it comes down to it, some comedians do better sticking with sitcoms and playing one character really well and others like the Little Britain duo can handle the quick wit that is necessary for writing characters that work in a sketch comedy format.

It wasn't terrible, and there were a couple sketches that amused me but for the most part the sketches left me scratching my head and wondering what part I was supposed to laugh at.

If you want to judge Horne & Corden for yourself the first two episodes are available on the BBC iPlayer. Please be warned there is some strong language.