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Updated
05/01/2020 |
God Save the Queen |
God Save the Queen,
also called (during a kingship)
God Save the
King, British royal and national anthem.
The origin of both the words and the music is obscure.
The many candidates for authorship include John Bull (c.
1562–1628), Thomas Ravenscroft (c.
1583–c.
1633), Henry Purcell (c.
1639–95), and Henry Carey (c.
1687–1743). The earliest copy of the words appeared in
Gentleman’s Magazine in 1745; the tune
appeared about the same time in an anthology,
Thesaurus
Musicus—in both instances without
attribution. In the same year, “God Save the King” was
performed in two London theatres, one the Drury Lane;
and in the following year George Frideric Handel used it
in his
Occasional Oratorio, which dealt with the
tribulations of the Jacobite Rebellion of ’45.
Thereafter, the tune was used frequently by composers
making British references, notably by Ludwig van
Beethoven, who used it in seven variations.
From Great Britain the melody passed to continental
Europe, becoming especially popular in Germany and
Scandinavia, with a variety of different lyrics. Later,
in the United States, Samuel F. Smith (1808–95) wrote
“My Country ’Tis of Thee” (1832), to be sung to the
British tune; it became a semiofficial anthem for the
nation, second in popularity only to “The Star-Spangled
Banner.”
Beyond its first verse, which is consistent, "God Save
the Queen/King" has many historic and extant versions.
Since its first publication, different verses have been
added and taken away and, even today, different
publications include various selections of verses in
various orders. In general, only one verse is sung.
Sometimes two verses are sung, and on rare occasions,
three.
The sovereign and her or his spouse are saluted with the
entire composition, while other members of the royal
family who are entitled to royal salute (such as the
Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex
along with their spouses) receive just the first six
bars. The first six bars also form all or part of the
Vice Regal Salute in some Commonwealth realms other than
the UK (e.g., in Canada, governors general and
lieutenant governors at official events are saluted with
the first six bars of "God Save the Queen" followed by
the first four and last four bars of "O Canada"), as
well as the salute given to governors of British
overseas territories.
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Lyrics
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!
O Lord our
God arise,
Scatter our enemies,
And make them fall!
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all!
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 ov'er.
From every
latent foe,
From the assasins 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!
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!
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! |
The words of the
National Anthem are as follows:
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.
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.
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