Re: A doleful sycophant dirge
I can’t say I’m that bothered either way because I don’t have to sing it and all the suggested alternatives have lyrics with an underlying “god” theme I couldn’t sing with any conviction either.
I agree that the “God Save the Queen” tune is a bit of a dirge and at least some of the other suggested anthems have a more rousing tune and are more inviting to sing along to.
I’d be content to reserve “God Save The Queen” to being played only when the Monarch was present, which is how it started out.
It was never officially chosen as a National Anthem, it just kind of ended up that way. From stuff I’ve read, Edward VII wasn’t keen on it and preferred “Land of Hope and Glory” as a song of patriotism, whereas George V would have preferred to adopt “Jerusalem” as a National Anthem.
Who knows what The Queen thinks - she never lets on.
I can’t see them dropping the use of “God Save the Queen” now - unless they take the opportunity to drop off its use when Charles takes over.
Perhaps they may shift to playing it at events he is actually attending.
It seems out of place to use it for sporting events - something rousing and uplifting would be more appropriate.
The trouble with making a conscious decision to choose any song as an official National Anthem is that there will be many different strong opinions and you can’t please all of the people. The existing one has just crept into the nation gradually over time and usage.