God Save the Queen
The title of this article is ambiguous. To the Sex Pistols song of the same name God Save the Queen (Sex Pistols song).
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God Save the Queen ("God save the Queen") or God Save the King ("God save the King") - depending on whether the British monarch is a woman or a man at the time of use - has been the national anthem of what is now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since the early 19th century. It is also one of the two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of all Commonwealth Realms.
In addition, the song Rule, Britannia! , Arthur Christopher Benson's Land of Hope and Glory to the tune of Sir Edward Elgar's march Pomp and Circumstance No.1, and Jerusalem by William Blake to the tune of Hubert Parry are considered "unofficial" British national anthems. Parts of the United Kingdom (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) also have their own (unofficial) national anthems. For England, the British anthem is usually sung as well.
Melody
The place of the first publication of the melody (still in a slightly different version) is considered to be the Thesaurus Musicus (1744). The following year the tune was printed in the Gentleman's Magazine with the opening words "God save great George our king." Older similar tunes include a Gregorian chant and a harpsichord piece (1619) by John Bull. Traces of the tune are also found in some of Henry Purcell's works, on one occasion even using the melody head together with the text "God save the King". During the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, the hymn was sung in various London theatres, including the Drury Lane Theatre in an arrangement by Thomas Arne in honour of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland. The Jacobites also adopted the hymn with the opening words "God save great James our king".
In contrast, the authorship of the poet Henry Carey is rejected today. Carey's son had assigned the rights to the melody to his father in 1795 and hoped to receive a royal pension from it. However, he stated that his father had composed the melody in 1745, although he had already died in 1743. The writer Carey is said to have enlisted the help of his friend Smith, who was a pupil of George Frideric Handel and corrected the bass part for him.
The derivation from a melody by the French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, with which, according to the memoirs of the Marquise de Créquy, Louis XIV's recovery from an anal fistula was celebrated, is considered equally false.
A march of the Swiss military was also mentioned as the origin of the melody.
The then strange designation national anthem came from the fact that the fourth of Handel's Coronation Anthems, composed in 1727, had the same beginning. In 1745, for patriotic reasons, this was sung daily in London theatres and concerts for a time immediately before Carey's song became popular. Thus it inherited the name anthem, which today means both "hymn" and "church song."
Lyrics
Here is the version God Save the Queen. When a king rules the monarchy, the line is God Save the King. Then the pronouns are also adjusted: she/he, her/him, her/his.
Today's stanzas
| English original | German translation |
| 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! | God save our gracious Queen! Long live our noble queen, God save the Queen! Let them win, Be happy and glorious, Long may she reign over us! God save the Queen! |
| 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 us all! | O Lord our God, help her, Scatter their enemies, And bring her down; Thwart their dodges, Thwart their villainous plans! In you we place our hopes. God bless us all! |
| 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! | With your choicest gifts ...to shower them, Long may she reign, May she defend our laws And always give us reason, Singing with heart and voice: God save the Queen! |
More stanzas
The last three of the hymn, which originally counted six stanzas, are generally no longer sung today:
| English original | German translation |
| 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 over. | Not only in this country Be God's grace known, But from coast to coast! Lord, let the nations know, That men should be brothers And be a family, All over the world. |
| 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! | From every hidden enemy, Before the assassins' attacks, God save the Queen! Hold your hand over her, For the sake of Britain. Our mother, princess and friend, God save the Queen! |
| Lord grant that Marshall 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! | God, grant that Marshal Wade... Through Your mighty help Give me the victory! May he silence sedition And break like a torrent, To put down rebellious Scotsmen! God save the Queen! |
Additional verse earlier in Canada
| Our beloved 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. | Bless our beloved dominion With peace and joy Coast to Coast, And let our kingdom Obedient, united, free and Be true to yourself and to yourself! God save the Queen! |
First verse in French (formerly sung in France and 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! | God save the Queen with his strong hand! Long live the Queen! May a glorious, Long and victorious reign make their people happy. Long live the Queen! |
Questions and Answers
Q: When was "God Save the King" established as the national anthem of the United Kingdom?
A: "God Save the King" has been the national anthem of the United Kingdom since 1745.
Q: What is its title when a queen is ruling instead of a king?
A: When the ruling monarch is a queen instead of a king, the title of the anthem then becomes "God Save the Queen".
Q: How many countries have used this tune for their national anthems?
A: Apart from Germany, many other countries linked to Great Britain by marriage, Liechtenstein and Switzerland have used this tune for their national anthems.
Q: Did Switzerland use this tune for its national anthem?
A: Yes, Switzerland used this tune for its national anthem until it changed to a different one in 1960s.
Q: Does Liechtenstein still use this tune today?
A: Yes, Liechtenstein still uses this same tune today.
Q: Is this tune both American and British?
A: Yes, The tune for "God Save the King" is both American and British.
Q: What did America choose as its official anthem in 1930s instead of using "God Save The King"?
A: In 1930s America chose "The Star-Spangled Banner" as its official anthem instead of using equally popular song called “My Country 'tis of Thee” which used “God Save The King”'s same tune.
