Anthems and Hymns

UK Anthems

First performed at the Drury Lane Theatre, 28 September 1745		God Save the King
Composer of the British national anthem (probably)		Henry Carey

Opening words of the second verse (rarely if ever sung since the late 19th century)		O Lord our God arise / Scatter his enemies
Opening words of the last verse		Thy choicest gifts in store / On him be pleased to pour

Written in 1979, in the style of a folk ballad, by Irish singer–songwriter Pete St. John: set during the Great Famine of the 1840s, and referring in its title to a town in County Galway, it has become a popular anthem for Irish sports fans			The Fields of Athenry
Words and music written 1966 by Roy Williamson of The Corries			Flower of Scotland
Battle commemorated in Flower of Scotland (not Flodden Field)			Bannockburn (1314)
Official march of the Royal Navy: music by William Boyce, words by David Garrick			Heart of Oak
Chosen in a poll to be used as the English anthem in the 2010 Commonwealth Games			Jerusalem
Originally the finale to Elgar's Coronation Ode (written for the coronation of Edward VII, to words by A. C. Benson) – using a tune from Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1			Land of Hope and Glory
English anthem at Commonwealth Games prior to 2010
The Welsh national anthem – Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, pronounced hane wlard vuh nad–eye – is known in English as			Land of My Fathers
Played for Northern Ireland winners at the Commonwealth Games	Tune		Londonderry Air
	Title of the song that's commonly sung to this tune		Danny Boy
Commemorates the defending Lancastrian troops, commanded by Constable Dafydd ap Ieuan, at a 7–year Yorkist siege (1461–8) during the Wars of the Roses; featured prominently in the 1964 film Zulu, and previously in How Green Was My Valley (1941)			Men of Harlech
Negro spiritual used as the "anthem" of England rugby fans			Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Anthems: Titles

Australian national anthem (since 1974; composed in 1878)		Advance Australia Fair
Canadian national anthem (since 1980; composed in 1880, original French lyrics translated into English in 1906)		O Canada
English title for the anthem of the European Union – an extract from Beethoven's 9th (Choral) symphony		Ode to Joy
Socialist anthem sung to the tune of the German carol O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree)		The Red Flag
Official anthem of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, from the Bolshevik Revolution until 1944		The Internationale
Written by Handel for the coronation of George II in 1727, and used at every subsequent British coronation; the anthem of the UEFA Champions League, used since its introduction in 1992, borrows heavily from it; also used in adverts for P&O Cruises		Zadok the Priest

European Anthems

The Brabançonne is the national anthem of		Belgium
"King Christian stood by the lofty mast" is the first line of National Anthem of		Denmark
The Soldier's Song is the national anthem of		Ireland
The Mameli Hymn is the national anthem of		Italy
National anthem with the same tune as God Save the King/Queen		Luxembourg
Title as the French national anthem		La Marseillaise
(The) Wilhelmus (said to be the oldest national anthem in the world)		The Netherlands
The Marcha Real is the wordless national anthem of		Spain
National anthem used the same tune as God Save the Queen, until 1981		Switzerland

German national anthem: music by		Haydn
French national anthem: words and music		Claude Joseph Roget de Lisle

US Anthems

The Star–spangled Banner (US national anthem): words and music		Francis Scott Key
Also known as America, Americans sing "My country 'tis of thee" to a tune adapted from that of		God Save the King
Written during the siege of Fort McHenry (Baltimore) by the British, in 1814; set to the tune (written by John Stafford Smith) of a drinking song written in the 18th century for an English gentlemen's club		The Star–Spangled Banner
'Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord' (written in 1861 by Julia Ward Howe to the tune of the folk hymn John Brown's Body – which included the Glory, Glory Hallelujah chorus)		Battle Hymn of the Republic
Official anthem of the US President		Hail to the Chief

Year in which the current US anthem was officially adopted

1931

Other Anthems

Country that changed the words of its national anthem in 2018, to make them gender neutral		Canada
March of the Volunteers – composed in 1934, and used in the 1935 film Children of Troubled Times – is the national anthem of		China
National anthem with the oldest words (dating to the 9th century, although the current tune dates only to 1800 and it wasn't officially adopted until 1999)		Japan

Hymn Tunes

Tune (also known as Northampton) that became well known as a setting for While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night (though not written for it), but is best known today as the tune to On Ilkla Moor Bah't 'at		Cranbrook
Tune to which The Lord's my Shepherd is commonly sung		Crimond
Tune to which Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah is commonly sung		Cwm Rhondda
Tune to Come down, O love divine – named after the Gloucestershire birthplace of its composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams (where his father was rector)		Down Ampney
Tune to which Abide with Me is commonly sung		Eventide
All People That on Earth do Dwell: tune (because the words are from Psalm 100)		Old 100th

The Lord's My Shepherd is an arrangement of

Psalm 23

Hymns: Titles

Words written in 1963 by the English poet and songwriter Sydney Carter, to the Shaker hymn tune Simple Gifts, which was also used by Aaron Copeland in Appalachian Spring		Lord of the Dance
First published in 1931; words by the English children's author Eleanor Farjeon, set to the traditional Scottish tune Bunessan (named after a village on the isle of Mull, and previously used for the Christmas carol Child in the Manger); a Top Ten hit in 1972 for an English singer–songwriter		Morning Has Broken

Lyricists and Composers

Title		Lyrics		Music
Abide With Me		Henry Francis Lyte		William Henry Monk
Amazing Grace		John Newton		William Walker
Auld Lang Syne		Robert Burns		Traditional
God Bless the Prince of Wales		John Ceiriog Hughes		Henry Brinley Richards
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing		Charles Wesley		Felix Mendelssohn
In the Bleak Midwinter		Christina Rossetti		Gustav Holst
I Vow to Thee, My Country		Cecil Spring Rice		Gustav Holst
Jerusalem		William Blake		Sir Hubert Parry
Land of Hope and Glory		A. C. Benson		Sir Edward Elgar
Lead, Kindly Light		Cardinal Newman		(J. B. Dykes)
Onward Christian Soldiers		Sabine Baring–Gould		Sir Arthur Sullivan
Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven		Henry Francis Lyte		John Goss
Rule Britannia		James Thompson		Thomas Arne
Who Would True Valour See (To Be a Pilgrim)		John Bunyan		(arr.) R. Vaughan Williams

© Haydn Thompson 2017–25