And did those feet in ancient time

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"Jerusalem (song)" redirects here. For other uses, see Jerusalem (song) (disambiguation).

"And did those feet in ancient time" is a short poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton: a Poem (1804). Today it is best known as the hymn "Jerusalem", with music written by C. Hubert H. Parry in 1916.

Though the poem had been written during the Napoleonic Wars, it was clearly intended by its author to address internal English issues.

The text is as follows:

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among those dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of Desire;
Bring me my Spear; O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of Fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant Land.

(Some versions, including Blake's original, have "strife" rather than "fight".)

The term "Satanic Mills", which entered the English language from this poem, is most often interpreted as referring to the early industrial revolution and its destruction of nature. [1] Indeed, the term is often used with this connotation up to the present.

Other explanations offered for "Satanic Mills" were the Established Church, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or neolithic remains such as Stonehenge which Blake considered Satanic. [2]

Whatever Blake's exact intention, it seems unlikely that the "mental fight" referred to was a concrete war waged by an army against an external enemy, or that the various archaic weapons enumerated were intended to represent modern arms. (All the more so as Blake was an outspoken supporter of the French Revolution, whose successor Napoleon - Britain's main enemy at the time of writing - claimed to be.)

Nevertheless, the poem - little known during the century which followed its writing - was included in a patriotic anthology of verse published in 1916, a time when morale had begun to decline due to the high number of casualties in the First World War and the perception that there was no end in sight.

Under these circumstances, it seemed to many to define what Britain was fighting for. Therefore, Parry was asked to put it to music at a Fight for Right campaign meeting in London's Royal Albert Hall. The most famous version was orchestrated by Sir Edward Elgar in 1922 for the Leeds Festival. Upon hearing the orchestral version for the first time, King George V said that he preferred that "Jerusalem" replace "God Save The King" as the National Anthem.

This is considered to be England's most popular patriotic song, often being used as an alternative national anthem. It was used as a campaign slogan by the Labour Party in the 1945 UK general election. (Clement Attlee said they would build "a new Jerusalem"). "Jerusalem" is the unofficial anthem of the British Women's Institute, and historically was used by the National Union of Suffrage Societies.[3]

The text of the poem was inspired by the legend that Jesus, while still a young man, accompanied Joseph of Arimathea to the English town of Glastonbury. Blake's biographers note that he believed in this legend; however, the poem's theme or subtext is subject to much sharper debate, probably accounting for its popularity across the philosophical spectrum. As a paean to a mythical Englishness the poem has come under criticism. Consequently some see it as unsuitable as an English National Anthem, and its reference to a foreign city as puzzling to other nations. It is unlikely that Blake intended such a literal interpretation, however, or that most who sing and love the song believe in such a literal reading of the lyrics; legends contain important truths to many people.

One particular line from the poem, "Bring me my chariot of fire", which inspired the title of the film Chariots of Fire, most probably draws on the story of 2 Kings 2:11, where the Old Testament prophet Elijah is taken directly to heaven: "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." A church congregation sings "Jerusalem" at close of the film.

Contents

[edit] Notable performances

  • It is sung every year by an audience of thousands at the end of the Last Night of The Proms in the Royal Albert Hall and simultaneously in the Proms in the Park venues throughout the country.
  • Track six ("Jerusalem") on the Chariots of Fire soundtrack. Performed by the Ambrosian Singers with a partial Vangelis composition overlay.
  • In the episode "Full Frontal Nudity" (episode 8, season 1) of Monty Python's Flying Circus, produced in 1969, it is "Jerusalem" that must be sung to get a salesman to remove a bag over his head. Also, it is used repeatedly in the episode "Owl-Stretching Time" (Episode 4, Season 1) as Eric Idle sings it from the Cardiff rooms, Libya (although he replaces the word "feet" with "teeth"). After singing the line about "England's mountains green..." it cuts to a "Rustic monologue," which is broken up by the Colonel. Also, in the sketch "Salvation Fuzz/Church Police", when they arrest a man for murder, they "conclude this arrest with a hymn," and they proceed to sing this song. The song is also used in many other episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
  • In 2000, British novelty-pop group Fat Les recorded another version, entitled "Jerusalem" or alternatively "Jerusalem 2000". This time it was a rousing electronic dance track, and was used as the England football team's theme at Euro 2000.
  • In Shameless, a British television series, the whole family sing it together in the final episode of series 2.
  • Eddie Izzard jokes about the song in a segment of one of his taped comedy routines, Circle.
  • In V for Vendetta, V is saying the last few lines when he is picking a rose to leave at Reverend Lilliman's body after killing him.
  • Charlotte Church's debut album, Voice of an Angel, features the song. She also performs it Live in Jerusalem (it can also be seen in the Best Of.. DVD)
  • It is sung at a church service in Lindsay Anderson's 1968 film "If..."

[edit] Trivia

  • The established Church of Scotland debated altering the lyrics of the hymn to read 'Albion' instead of England to make it more locally relevant.
  • Billy Joel used the Charles's H Parry's tune for his pop song, "And so it goes."

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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