And did those feet in ancient time
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
"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.
[edit] Text
The text is as follows:
- 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 these 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 Fight1,
- Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand,
- Till we have built Jerusalem
- In England’s green and pleasant Land.
_____________
1Some versions, including Blake's original, have "strife" rather than "fight".
[edit] Interpretation
The text of the poem was inspired by an apocryphal story which narrated 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 the 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 Romanticist paean 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.
The Christian Church in general and the English Church in particular have long used Jerusalem as a metaphor for heaven. It is the city in the sky, as it were, where love is universal and all is well. The hymn is sung on Jerusalem Sunday -- a day set aside to celebrate the holy city -- in Anglican Churches throughout the world and even in some Episcopal Churches in the U.S. Also sung is the hymn 'Jerusalem the Golden with milk and honey blessed... I know not oh I know not what joys await me there....' etc.
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]
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.
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. (Though the poem was written during the Napoleonic Wars, Blake was an outspoken supporter of the French Revolution, whose successor Napoleon claimed to be.)
[edit] Popularisation
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 general election. (Clement Attlee said they would build "a new Jerusalem"). The song is also the unofficial anthem of the British Women's Institute, and historically was used by the National Union of Suffrage Societies.[3]
[edit] Notable performances
- Since 2004 it has been the anthem of the England cricket team and is regularly sung by rugby union and rugby league crowds.
- 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.
- It is frequently sung as an office or recessional hymn in English cathedrals, churches and chapels on St George's Day.
- 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, and appears in The Fairly Incomplete And Rather Badly Illustrated Monty Python Song Book as "Jelusarem".
- The tune has been set to several texts in the United States, where the traditional lyrics would have little relevance, including "O Love of God, how strong and true", which was performed in an arrangement by Michael McCarthy at Ronald Reagan's funeral at Washington National Cathedral in 2004.
[edit] Trivia
- The song is referred to in a monologue by Michael Flanders which precedes Flanders and Swann's performance of "A Song of Patriotic Prejudice": their song is jokingly intended as a better national song for England than "Jerusalem", especially in comparison to the patriotic songs of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.
- The established Church of Scotland debated altering the lyrics of the hymn to read "Albion" instead of England to make it more locally relevant.
- The song appears in Tony Richardson's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, as the borstal hymn.
- A Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party, Daniel Kawczynski, has recently called for the song to become England's official anthem. Currently, England does not have an official anthem, and so adopts "God Save the Queen", which is the United Kingdom and Commonwealth anthem.[4]
- "Jerusalem" is the official school song of Northfield Mount Hermon School in Northfield, MA, where it is sung at every large campus gathering, and Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, PA.
- Iona College (Queensland) bases its school anthem on H. Parry's tune.
- In newer hymnals the tune is used with Carl P. Daw Jr.'s text "O Day of Peace That Dimly Shines" (based on Isaiah 11:1-9).
- A solo album by Glenn Richards of Australian rock band Augie March was released under the name of "G.A. Richards & the Dark Satanic Mills Bros."
- The hymn is Sampled in British band The KLF's song It's Grim Up North.
