Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the Free,
How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee?
Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set;
God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet,
God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet.
"Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar and lyrics by A. C. Benson, written in 1902.
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The music to which the words of the refrain "Land of Hope and Glory, &c" [1] below are set is the "trio" theme from Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1.[2] The words were fitted to the melody on the suggestion of King Edward VII who told Elgar he thought the melody would make a great song. When Elgar was requested to write a work for the King's coronation, he worked the suggestion into his Coronation Ode, for which he asked the poet and essayist A. C. Benson to write the words.[2] The last section of the Ode uses the march's melody.
Due to the King's illness, the coronation was postponed. Elgar created a separate song, which was first performed by Madame Clara Butt in June 1902. In fact, only the first of the seven stanzas of the Ode's final section was re-used, as the first four lines of the second stanza below. This stanza is the part which is popularly sung today.
Solo
Dear Land of Hope, thy hope is crowned,
God make thee mightier yet !
On Sov'ran [3] brows, beloved, renowned,
Once more thy crown is set.
Thine equal laws, by Freedom gained,
Have ruled thee well and long ;
By Freedom gained, by Truth maintained,
Thine Empire shall be strong.
Chorus
Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the Free,
How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee?
Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set;
God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet,
God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet.
Solo
Thy fame is ancient as the days,
As Ocean large and wide :
A pride that dares, and heeds not praise,
A stern and silent pride ;
Not that false joy that dreams content
With what our sires have won ;
The blood a hero sire hath spent
Still nerves a hero son.
Chorus
The writing of the song is contemporaneous with the publication of Cecil Rhodes' will — in which he bequeathed his considerable wealth for the specific purpose of promoting "the extension of British rule throughout the world", and added a long detailed list of territories which Rhodes wanted brought under British rule and colonised by British people. The reference to the extension of the British Empire's boundaries may reflect the Boer War, recently won at the time of writing, in which Britain gained further territory, endowed with considerable mineral wealth.[4]
This song is one of the main songs used, played at the end of every college event. The title of their college song also stems from the title of this song.
England currently has no agreed national anthem, with "God Save the Queen", the national anthem of the United Kingdom, often being used in sporting events in which England competes separately from the other Home Nations. However, there are calls for this to be changed,[5][6] and a 2006 survey conducted by the BBC suggested that 55% of the English public would rather have "Land of Hope and Glory" than "God Save the Queen" as their national anthem.[7]
Prior to 2010, Land of Hope and Glory was used as the victory anthem of England team at the Commonwealth Games.[8]
On St George's Day, April 23, 2010, the Commonwealth Games Council for England launched a poll to allow the public to decide which anthem would be played at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. Voters chose between God Save The Queen, Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory with the winning song, Jerusalem, being adopted as the official anthem for Team England.[9]
"Land of Hope and Glory" has long been sung amidst much flag-waving at the climax of the Last Night of the BBC Proms.
At international rugby league matches, England often sang "Land of Hope and Glory" as their national anthem (but since the 2005 internationals switched to "God Save the Queen").
"Land of Hope and Glory" is sung by English fans at home England rugby union games in Twickenham after the home and away National Anthems have been sung. "Land of Hope and Glory" is sung by the crowd as the teams assemble for kick off; this begun as a response to the New Zealand team's haka.
Supporters of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (the team Elgar supported) sing a version of the song with the lyrics changed to We will follow the Wanderers over land sea and water. [1] Supporters of their local rivals West Bromwich Albion sing We will follow the Albion over land sea and water. Supporters of Huddersfield Town sing 'We're all following Huddersfield, over land and sea' [2]. Supporters of Derby County football club sing “We all follow Derby, over land and sea (and Leicester)”. Aberystwyth Town of the Principality Welsh Premier League supporters sing a version of the song, 'We all follow the Aber, over land and sea and Bangor! we all follow the Aber, on to victory'
It is the Conservative Party's official anthem and has been sung at party conferences.
It is the college song of University College, Durham ('Castle') with two verses of amended words. It is traditionally sung on the first and last day of each term, also at any major college event, including academic, sports and social events. The words sung include reference to the superiority of the college in all varsity and a rejection of absorption of the college into a single Durham University body.