Land of Hope and Glory

Land of Hope and Glory

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.

Composition

A. C. Benson, lyricist
Edward Elgar, composer

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.

Lyrics

Solo
    Dear Land of Hope, thy hope is crowned,
       God make thee mightier yet!
    On Sov'ran[1] 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

  1. ^ The original "Sov'ran", sometimes (for better understanding) printed "Sov'reign" = "Sovereign"

"Wider still and wider"

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 the United Kingdom gained further territory, endowed with considerable mineral wealth.[3]

Usage

Proposed anthem for England

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,[4][5] 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.[6]

Commonwealth Games

"Land of Hope and Glory" was the England team's victory anthem at the Commonwealth Games until 2010, when the public rejected it in a poll in favour of "Jerusalem". [7]

BBC Proms

"Land of Hope and Glory" has traditionally been sung as the first song amidst flag-waving at the climax of the Last Night of the Proms.

Rugby

At international rugby league matches, England often sang "Land of Hope and Glory" as their national anthem. While their anthem changed to "God Save the Queen" after the dissolution of the Great Britain side in 2007, it is still tradition for the team to use "Land of Hope and Glory" as their walk-out theme.

"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 began as a response to the New Zealand team's haka.

Football

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.[8] as do 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'.[9] Derby County and Chelsea football club supporters sing “We all follow Derby, over land and sea (and Leicester)”, similarly Blackburn Rovers fans sing "We all follow the Rovers, over the land and sea (and Preston!)". In Wales Aberystwyth Town 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'. Leeds United supporters sing a version of the song that goes as follows; 'Land of hope and glory, Yorkshire shall be free, We all follow United, onto victory'. In London, Spurs fans have been heard to sing "We hate Nottingham Forest. We hate Arsenal, too. We hate Manchester United, but Tottenham we love you."

Films

"Land of Hope and Glory" was sung by Jeanette MacDonald in the 1941 MGM film, Smilin' Through.

Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange uses Elgar's version to herald the arrival of the Minister of the Interior in Alex's story.

The song inspired the rather ironic title of Boorman's 1987 film Hope and Glory, depicting WWII through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy.

The song is also used in the 2012 Japanese film Little Maestra. It is set in a small fishing village in Shikamachi, Ishikawa Prefecture, who depend on the local amateur orchestra as their favorite source of entertainment. When the conductor dies unexpectedly, the townspeople recruit the man’s granddaughter, a high school student with a talent for conducting. The song is heard three times throughout the movie.

United States and Canada

In the United States and Canada the instrumental version of this song is traditionally associated with high school and college (university) graduation ceremonies. It is played as a processional or recessional. During ceremonies for larger schools this piece is played repeatedly. It may be played for as long as the graduates are walking, which can be longer than some symphonies.

See also

References

  1. ↑ It is only the music of the refrain that is in the first Pomp and Circumstance March. The words and music for the two solo verses was written and composed specially for the published song and is not in the Coronation Ode.
  2. 1 2 "Land of Hope and Glory, British Patriotic Songs". Know-britain.com. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  3. ↑ Frederik S. Wilson, "The Culture of Colonialism", p. 135
  4. ↑ "Anthem 4 England". Anthem4england.co.uk. 14 September 2005. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Comment & Analysis". Republic. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "BBC survey on English national anthem". Blog.wonkosworld.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  7. ↑ Archived 7 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ "Wolves Songs". Thewolvessite.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  9. ↑ "WBA Baggies World - Songs from the stands". Thefootballnetwork.net. 24 October 2005. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
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