 | TIME FOR A CHANGE? Should the national anthem be altered? Yes  31.36% No  66.45% Don't know  2.18% |
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Should we change the national anthem? And if so, what are your suggestions? We interviewed the former attorney general, Peter Goldsmith, about his recommendation to the government advising a change to the national anthem to make it more "inclusive". You can watch Lord Goldsmith in heated debate with Andrew in the box on the right, and we'd also like you to tell us whether you think the lyrics could do with a spot of spit and polish. Finally, you've been sending us your suggestions as to how to rewrite that tricky sixth verse - keep them coming, and we'll publish the best of them below. CRUSHING THOSE SCOTS
The provocative verse(s) | NOT VERY NATIONAL |
The little-known and even less-sung sixth verse of God Save the Queen implores God to come to the aid of Marshal George Wade, who was sent to quell rebellious Scottish highlanders in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1715. We've made it easy for those of you who want to preserve - or even to revive - the verse with a special Daily Politics karaoke, in the box on the right. Sing-a-long-a-dissolve-a-the-Union! You've also pointed out that the second verse is likewise usually skipped - but some of you think it could become the anthem for The Daily Politics itself!  Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
Oh, save us all!
YOU CREATIVE LOT
What would you do about it? You've been sending us your proposed rewrites of the sixth verse. And if you don't think much of these, you should see the ones we didn't publish! Send us your own using the form below. | ALSO USED IN LIECHTENSTEIN |
An "oppressed Anglo-Saxon who wishes he had his homeland back", Mr A. R. Clent of Worcester, sends us: Goodbye you Celtic lot:
Welsh, Cornish, Manx and Scot,
You're on your own!
Angles and Jutes agree:
Bring back the Heptarchy,
Saxons forever free,
We're going home!
From Scotland, Stephen Hamblin sends us: Who the hell's Marshall Wade?
Ahh, Scotland he did invade,
Dressed in a wig,
Invading in drag's a feat,
Conquerig Scots is neat,
Powdered and smelling sweet,
God save this Queen.
This one's from Jill Newsham: God save our Parliament
From money wrongly lent,
God save them all.
From honours bought for cash,
Payments by alias,
Memories that strangely lapse,
God save them all.
From Scotland, Moira Murphy sends us these lines, the last of which should be sung "with a Billy Connolly accent": As a rebellious Scot,
I'm desperate for the off
As soon as poss.
As for the crushing slight
The Scottish stand and fight,
As said to Edward's might
"Aye! That'll be right!"
From "England,where else?", Denis Mattinson sends us: God save our pensioners Those who have served us
Spurned by politcal masters
In what are national disasters
When dead their epitaph should be
"Died from neglect and in poverty"
Remember this when they are gone:
Another vote lost and you need every one.
From John McDermott in England, we have: God bless our native land,
Give it a helping hand,
To make it free,
Reprise the charter,
Called Magna Carta,
Let's not be martyrs,
Just get off our backs!
From Jim Sugden in England: Oh dear, what's that I see?
He's on a spending spree,
It's Gordon Brown.
Paying with stealthy tax,
Squeezing us to the max,
Then when there's blame to lay,
He's gone away.
"It's not my fault!" he cries,
"It's all just Tory lies,
I didn't know.
I'll start an enquiry,
It'll clear us, just you see,
For a just smallish fee,
Peerage or gong?"
Viewer Nick Thornsby sent this: God Help our Great Leader
It's all going wrong for him
Poor Gordon Brown
He waited patiently
For Tony to end his spree
Now it is Gordon's turn, God help us all!
"I would keep the tune," says Tom Harris, "drop the first, second and sixth verses and rewrite and rearrange the rest to reflect the nation and not the queen/king; for example:"From every latent foe,
From the assassins blow,
God save our Land!
O'er us thine arm extend,
For Britain's sake defend,
Our family, home, and friends,
God save our Land!
Thy choicest gifts in store
On our leaders pour;
Long may they reign;
May they defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice,
God save out Land!
Not in this land alone,
But be God's mercies known,
From shore to shore!
Lord make the nations see,
That men should brothers be,
And form one family,
The wide world over
"With apologies to all poets everywhere,"Dorothy Devine writes: God help us poor wee Scots
Oppression has been our lot
God help us Scots
Set other countries free
Scotland is ours you see,
We never ever want to be
Anything but free
We don't usually publish contributions by Anon: the verses below will stay on the website, but could the author please make him or herself known? Honours on sale for cash,
New Labour's victory bash
Funded by sleaze;
Not fooled by Cameron's grin,
Tories are just as grim,
Send a message on to him,
Turf them out please.
A submission from Chris Clark: Forces of good please save
Our leaders of the day
Prevent their spin
May their gifts be declared
Their disks not go astray
Keep them from banks that fail
Ma-y good prevail
From Ken Slater, Sandhurst: Let Andrew Neil be King
Then we could really sing
God save our Queen!
From Newbury, Barrie Singleton: Great Britain's lost the plot
Look at the lot we've got
God save the Queen.
Send her a get-out clause
Monarchy's a lost cause
Can't even start her own damned wars
God help the Queen.
O Lord our God arise
Politics to despise
We'll back you up.
Confound all Tony's tricks
Thwart his apocalypse
Scare him till he needs cycle clips
Oh, go on God!
Thy choicest epithets
Pour on casino bets
And Lottery.
Frown on the booze and fags
Plastic debt - girly mags
Save bottles tins and Tesco bags
And save the Queen.
"Not in my name" we said
Now there are hundreds dead
And daily more.
Lord make our Gordon see
We're all one family
Bomb them and they won't come to tea
On England's lawn.
All are now latent foes
That's just the way it goes
When you kick ass.
Though Dubya's still a friend
Through the past there's a trend
Yanks never rush us to defend
Let alone the Queen.
Lord grant that we might wade
Out of this swamp we've made
On to high ground.
Hail Daily Politics
With its eclectic mix
Andrew and Jenny all can fix
They'll save the Queen.
Steve Vaughan sends us this: We must be soft, and run
Be nice to everyone, and not offend.
We must not wave our flags,
Eat, drink or smoke our fags,
Celebrate those in drag
God help us all!
Finally for the moment, John Driver has a more sensible suggestion, writing: "May I commend for your consideration the following verse from Walker's Pronouncing Dictionary (first published 1809), too seldom heard of late? Stress in the first line is on the final "A", pronounced with its "alphabetical" sound."Oh may America
Yield to our Monarch's sway,
And no more contend;
May they their int'rest see,
With England to agree,
And from oppression free,
All that amend.
OVER TO YOU
Your bright ideas, please Email us your alternative words at [email protected] or use the form below.
Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.
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