The quotes that follow are from the 'Ukraine' thread -
John McKenna wrote:IM Jack Rudd wrote:Alistair Campbell wrote:
Lord, grant that Marshal Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the King.
Was this ever really a part of the National Anthem, or was it just a piece of 18th century music-hall japery, rather like the way in which nowadays the lyrics of popular songs are adapted or rewritten in hilarious fashion to make fun of political or sporting figures of the wrong persuasion?
The latter. They stopped being sung as part of the song long before it actually became the official national anthem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_ ... nal_verses
Jack, I think you and Alistair are letting the Wade verse off on a technicality -
It gets better...
He was replaced as Commander-in Chief by Prince William, Duke of Cumberland who literally destroyed the Stuart forces at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 by ordering his troops to show no quarter to any surviving Jacobite rebels.
In the same year Handel wrote the oratorio
Judas Maccabaeus to celebrate the victory and compliment the Duke on his return from Scotland.
Perhaps the chorus will be sung when Darling returns to London if he also wins -
See, the conqu'ring hero comes!
Sound the trumpets, beat the drums.
Sports prepare, the laurel bring,
Songs of triumph to him sing.
Alistair Campbell wrote:John McKenna wrote: It gets better...
It does? I'm afraid you've lost me here.
Could be because of my warped sense of irony - as the deeds got worse the music got better.
As you pointed out, the jingoistic verse to the popular song
God Save the King of circa 1745, was prompted by the relatively staid exploits of General Wade. That ditty must surely pale into insignificance when compared to a magnificent Handel oratorio, composed in 1746 to celebrate the return of "Butcher" Cumberland - as he was called by his Tory opponents! (Shudder to think what he was called in the Highlands.)
The music got bigger, better and appropriately reached Old Testament proportions to commemorate deeds that the New Testament could never countenance. Surely that speaks volumes about the nature of the early Union.
Of course, it mellowed as time went on but has its time run out?