Top 3 national anthems

Man of Honour
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I like the US anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, taken from a poem penned after we invaded Fort McHenry in 1814. Sung solo or en masse the Francis Scott Key anthem has charisma and presence.

Chris, I cannot argue with you about the SSB, for its stirring words about the flag, “Broad stripes and bright stars” and the “rocket’s red glare, bombs bursting in air”, and “gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”
Essentially though, it’s just homage to a flag, as much as Americans love it, and I have to wedge my right hand in my pocket at baseball games, to stop myself from putting my hand on my heart and appearing like a wannabe American.
I think that “America the Beautiful” is a better fit as an anthem to the whole country, from sea to shining sea.
 
Caporegime
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England's should be Jerusalem or I Vow to Thee My Country.

Or Vindaloo by Fat Les.

Ours is a dirge.
I thought it was "things can only get better" or "the only way is up"
pretty sure labour even used them as the theme tune....

I guess tories would want it to be "no limit" no no nonono there's no spending limit, or "loads a money"
 
Associate
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i am Welsh unlike the fake Prince of Wales

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Man of Honour
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I wonder what people who like Flower of Scotland would think of an English national anthem about any one of the times Scotland invaded England and lost. Maybe the one in which the king of Scotland was captured when Scotland lost yet another battle during yet another failed Scottish invasion of England and became a prisoner of war. Plenty of scope for lyrics in that.

I strongly suspect they wouldn't apply the same standard to the idea that way round.

It's a bit sad that a non-trivial number of Scottish people prefer the theme of their national anthem to be about England rather than about Scotland. "England lost once, 700 years ago" (Flower of Scotland) rather than "Scotland is a great place" (Scotland the Brave).
 
Soldato
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I wonder what people who like Flower of Scotland would think of an English national anthem about any one of the times Scotland invaded England and lost. Maybe the one in which the king of Scotland was captured when Scotland lost yet another battle during yet another failed Scottish invasion of England and became a prisoner of war. Plenty of scope for lyrics in that.

I strongly suspect they wouldn't apply the same standard to the idea that way round.

It's a bit sad that a non-trivial number of Scottish people prefer the theme of their national anthem to be about England rather than about Scotland. "England lost once, 700 years ago" (Flower of Scotland) rather than "Scotland is a great place" (Scotland the Brave).

I've previously lived in scotland for over a decade and not once thought of flower of scotland as anything other than a better song to have to sing than the british national anthem.

If you actually care about lyrics then you'll note that the british national anthem is an eccentric praise of the monarch which is super outdated and best not to think too hard about.
 
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Soldato
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hmmm your selection of words tells me a lot.
You lived in Scotland for ten years and what? lol
You sound childish tbh and anti authority

I disagree, @Hotwired makes a fair point. Flower of Scotland is preferred because it evokes national pride. GSTQ is totally sycophantic and does not reflect a modern view of the monarchy; case in point being the public reaction to the news coverage of the Duke's funeral.

Considering the underlying friction between the constituent nations of the UK, GSTQ is actually antagonistic to some which is why only the the English see it as their national anthem, even though it is actually the British national anthem. It's a divisive dirge
 
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Soldato
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I wonder what people who like Flower of Scotland would think of an English national anthem about any one of the times Scotland invaded England and lost. Maybe the one in which the king of Scotland was captured when Scotland lost yet another battle during yet another failed Scottish invasion of England and became a prisoner of war. Plenty of scope for lyrics in that.

I strongly suspect they wouldn't apply the same standard to the idea that way round.

It's a bit sad that a non-trivial number of Scottish people prefer the theme of their national anthem to be about England rather than about Scotland. "England lost once, 700 years ago" (Flower of Scotland) rather than "Scotland is a great place" (Scotland the Brave).

Taking nationalist opinions aside, FOS is a much better song than GSTQ. It's not the best but it's certainly a better song.

Billy Connolly said it better about GSTQ and other anthems (skip to 1:15 onwards if some people are easily triggered :rolleyes: ) :


It is a terribly boring song
 
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