This week’s national anthem is Northern Ireland’s which because the country is part of the United Kingdom they use “God Save the King” as its national anthem, but at the Commonwealth Games, “Londonderry Air” (also known as “Danny Boy”) is used as the Northern Irish team’s victory anthem.
When Northern Irish players compete alongside players from the Republic of Ireland as one team, they all sing “Ireland’s Call”.
The anthem “God Save the King” has a history dating back to the 18th century, with the first published version of the lyrics and tune appearing in 1745, though the origins of both are somewhat obscure.
The song was first publicly performed in London in 1745, and by the beginning of the 19th century, it had become known as the national anthem.
The origin of both the words and music is unclear, with the anonymous song appearing in Gentleman’s Magazine in 1745 and the tune appearing around the same time in an anthology called Thesaurus Musicus.
Some possible composers and lyricists suggested including John Bull, Thomas Ravenscroft, Henry Purcell, and Henry Carey, but the authorship remains disputed.
The song’s first performance in 1745 coincided with the Jacobite rebellion, and it was sung in support of King George II.
The melody of “God Save the King” has been used for national anthems in other countries, like the national anthem of Liechtenstein, “Oben am jungen Rhein”.
The lyrics were originally “God save great George our king,” but were later changed to “God save our gracious king” to accommodate the names of later monarchs like William IV and Victoria.
Since 2003, “God Save the King”, considered an all-inclusive anthem for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as other countries within the Commonwealth, has been dropped from the Commonwealth Games. In 2006, English winners heard Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance”, usually known as “Land of Hope and Glory”, but after a poll conducted prior to the 2010 Games, “Jerusalem” was adopted as England’s new Commonwealth Games anthem.
The words of the National Anthem are as follows:
God save our gracious King!
Long live our noble King!
God save the King!
Send him victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the King.
Thy choicest gifts in store
On him be pleased to pour,
Long may he reign.
May he defend our laws,
And ever give us cause,
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the King.
Jo-AnneRamplings 