 | ||
"Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar and lyrics by A. C. Benson, written in 1902.
Contents
Composition
The music to which the words of the refrain "Land of Hope and Glory, &c" below are set is the "trio" theme from Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1. 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. 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.
"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.
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, 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.
Commonwealth Games
Prior to 2010, "Land of Hope and Glory" was used as the victory anthem of England team at the Commonwealth Games.
On St George's Day, 23 April 2010, the Commonwealth Games Council for England launched a poll to allow the public to decide which anthem would be played at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. Voters chose between "God Save the Queen", "Jerusalem" and "Land of Hope and Glory" with the winning song, "Jerusalem", being adopted as the official anthem for Team England.
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. 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'. Derby County and Chelsea football club supporters sing “We all follow Derby, over land and sea (and Leicester)”, similarly MK Dons fans sing "We all follow the MK, over the land and sea (and Wycombe!)". 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.