And did those feet in ancient time
Encyclopedia
"And did those feet in ancient time" is a short poem by William Blake
from the preface to his epic Milton a Poem, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date on the title page of 1804 for Milton is probably when the plates were begun, but the poem was printed c. 1808. Today it is best known as the anthem
"Jerusalem", with music written by Sir Hubert Parry
in 1916.
The poem was inspired by the apocryphal story that a young Jesus, accompanied by his uncle Joseph of Arimathea
, travelled to the area that is now England and visited Glastonbury
. The legend is linked to an idea in the Book of Revelation
(3:12 and 21:2) describing a Second Coming
, wherein Jesus establishes a new Jerusalem
. The Christian church in general, and the English Church
in particular, used Jerusalem as a metaphor for Heaven
, a place of universal love and peace.
In the most common interpretation of the poem, Blake implies that a visit of Jesus would briefly create heaven in England, in contrast to the "dark Satanic Mills" of the Industrial Revolution
. Analysts note that Blake asks four questions rather than asserting the historical truth of Christ's visit; According to this view, the poem says that there may, or may not, have been a divine visit, when there was briefly heaven in England. But that was then; now, we are faced with the challenge of creating such a country once again.
Blake's poem
And did those feet in ancient time.
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green & pleasant Land
Beneath this poem Blake inscribed an excerpt from the Bible: '"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets" Numbers XI.Ch 29.v.' (Book of Numbers
11:29).
The term "dark Satan
ic Mills", which entered the English language from this poem, is often interpreted as referring to the early Industrial Revolution
and its destruction of nature and human relationships. This view has been linked to the fate of the Albion Flour Mills, which was the first major factory in London, designed by John Rennie and Samuel Wyatt
and built on land purchased by Wyatt in Southwark
. This was a rotary steam-powered flour mill by Matthew Boulton
and James Watt, with grinding gears by Rennie, producing 6,000 bushel
s of flour a week. The factory could have driven independent traditional millers out of business, but it was destroyed, perhaps deliberately, by fire in 1791. London's independent millers celebrated with placards reading, "Success to the mills of ALBION
but no Albion Mills." Opponents referred to the factory as satanic, and accused its owners of adulterating flour and using cheap imports at the expense of British producers. An illustration of the fire published at the time shows a devil
squatting on the building. The mills were a short distance from Blake's home.
Blake's phrase resonates with a wider theme in his works, what he envisioned as a physically and spiritually repressive
ideology based on a quantifiable reality. Blake saw the cotton mill
s and collieries of the period as a mechanism for the enslavement of millions, but the concepts underpinning the works had a wider application:
Another interpretation, amongst Non-Conformists, is that the phrase refers to the established Church of England
. As a part of the establishment, the Church preached a doctrine of conforming to the social order, in contrast to Blake. In 2007 the new Bishop of Durham
, N. T. Wright, explicitly recognised this element of English subculture when he acknowledged this alternative view that the "dark satanic mills" refers to the "great churches
An alternative theory is that Blake is referring to a mystical concept within his own mythology related to the ancient history of England. Satan's "mills" are referred to repeatedly in the main poem, and are first described in words which suggest neither industrialism nor ancient megaliths, but rather something more abstract: "the starry Mills of Satan/ Are built beneath the earth and waters of the Mundane Shell...To Mortals thy Mills seem everything, and the Harrow of Shaddai
/ A scheme of human conduct invisible and incomprehensible". Stonehenge
and other megaliths are featured in Milton, suggesting they may related to the oppressive power of priestcraft in general; as Peter Porter
observed, many scholars argue that the "mills" "are churches and not the factories of the Industrial Revolution everyone else takes them for".
prophet Elijah
is taken directly to heaven: "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." The phrase has become a byword for divine energy, and inspired the title of the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire
.
in Sussex. Amanda Gilroy argues that the poem is informed by Blake's "evident pleasure" in the Felpham countryside.
The phrase "green and pleasant land" has become a collocation
for identifiably English landscape or society. It appears as a headline, title or sub-title in numerous articles and books. Sometimes it refers, whether with appreciation, nostalgia or critical analysis, to idyllic or enigmatic aspects of the English countryside. In other contexts it can suggest the perceived habits and aspirations of rural middle-class life. Sometimes it is used ironically.
. Even though the poem was written during the Napoleonic Wars
, Blake was an outspoken supporter of the French Revolution
, whose successor Napoleon claimed to be. The poem expressed his desire for radical change without overt sedition. (In 1803 Blake was charged at Chichester
with high treason for having 'uttered seditious and treasonable expressions', but was acquitted.) The poem is followed in the preface by a quotation from Numbers
ch. 11, v. 29: "Would to God that all the Lord's people were prophets." Christopher Rowland
, a Professor of Theology at Oxford University, has argued that this includes
The words of the poem "stress the importance of people taking responsibility for change and building a better society 'in England's green and pleasant land.'"
, Robert Bridges
, and published in 1916, at a time when morale had begun to decline because of the high number of casualties in World War I and the perception that there was no end in sight.
Under these circumstances, Bridges, finding the poem an appropriate hymn text to "brace the spirit of the nation [to] accept with cheerfulnes all the sacrifices necessary," asked Sir Hubert Parry to put it to music for a Fight for Right campaign meeting in London's Queen's Hall
. (The aims of this organisation were "to brace the spirit of the nation, that the people of Great Britain, knowing that they are fighting for the best interests of humanity, may refuse any temptation, however insidious, to conclude a premature peace, and may accept with cheerfulness all the sacrifices necessary to bring the war to a satisfactory conclusion".) Bridges asked Parry to supply "suitable, simple music to Blake's stanzas - music that an audience could take up and join in", and added that, if Parry could not do it himself, he might delegate the task to George Butterworth
.
The poem's idealistic theme
or subtext
accounts for its popularity across the philosophical spectrum. It was used as a campaign slogan by the Labour Party
in the 1945 general election
; Clement Attlee
said they would build "a new Jerusalem". It has been sung at conferences of the British Conservative Party
, at the Glee Club of the British Liberal Assembly
, the British Labour Party and by the British Liberal Democrats
.
format, each taking up eight lines of Blake's original poem. He also provided a four-bar musical introduction to each verse and a coda
, echoing melodic motif
s of the song. (The song is always performed with these 'extra' passages.) And the word "those" was substituted for "these" (before "dark satanic mills".)
The piece was to be conducted by Parry's former student Walford Davies, but Parry was initially reluctant to set the words as he had doubts about the ultra-patriotism of Fight for Right, but not wanting to disappoint either Robert Bridges or Davies he agreed, writing it on 10 March 1916, and handing the manuscript to Davies with the comment, "Here's a tune for you, old chap. Do what you like with it ". Davies later recalled,
Davies arranged for the vocal score to be published by Curwen
in time for the concert at the Queen's Hall
on 28 March and began rehearsing it. It was a success and was taken up generally.
But Parry began to have misgivings again about Fight for Right and eventually wrote to Sir Francis Younghusband
withdrawing his support entirely in May 1917. There was even concern that the composer might withdraw the song, but the situation was saved by Millicent Garrett Fawcett of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
(NUWSS). The song had been taken up by the Suffragettes in 1917 and Millicent Fawcett asked Parry if it might be used at a Suffrage Demonstration Concert on 13 March 1918. Parry was delighted and orchestrated the piece for the concert (it had originally been for voices and organ). After the concert, Millicent Fawcett asked the composer if it might become the Women Voters' Hymn. Parry was delighted. He wrote back,
Accordingly, he assigned the copyright to the NUWSS. When that organisation was wound up in 1928, Parry's executors re-assigned the copyright to the Women's Institutes, where it remained until it entered the public domain in 1968.
The song was first called "And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time" and the early published scores have this title. The change to 'Jerusalem' seems to have been made about the time of the 1918 Suffrage Demonstration Concert, perhaps when the orchestral score was published (Parry's manuscript of the orchestral score has the old title crossed out and 'Jerusalem' inserted in a different hand). However, Parry always referred to it by its first title. He had originally intended the first verse to be sung by a solo female voice (this is marked in the score), but this is rare in contemporary performances. Sir Edward Elgar
re-scored the work for very large orchestra in 1922 for use at the Leeds Festival
. Elgar admired the song and would no doubt be disheartened to realise that his orchestration has overshadowed Parry's own, primarily because it is the version usually used now for the Last Night of the Proms (though, Sir Malcolm Sargent
, who introduced it to that event in the 1950s always used Parry's version).
Upon hearing the orchestral version for the first time, King George V
said that he preferred "Jerusalem" over "God Save the King", the National Anthem, and Jerusalem is considered to be England's most popular patriotic song; The New York Times
said it was "Fast becoming an alternative national anthem," and there have even been calls to give it official status. England has no official anthem and so uses the British National Anthem "God Save the Queen
", also an unofficial anthem, for some national occasions, such as before English international football matches. However, some sports, including rugby league
use "Jerusalem" as the English anthem. Jerusalem is the ECB
's official hymn, although God Save the Queen was the anthem sung before England's games in 2010 ICC World Twenty20
and 2010–11 Ashes series
. Questions in Parliament have not clarified the situation, as answers from the relevant minister say that since there is no official national anthem, each sport must make its own decision.
As Parliament has not clarified the situation, Team England, the English Commonwealth team held a public poll in 2010 to decide which anthem should be played at medal ceremonies to celebrate an English win at the Commonwealth Games. Jerusalem was selected by 52% of voters over Land of Hope and Glory (used since 1930) and God Save the Queen.
. It is also sung in some churches on Jerusalem Sunday, a day set aside to celebrate the holy city, in Anglican Churches
throughout the world and even in some Episcopal Churches in the US.
However, some vicars in the Church of England
, according to the BBC TV programme "Jerusalem: An Anthem for England", have said that the song is not technically a hymn
, as it is not a prayer to God (which they claim hymns always are, though many counter-examples may be found in any hymnal). Consequently, it is not sung in some churches in England.
Parry's tune is so well liked that the song is sung not only in many schools, especially public school
s in Great Britain (it was used as the title music for the BBC
's 1979 series 'Public School' at Radley College
), but also at several private schools in Australia, New England
and Canada. Some attempts have also been made to increase its use elsewhere with other words. The Church of Scotland
debated altering the words of the hymn to read "Albion
" instead of England to make it more locally relevant. A widely published alternative hymn text for the tune is Carl P. Daw
's O day of peace that dimly shines of 1982.
. A church congregation sings "Jerusalem" at the close of the film and a performance appears on the Chariots of Fire
soundtrack performed by the Ambrosian Singers
overlaid partly by a composition by Vangelis
. One unexpected touch is that Jerusalem is sung in four-part harmony, as if it were truly a hymn. This is not authentic: Parry's composition was a unison song (that is, all voices sing the tune – perhaps one of the things that make it so 'singable' by massed crowds) and he never provided any harmonisation other than the accompaniment for organ (or orchestra). Neither does it appear in any standard hymn book in a guise other than Parry's own, so it may have been harmonised specially for the film. The film's working title was "Running" until Colin Welland
saw a TV programme, Songs of Praise
, featuring the hymn and decided to change the title.
The hymn has featured in many other films and TV programmes including Four Weddings and a Funeral
, How to Get Ahead in Advertising
,The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
, Calendar Girls
, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, Goodnight Mr. Tom
, Peep Show
, Women in Love
(1969 film), The Man Who Fell to Earth
, Circle
(2000 Eddie Izzard stand-up tour), Shameless
, and Monty Python's Flying Circus
. A punk version is heard in Derek Jarman
's 1977 film Jubilee. In the theatre it appears in Jerusalem
, Calendar Girls
and in Time and the Conways
. Punk band Bad Religion
have borrowed the opening line of Blake's poem in their song "God Song", from the 1990 album Against the Grain
. In 2005 BBC Four produced Jerusalem - An Anthem For England highlighting the various usages of the song/poem and a convincing & sentimental case was made for its adoption as the national anthem of England
. Varied contributions come from Howard Goodall
, Billy Bragg
, Gary Bushell, Lord Hattersley, Ann Widdecombe
and David Mellor
, war proponents
, war opponents
, suffragettes, trade unionists, public schoolboys, the Tories, New Labour, football supporters
, the British National Party
(BNP), the Women's Institute, a gay choir, a gospel choir
, Fat Les
and naturists.
's album The Chemical Wedding
, which also includes lines from book two of Milton. Finn Coren
also created a different musical setting for the poem on his album The Blake Project: Spring.
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
from the preface to his epic Milton a Poem, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date on the title page of 1804 for Milton is probably when the plates were begun, but the poem was printed c. 1808. Today it is best known as the anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
"Jerusalem", with music written by Sir Hubert Parry
Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
in 1916.
The poem was inspired by the apocryphal story that a young Jesus, accompanied by his uncle Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four Gospels.-Gospel references:...
, travelled to the area that is now England and visited Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
. The legend is linked to an idea in the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
(3:12 and 21:2) describing a Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
, wherein Jesus establishes a new Jerusalem
New Jerusalem
In the book of Ezekiel, the Prophecy of New Jerusalem is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city to be established to the south of the Temple Mount that will be inhabited by the twelve tribes of Israel in the...
. The Christian church in general, and the English Church
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in particular, used Jerusalem as a metaphor for Heaven
Heaven (Christianity)
Traditionally, Christianity has taught Heaven as a place of eternal life and the dwelling place of Angels and the Throne of God, and a kingdom to which all the elect will be admitted...
, a place of universal love and peace.
In the most common interpretation of the poem, Blake implies that a visit of Jesus would briefly create heaven in England, in contrast to the "dark Satanic Mills" of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. Analysts note that Blake asks four questions rather than asserting the historical truth of Christ's visit; According to this view, the poem says that there may, or may not, have been a divine visit, when there was briefly heaven in England. But that was then; now, we are faced with the challenge of creating such a country once again.
Text
The original text is found on the preface Blake printed for inclusion with Milton, a Poem, following the lines beginning "The Stolen and Perverted Writings of Homer & Ovid: of Plato & Cicero, which all Men ought to contemn: ..."And did those feet in ancient time.
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green & pleasant Land
Beneath this poem Blake inscribed an excerpt from the Bible: '"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets" Numbers XI.Ch 29.v.' (Book of Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
11:29).
Dark Satanic Mills
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
ic Mills", which entered the English language from this poem, is often interpreted as referring to the early Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
and its destruction of nature and human relationships. This view has been linked to the fate of the Albion Flour Mills, which was the first major factory in London, designed by John Rennie and Samuel Wyatt
Samuel Wyatt
Samuel Wyatt was an English architect and engineer. A member of the Wyatt family, which included several notable 18th and 19th century English architects, his work was primarily in a neoclassical style.-Career:...
and built on land purchased by Wyatt in Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
. This was a rotary steam-powered flour mill by Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...
and James Watt, with grinding gears by Rennie, producing 6,000 bushel
Bushel
A bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities , most often in agriculture...
s of flour a week. The factory could have driven independent traditional millers out of business, but it was destroyed, perhaps deliberately, by fire in 1791. London's independent millers celebrated with placards reading, "Success to the mills of ALBION
Albion
Albion is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island or England in particular. It is also the basis of the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba...
but no Albion Mills." Opponents referred to the factory as satanic, and accused its owners of adulterating flour and using cheap imports at the expense of British producers. An illustration of the fire published at the time shows a devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
squatting on the building. The mills were a short distance from Blake's home.
Blake's phrase resonates with a wider theme in his works, what he envisioned as a physically and spiritually repressive
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
ideology based on a quantifiable reality. Blake saw the cotton mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
s and collieries of the period as a mechanism for the enslavement of millions, but the concepts underpinning the works had a wider application:
Another interpretation, amongst Non-Conformists, is that the phrase refers to the established Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. As a part of the establishment, the Church preached a doctrine of conforming to the social order, in contrast to Blake. In 2007 the new Bishop of Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, N. T. Wright, explicitly recognised this element of English subculture when he acknowledged this alternative view that the "dark satanic mills" refers to the "great churches
An alternative theory is that Blake is referring to a mystical concept within his own mythology related to the ancient history of England. Satan's "mills" are referred to repeatedly in the main poem, and are first described in words which suggest neither industrialism nor ancient megaliths, but rather something more abstract: "the starry Mills of Satan/ Are built beneath the earth and waters of the Mundane Shell...To Mortals thy Mills seem everything, and the Harrow of Shaddai
El Shaddai
El Shaddai [shah-'dah-yy] is one of the Judaic names of God, with its etymology coming from the influence of the Ugaritic religion on modern Judaism. El Shaddai is conventionally translated as God Almighty...
/ A scheme of human conduct invisible and incomprehensible". Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
and other megaliths are featured in Milton, suggesting they may related to the oppressive power of priestcraft in general; as Peter Porter
Peter Porter (poet)
Peter Neville Frederick Porter, OAM was a British-based Australian poet.-Life:Porter was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1929. His mother, Marion, died of a burst gall-bladder in 1938. He attended the Church of England Grammar School and left school at 18, and went to work as a trainee journalist...
observed, many scholars argue that the "mills" "are churches and not the factories of the Industrial Revolution everyone else takes them for".
Chariot of fire
The line from the poem, "Bring me my Chariot of fire!" draws on the story of 2 Kings 2:11, where the Old TestamentOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
prophet Elijah
Elijah (prophet)
Elijah also Elias ; , meaning "Yahweh is my God";Arabic:إلياس, Ilyās), was a prophet in the Kingdom of Samaria during the reign of Ahab , according to the Books of Kings....
is taken directly to heaven: "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." The phrase has become a byword for divine energy, and inspired the title of the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
.
Green and pleasant Land
Blake lived in London for most of his life, but wrote much of Milton when he was living in the village of FelphamFelpham
Felpham is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. Although sometimes considered part of the greater Bognor Regis habitation it is a village and civil parish in its own right, having an area of 4.26 km² with a population of 9611 people and still growing .The...
in Sussex. Amanda Gilroy argues that the poem is informed by Blake's "evident pleasure" in the Felpham countryside.
The phrase "green and pleasant land" has become a collocation
Collocation
In corpus linguistics, collocation defines a sequence of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. In phraseology, collocation is a sub-type of phraseme. An example of a phraseological collocation is the expression strong tea...
for identifiably English landscape or society. It appears as a headline, title or sub-title in numerous articles and books. Sometimes it refers, whether with appreciation, nostalgia or critical analysis, to idyllic or enigmatic aspects of the English countryside. In other contexts it can suggest the perceived habits and aspirations of rural middle-class life. Sometimes it is used ironically.
Revolution
Several of Blake's poems and paintings express a notion of universal humanity: "As all men are alike (tho' infinitely various)". He retained an active interest in social and political events for all his life, but was often forced to resort to cloaking social idealism and political statements in Protestant mystical allegoryAllegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
. Even though the poem was written during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, Blake was an outspoken supporter of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, whose successor Napoleon claimed to be. The poem expressed his desire for radical change without overt sedition. (In 1803 Blake was charged at Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
with high treason for having 'uttered seditious and treasonable expressions', but was acquitted.) The poem is followed in the preface by a quotation from Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
ch. 11, v. 29: "Would to God that all the Lord's people were prophets." Christopher Rowland
Christopher Rowland (theologian)
Christopher Charles Rowland is a British priest and theologian, who has been Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford since 1991.-Life:...
, a Professor of Theology at Oxford University, has argued that this includes
everyone in the task of speaking out about what they saw. Prophecy for Blake, however, was not a prediction of the end of the world, but telling the truth as best a person can about what he or she sees, fortified by insight and an "honest persuasion" that with personal struggle, things could be improved. A human being observes, is indignant and speaks out: it's a basic political maxim which is necessary for any age. Blake wanted to stir people from their intellectual slumbers, and the daily grind of their toil, to see that they were captivated in the grip of a culture which kept them thinking in ways which served the interests of the powerful.
The words of the poem "stress the importance of people taking responsibility for change and building a better society 'in England's green and pleasant land.'"
Popularisation
The poem, which was little known during the century which followed its writing, was included in the patriotic anthology of verse The Spirit of Man, edited by Great Britain's Poet LaureatePoet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, Robert Bridges
Robert Bridges
Robert Seymour Bridges, OM, was a British poet, and poet laureate from 1913 to 1930.-Personal and professional life:...
, and published in 1916, at a time when morale had begun to decline because of the high number of casualties in World War I and the perception that there was no end in sight.
Under these circumstances, Bridges, finding the poem an appropriate hymn text to "brace the spirit of the nation [to] accept with cheerfulnes all the sacrifices necessary," asked Sir Hubert Parry to put it to music for a Fight for Right campaign meeting in London's Queen's Hall
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect T.E. Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert...
. (The aims of this organisation were "to brace the spirit of the nation, that the people of Great Britain, knowing that they are fighting for the best interests of humanity, may refuse any temptation, however insidious, to conclude a premature peace, and may accept with cheerfulness all the sacrifices necessary to bring the war to a satisfactory conclusion".) Bridges asked Parry to supply "suitable, simple music to Blake's stanzas - music that an audience could take up and join in", and added that, if Parry could not do it himself, he might delegate the task to George Butterworth
George Butterworth
George Sainton Kaye Butterworth, MC was an English composer best known for the orchestral idyll The Banks of Green Willow and his song settings of A. E...
.
The poem's idealistic theme
Theme (literature)
A theme is a broad, message, or moral of a story. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated explicitly. Along with plot, character,...
or subtext
Subtext
Subtext or undertone is content of a book, play, musical work, film, video game, or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters but is implicit or becomes something understood by the observer of the work as the production unfolds. Subtext can also refer to the thoughts...
accounts for its popularity across the philosophical spectrum. It was used as a campaign slogan by the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
; Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
said they would build "a new Jerusalem". It has been sung at conferences of the British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, at the Glee Club of the British Liberal Assembly
Liberal Assembly
The Liberal Assembly was the annual party conference of the British Liberal Party before its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats; the name is still used by the continuity Liberal Party created as its replacement...
, the British Labour Party and by the British Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
.
Parry's setting of "Jerusalem"
In adapting Blake's poem as a unison song, Parry deployed a two-stanzaStanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
format, each taking up eight lines of Blake's original poem. He also provided a four-bar musical introduction to each verse and a coda
Coda
Coda can denote any concluding event, summation, or section.Coda may also refer to:-Acronyms:* Calgary Olympic Development Association, the former name of the Canadian Winter Sport Institute, a non profit organization...
, echoing melodic motif
Motif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
s of the song. (The song is always performed with these 'extra' passages.) And the word "those" was substituted for "these" (before "dark satanic mills".)
The piece was to be conducted by Parry's former student Walford Davies, but Parry was initially reluctant to set the words as he had doubts about the ultra-patriotism of Fight for Right, but not wanting to disappoint either Robert Bridges or Davies he agreed, writing it on 10 March 1916, and handing the manuscript to Davies with the comment, "Here's a tune for you, old chap. Do what you like with it ". Davies later recalled,
- "We looked at [the manuscript] together in his room at the Royal College of MusicRoyal College of MusicThe Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, and I recall vividly his unwonted happiness over it...He ceased to speak, and put his finger on the note D in the second stanza where the words 'O clouds unfold' break his rhythm. I do not think any word passed about it. yet he made it perfectly clear that this was the one note and one moment of the song which he treasured...":
Davies arranged for the vocal score to be published by Curwen
Curwen Press
The Curwen Press was founded by the Reverend John Curwen in 1863 to publish sheet music for the "tonic sol-fa" system. The Press was based in Plaistow, Newham, east London, England, where Curwen was a pastor from 1844...
in time for the concert at the Queen's Hall
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect T.E. Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert...
on 28 March and began rehearsing it. It was a success and was taken up generally.
But Parry began to have misgivings again about Fight for Right and eventually wrote to Sir Francis Younghusband
Francis Younghusband
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer...
withdrawing his support entirely in May 1917. There was even concern that the composer might withdraw the song, but the situation was saved by Millicent Garrett Fawcett of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies , also known as the Suffragists was an organisation of women's suffrage societies in the United Kingdom.-Formation and campaigning:...
(NUWSS). The song had been taken up by the Suffragettes in 1917 and Millicent Fawcett asked Parry if it might be used at a Suffrage Demonstration Concert on 13 March 1918. Parry was delighted and orchestrated the piece for the concert (it had originally been for voices and organ). After the concert, Millicent Fawcett asked the composer if it might become the Women Voters' Hymn. Parry was delighted. He wrote back,
- "I wish indeed it might become the Women Voters' Hymn, as you suggest. People seem to enjoy singing it. And having the vote ought to diffuse a good deal of joy. So they should combine happily".:
Accordingly, he assigned the copyright to the NUWSS. When that organisation was wound up in 1928, Parry's executors re-assigned the copyright to the Women's Institutes, where it remained until it entered the public domain in 1968.
The song was first called "And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time" and the early published scores have this title. The change to 'Jerusalem' seems to have been made about the time of the 1918 Suffrage Demonstration Concert, perhaps when the orchestral score was published (Parry's manuscript of the orchestral score has the old title crossed out and 'Jerusalem' inserted in a different hand). However, Parry always referred to it by its first title. He had originally intended the first verse to be sung by a solo female voice (this is marked in the score), but this is rare in contemporary performances. Sir Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
re-scored the work for very large orchestra in 1922 for use at the Leeds Festival
Leeds Festival (classical music)
The Leeds Festival was a classical music festival which took place between 1858 and 1985 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.The first festival celebrated the opening of Leeds Town Hall by Queen Victoria on 7 September 1858...
. Elgar admired the song and would no doubt be disheartened to realise that his orchestration has overshadowed Parry's own, primarily because it is the version usually used now for the Last Night of the Proms (though, Sir Malcolm Sargent
Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works...
, who introduced it to that event in the 1950s always used Parry's version).
Upon hearing the orchestral version for the first time, King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
said that he preferred "Jerusalem" over "God Save the King", the National Anthem, and Jerusalem is considered to be England's most popular patriotic song; The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said it was "Fast becoming an alternative national anthem," and there have even been calls to give it official status. England has no official anthem and so uses the British National Anthem "God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
", also an unofficial anthem, for some national occasions, such as before English international football matches. However, some sports, including rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
use "Jerusalem" as the English anthem. Jerusalem is the ECB
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was created on 1 January 1997 combining the roles of the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council...
's official hymn, although God Save the Queen was the anthem sung before England's games in 2010 ICC World Twenty20
2010 ICC World Twenty20
-------------------------------------------------Group A:---------Group B:---------Group C:---------Group D:---------Super 8s:...
and 2010–11 Ashes series
2010–11 Ashes series
The 2010–11 Ashes series was played in Australia as part of the England cricket team's tour of Australia during the 2010–11 cricket season. Five Tests were played from 25 November 2010 to 7 January 2011...
. Questions in Parliament have not clarified the situation, as answers from the relevant minister say that since there is no official national anthem, each sport must make its own decision.
As Parliament has not clarified the situation, Team England, the English Commonwealth team held a public poll in 2010 to decide which anthem should be played at medal ceremonies to celebrate an English win at the Commonwealth Games. Jerusalem was selected by 52% of voters over Land of Hope and Glory (used since 1930) and God Save the Queen.
Use as a hymn
Although the music was composed as a unison song, "Jerusalem" has been adopted by the Church and is frequently sung as an office or recessional hymn in English cathedrals, churches and chapels on St George's DaySt George's Day
St George's Day is celebrated by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint. St George's Day is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in AD 303...
. It is also sung in some churches on Jerusalem Sunday, a day set aside to celebrate the holy city, in Anglican Churches
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
throughout the world and even in some Episcopal Churches in the US.
However, some vicars in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, according to the BBC TV programme "Jerusalem: An Anthem for England", have said that the song is not technically a hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
, as it is not a prayer to God (which they claim hymns always are, though many counter-examples may be found in any hymnal). Consequently, it is not sung in some churches in England.
Parry's tune is so well liked that the song is sung not only in many schools, especially public school
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
s in Great Britain (it was used as the title music for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's 1979 series 'Public School' at Radley College
Radley College
Radley College , founded in 1847, is a British independent school for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley, near to the market town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, and has become a well-established boarding school...
), but also at several private schools in Australia, New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and Canada. Some attempts have also been made to increase its use elsewhere with other words. The Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
debated altering the words of the hymn to read "Albion
Albion
Albion is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island or England in particular. It is also the basis of the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba...
" instead of England to make it more locally relevant. A widely published alternative hymn text for the tune is Carl P. Daw
Carl P. Daw Jr.
The Reverend Carl P. Daw, Jr. M.A., M.Div., Ph.D. is an American Episcopal priest. Now Curator of Hymnological Collections and Adjunct Professor of Hymnology at Boston University School of Theology, he previously was Executive Director of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada from...
's O day of peace that dimly shines of 1982.
Performances
The popularity of Parry's setting has resulted in many hundreds of recordings being made, too numerous to list, of both traditional choral performances and new interpretations by popular music artists. Consequently only its most notable performances are listed below.- It is sung every year by an audience of thousands at the end of the Last Night of the Proms in the Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
and simultaneously in the Proms in the Park venues throughout the country.
- Each year it, along with The Red FlagThe Red FlagThe Red Flag is a protest song associated with left-wing politics, in particular with socialism. It is the semi-official anthem of the British Labour Party, sung at the end of conference. It is the official anthem of the Irish Labour Party and sung at the close of national conference.-History:The...
, is sung at the closing of the annual Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
conference.
- The song was used by the National Union of Women's Suffrage SocietiesNational Union of Women's Suffrage SocietiesThe National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies , also known as the Suffragists was an organisation of women's suffrage societies in the United Kingdom.-Formation and campaigning:...
(indeed it was their property until 1928, when they were wound up after women won the right to vote – see above in relation to Millicent Garret Fawcett). During the 1920s, many Women's Institutes (WI) started closing meetings by singing it, and this caught on nationally. Although it has never actually been adopted as the WI's official anthem, in practice it holds that position, and is an enduring element of the public image of the WI.
- It is traditionally sung before rugby leagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
's Challenge CupChallenge CupThe Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
Final, along with "Abide with MeAbide With MeThe hymn tune most often used with this hymn is "Eventide" composed by William Henry Monk in 1861.Alternate tunes include:* "Abide with Me," Henry Lyte, 1847* "Morecambe", Frederick C...
", and before the Super League Grand FinalSuper League Grand FinalThe Super League Grand Final is the championship-deciding game of the Super League rugby league football competition...
.
- A version appears on Emerson, Lake & PalmerEmerson, Lake & PalmerEmerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
's album Brain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1973 and the first under their Manticore Records imprint. It fuses rock and classical themes. Lyrics were co-written by Greg Lake with fellow ex-King Crimson member Peter Sinfield. Cover...
, with a live rendition included on their Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends... Ladies and Gentlemen album.
- Since 2004, it has been the anthem of the England cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
team, being played before each day of their home test matches, and is regularly sung by rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
crowds.
- A recording by the Grimethorpe Colliery BandGrimethorpe Colliery BandThe Grimethorpe Colliery Band is a brass band, based in Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire, England. It was formed in 1917, as a leisure activity for the workers at the colliery, by members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band...
was performed in medal ceremonies when an English competitor at the 2010 Commonwealth GamesEngland at the 2010 Commonwealth GamesEngland will be represented at the 2010 Commonwealth Games by Commonwealth Games England. The country will go by the abbreviation ENG, will use the Cross of St George as its flag and "Jerusalem" as its victory anthem...
was awarded gold.
- It was one of three hymns sung at the Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton.
- At a concert at the Royal Albert Hall on July 4th, 2009, Jeff Beck performed a version featuring his touring band at the time (Vinnie ColaiutaVinnie ColaiutaVincent Colaiuta is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Republic, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14...
, Tal WilkenfeldTal WilkenfeldTal Wilkenfeld is a bass guitarist who has gained worldwide attention performing alongside some of rock and jazz music's most notable artists...
and Jason RebelloJason RebelloJason Rebello is a British jazz pianist, currently part of Sting's live and studio band, who has recorded a handful of albums under his own name. His debut album, A Clearer View was produced by Wayne Shorter....
) and a guest appearance by David Gilmour.
Use in film and theatre
"Bring me my chariot of fire" inspired the title of the film Chariots of FireChariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
. A church congregation sings "Jerusalem" at the close of the film and a performance appears on the Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
soundtrack performed by the Ambrosian Singers
Ambrosian Singers
The Ambrosian Singers are one of the best-known London choral groups, particularly appreciated for its great variety of recorded repertory.They were founded after World War II in England...
overlaid partly by a composition by Vangelis
Vangelis
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...
. One unexpected touch is that Jerusalem is sung in four-part harmony, as if it were truly a hymn. This is not authentic: Parry's composition was a unison song (that is, all voices sing the tune – perhaps one of the things that make it so 'singable' by massed crowds) and he never provided any harmonisation other than the accompaniment for organ (or orchestra). Neither does it appear in any standard hymn book in a guise other than Parry's own, so it may have been harmonised specially for the film. The film's working title was "Running" until Colin Welland
Colin Welland
Colin Welland is a British actor and screenwriter. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his script for Chariots of Fire ,,,....
saw a TV programme, Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional Christian hymns. It is a widely watched and long-running religious television programme, one of the few peak-time free-to-air religious programmes in Europe Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional...
, featuring the hymn and decided to change the title.
The hymn has featured in many other films and TV programmes including Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
, How to Get Ahead in Advertising
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
How to Get Ahead in Advertising is a 1989 British film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward. The title is a pun and can be literally taken as "How to Get a Head in Advertising".-Plot:...
,The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
"The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" is a short story by Alan Sillitoe which was set in Irvine Beach, and published in 1959 as part of a short story collection of the same name. The work focuses on Colin, a poor Nottingham teenager from a dismal home in a blue-collar area, who has bleak...
, Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls is a 2003 comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Buena Vista International and Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi based on a true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia...
, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, Goodnight Mr. Tom
Goodnight Mister Tom (1998 film)
Goodnight Mister Tom is a 1998 film adaptation by ITV of the original book of the same name by Michelle Magorian; the cast featured the veteran British actor John Thaw and was directed by Jack Gold.-Plot:...
, Peep Show
Peep Show (TV series)
Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
, Women in Love
Women in Love
Women in Love is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence published in 1920. It is a sequel to his earlier novel The Rainbow , and follows the continuing loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an artist, pursues a destructive relationship with Gerald Crich, an...
(1969 film), The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)
The Man Who Fell to Earth is a 1976 British science fiction film directed by Nicolas Roeg.The film is based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, about an extraterrestrial who crash lands on Earth seeking a way to ship water to his planet, which is suffering from a severe drought...
, Circle
Circle
A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane that are a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any of the points and the centre is called the radius....
(2000 Eddie Izzard stand-up tour), Shameless
Shameless
Shameless is a British television drama series set in Manchester on the fictional Chatsworth council estate. Produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4, the first seven-episode series aired weekly on Tuesday nights at 10pm from 13 January 2004...
, and Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
. A punk version is heard in Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman was an English film director, stage designer, diarist, artist, gardener and author.-Life:...
's 1977 film Jubilee. In the theatre it appears in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (play)
Jerusalem is a play by Jez Butterworth that opened at the downstairs theatre of the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2009. The production starred Mark Rylance as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron and Mackenzie Crook as Ginger. After receiving rave reviews its run was extended. In January 2010 it transferred...
, Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls is a 2003 comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Buena Vista International and Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi based on a true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia...
and in Time and the Conways
Time and the Conways
Time and the Conways is a British play written by J. B. Priestley in 1937 illustrating J. W. Dunne's Theory Of Time through the experience of a moneyed Yorkshire family, the Conways, over a period of nineteen years from 1919 to 1937...
. Punk band Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
have borrowed the opening line of Blake's poem in their song "God Song", from the 1990 album Against the Grain
Against the Grain (Bad Religion album)
-Release history:-Personnel:* Greg Graffin – vocals* Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals* Greg Hetson – guitar* Jay Bentley – bass guitar, backing vocals* Pete Finestone – drums* The Legendary Starbolt – mixing...
. In 2005 BBC Four produced Jerusalem - An Anthem For England highlighting the various usages of the song/poem and a convincing & sentimental case was made for its adoption as the national anthem of England
National anthem of England
While England does not have an official national anthem, there are many songs which are considered to fill such a role. In most of the national sporting fixtures 'God Save The Queen' is used, but 'Land of Hope and Glory' is also fairly popular-Multi-sport events:...
. Varied contributions come from Howard Goodall
Howard Goodall
210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
, Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, Gary Bushell, Lord Hattersley, Ann Widdecombe
Ann Widdecombe
Ann Noreen Widdecombe is a former British Conservative Party politician and has been a novelist since 2000. She is a Privy Councillor and was the Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1987 to 1997 and for Maidstone and The Weald from 1997 to 2010. She was a social conservative and a member of...
and David Mellor
David Mellor
David John Mellor, QC is a British politician, non-practising barrister, broadcaster, journalist and football pundit. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of State for National Heritage , before...
, war proponents
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
, war opponents
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
, suffragettes, trade unionists, public schoolboys, the Tories, New Labour, football supporters
Football Supporters' Federation
The Football Supporters' Federation is an organisation representing football fans in England and Wales. It campaigns across a range of issues and supports fan representation on clubs' boards, lower ticket prices, and the reintroduction of safe standing areas at grounds in the top two tiers of...
, the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
(BNP), the Women's Institute, a gay choir, a gospel choir
London Community Gospel Choir
The London Community Gospel Choir is a successful gospel choir located in the United Kingdom.-History:The London Community Gospel Choir was founded in 1982 by the Reverend Bazil Meade with the assistance of Lawrence Johnson, Delroy Powell and John Francis.Initially the idea was for a single concert...
, Fat Les
Fat Les
Fat Les is a British band consisting of Alex James from Blur, actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst. Vocals on their singles were provided by Keith Allen , Alex James , Lily Allen , Andy Kane , Lisa Moorish and Michael Barrymore .Fat Les created the...
and naturists.
Other composers
Blake's lyrics have also been set to music by other composers without reference to Parry's melody. The words, with some variations, are used in the track Jerusalem on Bruce DickinsonBruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
's album The Chemical Wedding
The Chemical Wedding (Bruce Dickinson album)
The Chemical Wedding is the fifth solo album by English heavy metal singer Bruce Dickinson, released on 14 July 1998 through Sanctuary Records...
, which also includes lines from book two of Milton. Finn Coren
Finn Coren
Finn Coren is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his series of albums setting to music the lyrics of William Blake, W.B. Yeats and Olav H. Hauge....
also created a different musical setting for the poem on his album The Blake Project: Spring.
See also
- Jerusalem The Emanation of the Giant Albion by William Blake
- Civil religionCivil religionThe intended meaning of the term civil religion often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator...
- Merry EnglandMerry England"Merry England", or in more jocular, archaic spelling "Merrie England", refers to an English autostereotype, a utopian conception of English society and culture based on an idyllic pastoral way of life that was allegedly prevalent at some time between the Middle Ages and the onset of the Industrial...
- Romantic Movement and the industrial revolution
- Brain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1973 and the first under their Manticore Records imprint. It fuses rock and classical themes. Lyrics were co-written by Greg Lake with fellow ex-King Crimson member Peter Sinfield. Cover...
(1973), with Emerson, Lake & PalmerEmerson, Lake & PalmerEmerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
's version of "Jerusalem" - The InternationaleThe Internationale (album)The Internationale is a 1990 album by Billy Bragg. Originally released on Bragg's short-lived record label, Utility Records, it is a deliberately political album, consisting mainly of cover versions and rewrites of left-wing protest songs...
, Billy BraggBilly BraggStephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
's version