Sing-along

[DesDownunder]

This seems to say it all, Happy 4th July!

[dude]

Great patriotic sing-along.... started with God Save the Queen!

[Trab]

That's just too funny.

[Cole Parker]

My Country 'Tis of Thee, Mike, My Country 'Tis of Thee!

If the Brits want to call it something else and switch the words around, that's their problem!

C

[Trab]

I think you'll be hard pressed to prove it wasn't God Save The King (or Queen) first.

[DesDownunder]

I thought the following (from Wiki) or at least some of it was well known.

"God Save the Queen" (1745) (alternatively "God Save the King") is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms.

"God Save the King" was the first song to be used as a national anthem, although the Netherlands' national anthem, Het Wilhelmus, is older. Its success prompted a number of imitations, notably in France and, later, Germany. Both commissioned their own songs to help construct a concrete national identity. The first German national anthem used the melody of "God Save the King" with the words changed to Heil dir im Siegerkranz, and sung to the same tune as the UK version. The tune was either used or officially adopted as the national anthem for several other countries, including those of Russia (until 1833) and Switzerland (Rufst Du, mein Vaterland or O monts ind?pendants, until 1961). Molitva russkikh, considered to be the first Russian anthem, was also sung to the same music.

"God Save the King" was used as the national anthem of the Kingdom of Hawaii before 1860, and from 1860 to 1886 the national anthem E Ola Ke Alii Ke Akua was set to the same melody.

It is also the melody to the United States patriotic hymn "America" (also known by its first line, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee"), the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831. The song, a de facto national anthem before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in the 1930s, is quite popular among Americans, most of whom associate the tune with the American hymn rather than the British anthem.

In Iceland it is sung to the poem of Eldgamla ?safold.

It is Norway's royal anthem titled Kongesangen.

It was the Swedish royal anthem between 1805 and 1880, titled Bevare gud v?r kung.

The tune is still used as the national anthem of Liechtenstein, Oben am jungen Rhein. The same tune was therefore played twice before the Euro 96 qualifying match between Northern Ireland and Liechtenstein; likewise when England played Liechtenstein in a Euro 2004 qualifier. (When England play Northern Ireland, the tune is only played once.)

The melody of "God Save the King" has been, and continues to be, used as a hymn tune by Christian churches in various countries. The United Methodists of the southern United States, Mexico, and Latin America, among other denominations (usually Protestant), play the same melody as a hymn. The Christian hymn "Glory to God on High" is frequently sung to the same tune, as well as an alternative tune that fits both lyrics. Note also that in the Protestant Church of Korea, it is sung as a choral hymn under the name of "Since I Have My Retreat"

[TalonRider]

Thanks Des. That was beautiful.

As the celebration continues today. Please continue to be safe and healthy. It's expected to reach 100 degrees today here on the east coast. I took some time on Sunday to drive down to Valley Forge National Park for a drive thru.