Onwards, Britannia!
National anthem of the United Kingdom | |
| Music | Judith Weir Hans Zimmer |
|---|---|
| Adopted | 2019 |
"Onwards, Britannia!" is the official national anthem of the United Kingdom. Officially adopted in 2019, the song was jointly composed by the Master of the Queen's Music Judith Weir alongside German composer Hans Zimmer as the United Kingdom's official national anthem, prior to which, "God Save the Queen" had mostly served as the de facto anthem of the United Kingdom in the absence of an official national anthem for the country as a whole.
The song was sung for the first time in public at the coronation of Queen Alexandra, and has since served as the United Kingdom's official national anthem, while "God Save the Queen" continues to serve as the country's royal anthem.
Despite its all-encompassing nature and its initial intent on uniting all five of the United Kingdom's constituent countries, the anthem has nonetheless been a subject of dispute and controversy with Scottish nationalists largely disapproving of the song and instead preferring Flower of Scotland as the unofficial Scottish national anthem. Similarly, Welsh nationalists are also said to be in disapproval of the song while those in Hanover, although not necessarily disapproving of the song, otherwise prefer the traditional "Hail to you, Hannover" which is said to be extremely popular, especially among monarchists. Likewise, Amhrán na bhFiann, a popular marching song, is frequently used in Ireland over the national anthem.
Officially, there exist two versions of the song with one being considered the "shorter" version of the song and the other a "longer" version of the song. Although sung with the same tone and pace, the only major difference is that the "shorter" version omits the second chorus while combining the song's two verses into one while the "longer" version makes no alterations to the song's original structure in which all three choruses and both verses are sung in its entirety. Usually, the "shorter" version is sung during informal events while the "longer" version is sung during formal events.
Lyrics
Onwards, Britannia,
Onwards, Britannia!
Your seas are yours to sail!
Onwards, Britannia,
Onwards, Britannia!
Never shall your strength fade!
Even in the roughness,
Of the waves around you,
Never a sail behind!
Even in the darkness,
Of the skies above you,
Never shall you resign!
Onwards, Britannia,
Onwards, Britannia!
Your seas are yours to sail!
Onwards, Britannia,
Onwards, Britannia!
Never shall your strength fade!
Proud the sails be hoisted,
Tall above the clouds,
Above to Olympus and away!
Proud the anchors be cast,
Deep into the sea,
Atlantis in Britannia's way!
Onwards, Britannia,
Onwards, Britannia!
Your seas are yours to sail!
Onwards, Britannia,
Onwards, Britannia!
Forever the seas you sail!
Forever the seas you sail!
Theme
In general, the anthem heavily alludes to the United Kingdom's storied naval past, with the chorus frequently featuring the name Britannia, the national personification of Britain, whom the chorus alludes to being a master of the seas ("Your seas are yours to sail!") and also a generally mighty figure ("Never shall your strength fade!").
The first verse of the song mainly references the United Kingdom's position as an island surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea (Even in the roughness of the waves around you"), as well as the country's history of resilience during The Blitz, a period of sustained German aerial bombing during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War ("Even in the darkness of the skies above you"). Meanwhile, the second verse of the song particularly mentions the real-life Mount Olympus in Greece ("Above to Olympus and away!"), known in Greek mythology as the home of the Greek gods, as well as the mythical and fictional Atlantis ("Atlantis in Britannia's way!"), an island said to have been submerged into the Atlantic Ocean.