God Save the Queen

From Wikisource

God Save the Queen by Unknown

Wikipedia has more on: God Save the Queen. God Save the Queen is traditionally used as the national anthem of the United Kingdom and the royal anthem of Canada and the other Commonwealth realms, as well as as the royal anthem of the British Royal Family. It is one of two official national anthems of New Zealand. As the Royal Anthem of Australia, it is sung in preference to the National Anthem (Advance Australia Fair) when the Monarch is present in the country. When the British monarch is male the anthem becomes "God Save the King". Only the first verse is commonly sung. Since "God Save the Queen" is the Royal Anthem of Canada, the first verse has been translated into French for use in that country, as shown below. As sung in English in Canada, "God Save the Queen" has an additional English verse, sung after the first or second verse, which is also given below. Contrary to popular belief God Save the Queen has never been proclaimed the national anthem of Great Britain, it is simply tradition. In the United States, the unofficial but anthemic My Country 'Tis of Thee is sung to the same tune.

Contents 1 Lyrics 1.1 First verse in French, as sung in Canada 1.2 Additional verse sung in Canada 2 Footnotes

[edit] Lyrics

1

God save our gracious Queen,

Long live our noble Queen,

God save the Queen:

Send her victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us:

God save the Queen.

2

O Lord, our God, arise,

Scatter thine enemies^[2],

And make them fall

Confound their politics,

Frustrate their knavish tricks,

On thee our hopes we fix:

God save us all.

3

Thy choicest gifts in store,

On her be pleased to pour;

Long may she reign:

May she defend our laws,

And ever give us cause

To sing with heart and voice

God save the Queen ^[1].

4

Not in this land alone,

But be God's mercies known,

From shore to shore!

Lord make the nations see,

That men should brothers be,

And form one family,

The wide world over.

5

From every latent foe,

From the assassins' blow,

God save the Queen!

O'er her thine arm extend,

For Britain's sake defend,

Our mother, princess, and friend,

God save the Queen!

[edit] First verse in French, as sung in Canada

Dieu protège la reine

De sa main souveraine !

Vive la reine !

Qu'un règne glorieux,

Loin et victorieux

Rende son peuple heureux.

Vive la reine !

[edit] Additional verse sung in Canada

Our loved Dominion bless

With peace and happiness

From shore to shore;

And let our Empire be^[3]

Loyal, united, free

True to herself and Thee

God save the Queen ^[4].

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ When there is a King the two lines in italics become "With heart and voice to sing / God save the King".
2. ^ Alternatively: "Scatter her enemies".
3. ^ Alternatively: "And let our country be".
4. ^ This last line is alternatively "Forever more."

This work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.