National anthem of Praetonia
Traditionally Praetonia has no official national anthem. The current national anthem is, by convention, Land of Hope and Glory. The official Royal Anthem of Praetonia is God Save the King, of which a new version was composed for the coronation of King George IV. In general, God Save the King is performed at state occassions involving either the King, the army or the airforce, whereas Land of Hope and Glory is played at occassions involving either Parliament, the navy or a civil institution or authority below national level.
Contents
Land of Hope and Glory
Land of Hope and Glory is played unammended. Usually all three verses are played rather than just the second.
- Dear Land of Hope, thy hope is crowned.
- God make thee mightier yet!
- On Sov'reign brows, beloved, renowned,
- Once more thy crown is set.
- Thine equal laws, by Freedom gained,
- Have ruled thee well and long;
- By Freedom gained, by Truth maintained,
- Thine Commonweal' shall be strong.
- Land of Hope and Glory,
- Mother of the Free,
- How shall we extol thee,
- Who are born of thee?
- Wider still and wider
- Shall thy bounds be set;
- God, who made thee mighty,
- Make thee mightier yet
- God, who made thee mighty,
- Make thee mightier yet.
- Thy fame is ancient as the days,
- As Ocean large and wide
- A pride that dares, and heeds not praise,
- A stern and silent pride
- Not that false joy that dreams content
- With what our sires have won;
- The blood a hero sire hath spent
- Still nerves a hero son.
God Save the King
God Save the King has always been the Royal Anthem of Praetonia. To mark the ascension of King George IV a special Coronation Anthem was composed with slightly modified words. Its recital at the King's coronation was watched on television by more than 88% of the population, and has since supplanted the original words.
George IV Coronation Anthem - 'God Save the King'
- God save Great George our King,
- Long live our noble King,
- God save the King:
- Send him victorious,
- Happy and glorious,
- Long to reign over us:
- God save the King.
- O Lord, our God, arise,
- Scatter his enemies,
- And make them fall.
- Confound their politics,
- Frustrate their knavish tricks,
- On Thee our hopes we fix,
- God save us all.
- May he with counsel wise,
- Uphold our liberties,
- And justly rule.
- May he defend our laws,
- And ever give us cause
- To sing with heart and voice:
- God save the King!
Royal Georgian League
A special verse has also been composed to be played at occassions concerning the Royal Georgian League, appended to 'God Save the King'. The verse is also played at Questerian state visits to Praetonia, and after functions held by the Royal Praeto-Questerian Society.
- Lord see our nations blest,
- With lasting comradeship,
- From age to age!
- Under our common cause
- Further the rule of law,
- Liberty never pause:
- Our might presage!
For Thee, Oh Pleasant Land
Before changing to Land of Hope and Glory, the de-facto national anthem of the Crown Commonwealth was For Thee, Oh Pleasant Land, set to Thaxted. This remains a patriotic song, although some of the references have since lost their meaning. Manium, for instance, whilst still containing a major colonial possession, has ceased to be an important centre of influence and no longer forms a major part of Praetonian foreign policy. Similarly, the 'Empire' to which the song refers has since been amalgamated into a single unitary state with the mainland.
- For thee, oh pleasant land—all earthly things above—
- To thee I devote my life, my unreserved love;
- I shall take up the sword for thee, and raise my banner high,
- And in direst days for thee I should gladly die;
- But I look out to sea - ships still float o'er the waves!
- And I know that nation-hood—and vict'ry are saved.
- We people of this great nation—shrouded by the sea—
- Proud and Noble we stand and sing, wrethed in liberty;
- From Manium to Kingston, to the mists of our great hills;
- We stand to guard our Empire, from all evil will;
- For thee, oh pleasant land, we be proud to give our lives,
- So that thy glory may for an—eternity survive.
