Rule, Britannia!

is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson[1] and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year.

[4] The work was initially devised to commemorate the accession of Frederick's grandfather George I and the birthday of the Princess Augusta.

When Britain first, at Heaven's command Arose from out the azure main; This was the charter of the land, And guardian angels sung this strain:

The nations, not so blest as thee, Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall; While thou shalt flourish great and free, The dread and envy of them all.

Still more majestic shalt thou rise, More dreadful, from each foreign stroke; As the loud blast that tears the skies, Serves but to root thy native oak.

", omitting three of the original six stanzas and adding three new ones by Lord Bolingbroke, to form the repeated chorus of the comic song "Married to a Mermaid".

A version written, composed and performed by Arthur Lloyd has the lyrics: [6] 'Twas on the deep Atlantic, Midst Equinoctial gales; This young farmer fell overboard Among the sharks and whales; He disappeared so quickly, So headlong down went he, That he went out of sight Like a streak of light To the bottom of the deep blue sea.

We lowered a boat to find him, We thought to see his corse, When up to the top he came with a bang, And sang in a voice so hoarse, 'My comrades and my messmates, Oh, do not weep for me, For I'm married to a mermaid, At the bottom of the deep blue sea.'

The wind was fair, the sails set, The ship was running free; When we all went to the captain bold, And told what we did see.

[8] According to Armitage[9] "Rule, Britannia" was the most lasting expression of the conception of Britain and the British Empire that emerged in the 1730s, "predicated on a mixture of adulterated mercantilism, nationalistic anxiety and libertarian fervour".

[10] Hence British naval power could be equated with civil liberty, since an island nation with a strong navy to defend it could afford to dispense with a standing army which, since the time of Cromwell, was seen as a threat and a source of tyranny.

Although the Dutch Republic, which in the 17th century presented a major challenge to English sea power, was obviously past its peak by 1745, Britain did not yet "rule the waves", although, since it was written during the War of Jenkins' Ear, it could be argued that the words referred to the alleged Spanish aggression against British merchant vessels that caused the war.

is often written as simply "Rule Britannia", omitting both the comma and the exclamation mark, which changes the interpretation of the lyric by altering the punctuation.

Richard Dawkins recounts in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene that the repeated exclamation "Rule, Britannia!

[12] The song assumed extra significance in 1945 at the conclusion of World War II when it was played at the ceremonial surrender of the Japanese imperial army in Singapore.

(in an orchestral arrangement by Sir Malcolm Sargent) is traditionally performed at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms, normally with a guest soloist (past performers have included Jane Eaglen, Bryn Terfel, Thomas Hampson, Joseph Calleja, and Felicity Lott).

It has always been the last part of Sir Henry Wood's 1905 Fantasia on British Sea Songs, except that for many years up until 2000, the Sargent arrangement has been used.

[14] For some years the performance at the Last Night of the Proms reverted to Sir Henry Wood's original arrangement.

The melody was the theme for a set of variations for piano by Ludwig van Beethoven (WoO 79, 1803)[15] and he also used it in "Wellington's Victory", Op.

The French organist-composer Alexandre Guilmant included this tune in his Fantaisie sur deux mélodies anglaises for organ Op.

Likewise, the French composer Alexandre Goria used the tune as part of his Salut à la Grande Brétagne - Six airs anglese transcrite et variée, 1re.

Finally, to celebrate the jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887, Sullivan added a chorus of "Rule, Britannia!"