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When England play at anything, surely God Save The Queen shouldn't be played - or horrendously sung by some caterwauling opera singer - as its national anthem.

How come the sweaties and the sheep-botherers have their own anthems yet we have to put up with the GSTQ dirge.

Am I imagining it, but is Jerusalem played when the cricket team come out to play. If so, that's more like it.

Something that is our own.

Fed up of, somehow, English nationalism is seen as something akin to racism.

Don't mind the lyrics that much but it could sure as hell do with a better tune.

Jerusalem is excellent at the Cricket but it doesn't really work compressed into thirty seconds for football/egg chasing.

Bit jealous of the Welsh/Scots anthems as they are cracking - Scotland The Brave and Bread of Heaven or that other one are great tunes.

Think we will have to endure it for quite a while yet. The royals have had an up turn in popularity due to William, Kate and Harry so it won't change unless we boot them out. Very unlikely I think.

They still do the national anthem at the cricket.

Jerusalem is just the run-out music.

Unfortunately gstq is national anthem of both England and Great Britain,
Would rather it something else, land of hope and glory or rule brittania would do
I like Jerusalem but dont think would work for footie

I remember from the champions trophy cricket in England last year ... The Sri Lankan anthem is superb!

At the commonwealth games don't they play Land of Hope & Glory when England win gold medals?

Dont think have ever watched commonwealth games on tv  :hmmm:
Would make sense as the queen is the head of all those taking part

As I understand it, God Save the Queen is the national anthem of GB & NI.  The individual countries do not have their own "national anthem", they just use a national song.

Jerusalem is being used for the Commonwealth Games for England.

The use of God Save the Queen in Norn Iron was a can of worms that was opened a long time ago.

National anthems in football should be abolished. It's a throwback to bygone age, just stick some FIFA/UEFA ditty over the PA system ala the Champions League.

A national song would be just fine.

GSTQ is fine for the Olympics or wherever the competing team is GB but not when it is just England.

Everyone could list the traditions of Wales, Scotland and Ireland but what is there about England that is intrinsically English.

I was in a pub in Tipperary a few years ago and the locals started up with some 'rebel' songs - they made a point of saying to us that no offence was intended and invited us to sing a traditional English song.

That got me thinking as I didn't know one. Just what is it to be English?

Some of the Irish rebel songs are fantastic. Love a good Irish sing a long.

Best England could have as a replacement for the awful gstq would be land of hope and glory, think that'd sound great.

are you familiar with folk music at all? It's quite popular

we all like a bit of rebellious Scot crushing

Lord grant that Marshal Wade 
May by thy mighty aid 
Victory bring. 
May he sedition hush, 
And like a torrent rush, 
Rebellious Scots to crush. 
God save the Queen!

Jerusalem is the only proper alternative for England in the sport (first verse only of course), although Land of Hope and Glory would be good.

It's not going to happen of course, at least not within the next twenty or thirty years.

I'm always jealous of La Marseillaise which kicks in with proper thump. Maybe we should just steal that.

Do you know one you could sing in its entirety?

And how fucking embarrassing would it be to start belting out Tom Cobley or some other shite.

Might as well give Wonderwall a go

I'm sure the EU will solve this issue for us in the coming years

Really?!  Always thought of it as a bit of a dirge myself.  And it drags on, and on, and on, and on...

I think my favourite has to be the new South African one.

If you go to a cinema out here they always play the national anthem before the film stands.

Don't stand up for it and you could well find yourself in prison.

Do they still play it across the tannoy at 6pm in railway stations?

They do, yeah.

Having to stand is not so strict in places like that where you are busy (and you're likely to be stood anyway).