Failing GB News’ attempt at becoming more patriotic by playing the National Anthem daily gets slated; dimwit Darren Grimes, of course, had to weigh in
This morning at 5:59am prompt – in what seemed like something from an episode of Dad’s Army gone wrong – the comedy channel with bad lighting that is GB News played God Save The Queen “to kick off live programming.” They bragged that they will do so “every day from now on,” but used accompanying imagery that amongst other things included a pile of rocks (pictured above). It was hardly a show of Britain at its best; it was more like tepid tea, in fact – bland and boring.
In an email sent last night, GB News enthused of their laughable attempt at bigging-up Britain:
“The anthem will play out across GB News Television and GB News Radio at 5.59am, ahead of Breakfast with Eamonn and Isabel on weekdays, and Breakfast with Stephen and Anne at weekends.
“As you know, the anthem used to be a regular feature at the BBC, who dropped it from their television service 24 years ago. It means GB News will be only British television broadcaster to play the anthem daily.”
“We promised that GB News would celebrate what’s good about our country when we can, and the Queen’s 70 years on the throne is definitely cause for celebration.”
“We’ve selected an uplifting instrumental version which, for our television viewers, will play over photographs of beautiful British scenes at dawn.”
“We think this moment of quiet reflection will be a lovely way to start the day. We hope you do too.”
Though lauded as a “proud moment for British broadcasting,” according to an article this morning in the MailOnline, the version played was subsequently mocked widely online. Of it, one commentator remarked: “If all GB News has got as imagery to promote modern Britain is a falling down castle, they must truly be getting desperate. They’ve lost Andrew Neil and all they have left, aside from [“condom campaigner”] Tom Harwood, is this. What a joke.”
The National Anthem – As described on The Royal Family’s Website
The British National Anthem in its present form dates back to the eighteenth century. The words and tune are anonymous, and may date back to the seventeenth century.
God Save The King was a patriotic song first publicly performed in London in 1745, which came to be known as the National Anthem at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
In September 1745, the ‘Young Pretender’ to the British Throne, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, defeated the army of King George II at Prestonpans, near Edinburgh.
In a fit of patriotic fervour after news of Prestonpans had reached London, the leader of the band at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, arranged God Save The King for performance after a play. It was a tremendous success and was repeated nightly.
This practice soon spread to other theatres, and the custom of greeting monarchs with the song as he or she entered a place of public entertainment was thus established.
There is no authorised version of the National Anthem as the words are a matter of tradition. Additional verses have been added down the years, but these are rarely used.
The words used today are those sung in 1745, substituting ‘Queen’ for ‘King’ where appropriate. On official occasions, only the first verse is usually sung.
The words are as follows:
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.
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.
The British tune has been used in other countries. European visitors to Britain in the eighteenth century noticed the advantage of a country possessing such a recognised musical symbol.
In total, around 140 composers, including Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms, have used the tune in their compositions.
