There'll Always Be an England

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"There'll Always Be an England" is an English patriotic song, written and distributed in 1940 and highly popular throughout World War II. It was composed and written by Ross Parker & Harry Par-Davies. The words were written by Hugh Charles, and the most popular version was sung by Vera Lynn.

The words reflect the actual situation at the time of writing, when most of Europe was under Nazi occupation and Britain stood alone, and the possibility of England being free for "always" (or even for the coming year) was far from self-evident. The outlying parts of the British Empire — and especially such dominions as Canada, Australia and New Zealand — seemed the only base of support on which Britain could rely, with the United States still neutral and the Soviet Union holding to its 1939 Non-Aggression Pact with Germany.

The repetition of "England shall be free" can be considered a rephrasing of the famous "Britons never, never, never shall be slaves" in "Rule, Britannia!" — a song already two centuries old at the time of writing. But under the considerations of clear and manifest danger in late 1940, the British public was evidently willing to enthusiastically embrace such grossly martial images as "A million marching feet", absent from earlier patriotic songs written under less perilous circumstances.

Significantly, the song does not speak about "There'll Always Be a Britain" or about Britain being "always free". Though Great Britain was in existence as a political unit for more than two centuries at the time of writing, and though the Scots and Welsh were as deeply involved as the English in the desperate war against Nazi Germany going on when the song was written, it was "England" to which an emotive appeal was made in order to mobilise the listeners' utmost loyalty and devotion.

A version of this song was sung by Tiny Tim at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.

1 Words
2 Commentary
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Words

I give you a toast, ladies and gentlemen.

May this fair dear land we love so well

In dignity and freedom dwell.

Though worlds may change and go awry

While there is still one voice to cry - - -

There'll always be an England

While there's a country lane,

Wherever there's a cottage small

Beside a field of grain.

There'll always be an England

While there's a busy street,

Wherever there's a turning wheel,

A million marching feet.

Red, white and blue; what does it mean to you?

Surely you're proud, shout it aloud,

"Britons, awake!"

The Empire too, we can depend on you.

Freedom remains. These are the chains

Nothing can break.

There'll always be an England,

And England shall be free

If England means as much to you

As England means to me.

[edit] Commentary

In the introduction to the "Song of Patriotic Prejudice" on their album At the Drop of Another Hat, Michael Flanders of Flanders and Swann comments: "'There'll Always Be an England.' Well, that's not saying much, is it? There'll always be a North Pole, if some dangerous clown doesn't go and melt it."

[edit] Trivia

The song was played over the PA at each of the Sex Pistols concerts in November 2007 as the band came onstage. This is, perhaps, ironic given two of the Sex Pistols songs could be deemed unpatriotic - Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen.