Anyone watching the woman's Olympic football yesterday would have been treated to a shocking piece of oversight that sent jaws dropping to the floor and stunned a nation. No, not the South Korean flag being used to introduce North Korean players (although it was hilarious), the news that throughout the Olympics we will be using the first and second verses of the National Anthem.
After the first verse was sung with lung-bursting enthusiasm, the second verse saw mumbling, miming and humming breaking out across the crowd as the cameras panned around the stadium.
So obviously nobody knows the second verse of God Save The Queen but to confuse it even more, the second verse is actually the third verse because the real second verse is deemed not politically correct as it calls on God to scatter our enemies but not as offensive as the sixth that sees rebellious Scots being crushed.
Anyway, the official second verse that the organisers want the crowd and athletes to sing is:
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
No fellow Brits being crushed or enemies being scattered, just a safe verse about pouring gifts on her as the backdrop to the stirring sight of the national flag of France rising slowly up the flagpole.
Makes me proud and we still have Boris Johnson at the opening ceremony to look forward to tomorrow and you just know he is going to set someone s hair on fire.
3 comments:
I can't imagine a situation where anyone would be pining for three verses of this dirge. The shorter the better.
I noticed none of the Welsh players at the football sang it. Should be fun when we play at Cardiff.
At least Giggs should have sung it - he's about as Welsh as I am! (i.e. not at all)
Post a Comment