Rule Britannia is a song, originating from the poem Rule Britannia by James Thomson, and put to music by Thomas Arne in 1740. The song was included in a masque, Alfred, co-written by Thomson and David Mallet and first performed at Cliveden, country home of Frederick, Prince of Wales.

At the time it appeared the song was not a celebration of the existing state of naval affairs as Britain did not "rule the waves". However, over the next two centuries the Royal Navy became a dominant force on the oceans and protected Britain and her burgeoning Empire from a number of "haughty tyrants" and "foreign strokes". The jesting lyrics of the mid-1700s assumed a material and patriotic significance by the end of the 19th century.

When Britain first at Heav'n's command

Arose from out the azure main;

This was the charter of the land,

And guardian angels sang this strain;

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:

Britons never will be slaves.

The nations not so blest as thee,

Shall in their turns to tyrants fall;

While thou shalt flourish great and free,

The dread and envy of them all.

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:

Britons never will be slaves.

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.

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:

Britons never will be slaves.

Thee haughty tyrants ne'er shall tame,

All their attempts to bend thee down

Will but arouse thy generous flame;

But work their woe, and thy renown.

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:

Britons never will be slaves.

To thee belongs the rural reign;

Thy cities shall with commerce shine;

All thine shall be the subject main,

And every shore it circles thine.

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:

Britons never will be slaves.

The Muses, still with freedom found,

Shall to thy happy coast repair;

Blest Isle! With matchless beauty crowned,

And manly hearts to guide the fair.

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves:

Britons never will be slaves.

The melody was the theme for a set of variations for piano by Ludwig van Beethoven (WoO 79).

Rule Britannia is traditionally performed at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms, normally with a guest soloist (past performers have included Bryn Terfel, Thomas Hampton , and Felicity Lott). However, in recent years the inclusion of the song and other patriotic tunes has been much criticised — notably by Leonard Slatkin — and the presentation has been amended.

See also: UK topics

Rule Britannia is also a novel by Daphne du Maurier.

External links

• Audio file
• Pianoversion (9KB, Midi-Datei)
• Orchesterversion (121KB, MP3-Datei)
• BBC Symphony Orchestra, Last Night of the Proms, Live 2000, (4:27min, ca 4MB, MP3-Datei)
• Beethoven Haus Bonn, Variationen über das englische Volkslied "Rule Britannia" für Klavier (D-Dur) WoO 79