Vintage Audio - Land of Hope and Glory
Reproduced below are the lyrics to the popular British anthem, Land of Hope and Glory. It rapidly became one of the most widely popular songs played during wartime. The music behind the tune was composed by Sir Edward Elgar in 1902 for incoming King Edward VII - Coronation Ode - and the words subsequently added by Arthur Christopher Benson.
Use the player above to listen to a variation of the song performed by Clara Butt in 1911.
Land of Hope and Glory
Dear Land of Hope, thy hope is crowned.
God make thee mightier yet!
On Sov'ran brows, beloved, renowned,
Once more thy crown is set.
Thine equal laws, by Freedom gained,
Have ruled thee well and long;
By Freedom gained, by Truth maintained,
Thine Empire shall be strong.
Land of
Hope and Glory,
Mother of the Free,
How shall we extol thee,
Who are born of thee?
Wider still and wider
Shall thy bounds be set;
God, who made thee mighty,
Make thee mightier yet.
Thy fame is ancient as the days,
As Ocean large and wide:
A pride that dares, and heeds not praise,
A stern and silent pride:
Not that false joy that dreams content
With what our sires have won;
The blood a hero sire hath spent
Still nerves a hero son.
"Drum Fire" was an artillery barrage fired not in salvo but by each gun in succession.
- Did you know?
