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.
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