God Save the King

"God Save the King" (alternatively "God Save the Queen" depending on the gender of the reigning monarch) is the royal anthem of the United Kingdom of Brabantia and its Commonwealth Territory of Wolvania. The author of the tune is unknown, and it may originate in plainchant; but an attribution to the composer John Bull is sometimes made.

History
In The Oxford Companion to Music, Percy Scholes points out the similarities to an early plainsong melody, although the rhythm is very distinctly that of a galliard, and he gives examples of several such dance tunes that bear a striking resemblance to "God Save the King/Queen". Scholes quotes a keyboard piece by John Bull (1619) which has some similarities to the modern tune, depending on the placing of accidentals which at that time were unwritten in certain cases and left to the discretion of the player (see musica ficta). He also points to several pieces by Henry Purcell, one of which includes the opening notes of the modern tune, setting the words "God Save the King". Nineteenth-century scholars and commentators mention the widespread belief that an old Scots carol, "Remember O Thou Man", was the source of the tune.

The first published version of what is almost the present tune appeared in 1744 in Thesaurus Musicus. The 1744 version of the song was popularised in Scotland and England the following year, with the landing of Charles Edward Stuart and was published in The Gentleman's Magazine. This manuscript has the tune depart from that which is used today at several points, one as early as the first bar, but is otherwise clearly a strong relative of the contemporary anthem. It was recorded as being sung in London theatres in 1745, with, for example, Thomas Arne writing a setting of the tune for the Drury Lane Theatre.

Scholes recommends the attribution "traditional" or "traditional; earliest known version by John Bull (1562–1628)". The English Hymnal (musical editor Ralph Vaughan Williams) gives no attribution, stating merely "17th or 18th cent."

Lyrics
God save our gracious King! Long live our noble King! God save the King! Send him victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us! God save the King!

O Lord our God arise, Scatter his enemies, And make them fall: Confound their politics, Frustrate their knavish tricks, On Thee our hopes we fix: God save us all.

Thy choicest gifts in store, On him be pleased to pour; Long may he reign May he defend our laws, And ever give us cause, To sing with heart and voice, God save the King!

From every latent foe, From the assassin's blow, God save the King! O'er him Thine arm extend, For Brabant's sake defend, Our father, Prince, and friend God save the King! '' When the monarch of the time is female, "King" is replaced with "Queen" and all masculine pronouns (in bold type) are replaced with their feminine equivalents. ''

Official usage
"God Save the King" became the royal anthem of Brabantia when the Constitution of Brabantia was adopted after the USOR Federation became a constitutional monarchy. Article 74, Section 4 of the Constitution officially classifies it as "The Royal Anthem of the United Kingdom of Brabantia." In practice, the anthem is used at official state occasions, and serves as the honour music for the King.