And did those feet in ancient time
"And did those feet in ancient time" is a short
poem by
William Blake from the preface to his epic
Milton: a Poem (
1804). Today it is best known as the
hymn "Jerusalem", with
music written by
C. Hubert H. Parry in
1916.
Though the poem had been written during the
Napoleonic Wars, it was clearly intended by its author to address internal English issues.
The text is as follows:
And did those feet in ancient time:Walk upon England's mountains green?:And was the holy Lamb of God:On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine:Shine forth upon our clouded hills?:And was Jerusalem builded here:Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold;:Bring me my Arrows of Desire;:Bring me my Spear; O clouds unfold!:Bring me my Chariot of Fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,:Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand,:Till we have built Jerusalem:In England's green and pleasant Land.
(Some versions, including Blake's original, have "strife" rather than "fight".)
The term "Satanic Mills", which entered the English language from this poem, is most often interpreted as referring to the early
industrial revolution and its destruction of nature. [
1] Indeed, the term is often used with this connotation up to the present.
Other explanations offered for "Satanic Mills" were the
Established Church, the universities of
Oxford and
Cambridge, or neolithic remains such as
Stonehenge which Blake considered Satanic. [
2]
Whatever Blake's exact intention, it seems unlikely that the "mental fight" referred to was a concrete war waged by an army against an external enemy, or that the various archaic weapons enumerated were intended to represent modern arms. (All the more so as Blake was an outspoken supporter of the
French Revolution, whose successor
Napoleon - Britain's main enemy at the time of writing - claimed to be.)
Nevertheless, the poem - little known during the century which followed its writing - was included in a patriotic anthology of verse published in 1916, a time when morale had begun to decline due to the high number of casualties in the
First World War and the perception that there was no end in sight.
Under these circumstances, it seemed to many to define what Britain was fighting for. Therefore, Parry was asked to put it to music at a Fight for Right campaign meeting in London's
Royal Albert Hall. The most famous version was
orchestrated by
Sir Edward Elgar in
1922 for the Leeds Festival. Upon hearing the orchestral version for the first time,
King George V said that he preferred that "Jerusalem" replace "
God Save The King" as the National Anthem.
This is considered to be
England's most popular
patriotic song, often being used as an alternative national anthem. It was used as a campaign slogan by the
Labour Party in the
United Kingdom general election, 1945. (
Clement Attlee said they would build "a new Jerusalem"). "Jerusalem" is the unofficial anthem of the
British Women's Institute, and historically was used by the
National Union of Suffrage Societies.[
3]
The text of the poem was inspired by the
legend that
Jesus, while still a young man, accompanied
Joseph of Arimathea to the English town of
Glastonbury. Blake's biographers note that he believed in this legend; however, the poem's
theme or
subtext is subject to much sharper debate, probably accounting for its popularity across the philosophical spectrum. As a paean to a mythical Englishness the poem has come under criticism: after all, the first verse is a series of questions to which the 'truthful' answer is no, while the second frames a series of demands to which the reply might well be "get them yourself!". Consequently some see it as unsuitable as an English National Anthem, and its reference to a foreign city as puzzling to other nations. It is unlikely that Blake intended such a literal interpretation, however, or that most who sing and love the song believe in such a literal reading of the lyrics; legends contain important truths to many people.
One particular line from the poem, "Bring me my chariot of fire", which inspired the title of the film
Chariots of Fire, most probably draws on the story of
2 Kings 2:11, where the Old Testament prophet
Elijah is taken directly to heaven: "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." A church congregation sings "Jerusalem" at close of the film.
*Since
2004 it has been become the anthem of the
England cricket team and is regularly sung by
Rugby Union crowds.
*It is sung every year by an audience of thousands at the end of the Last Night of
The Proms in the
Royal Albert Hall and simultaneously in the Proms in the Park venues throughout the country.
*Track six ("Jerusalem") on the
Chariots of Fire soundtrack. Performed by the Ambrosian Singers with a partial
Vangelis composition overlay.
*In the episode "Full Frontal Nudity" (episode 8, season 1) of
Monty Python's Flying Circus, it is "Jerusalem" that must be sung to get a salesman to remove a bag over his head.
1969 Also, it is used repeatedly in the episode "Owl-Stretching Time" (Episode 4, Season 1) as Eric Idle sings it from the Cardiff rooms, Libya. After singing the line about "England's mountains green..." it cuts to a "Rustic monologue," which is broken up by the
Colonel. Also, in the sketch "Salvation Fuzz/Church Police," when they arrest a man for murder, they "conclude this arrest with a hymn," and they proceed to sing this song. The song is also used in many other episodes of
Monty Python's Flying Circus.
*It is sung frequently in the
2003 film
Calendar Girls at meetings of the British
Women's Institute.
*The song was performed by the band
Emerson, Lake and Palmer on their album
Brain Salad Surgery, where it appeared under the title "Jerusalem".
*
The Fall and
Billy Bragg have also recorded versions of the song, and
The KLF (as the JAMs) used it to end "
It's Grim Up North".
*
Iron Maiden singer
Bruce Dickinson recorded a much transformed version on his solo concept album about Blake,
The Chemical Wedding.
*
Composer Robert Steadman incorporated a version in his
remembrance-themed
choral work
In Memoriam (premiered in
1995).
*In
2000, British novelty-pop group Fat Les recorded another version, entitled "Jerusalem" or alternatively "Jerusalem 2000". This time it was a rousing electronic dance track, and was used as the England football team's theme at
Euro 2000.
*The tune has been set to several texts in the United States, where the traditional lyrics would have little relevance, including "O Love of God, how strong and true", which was performed in an arrangement by
Michael McCarthy at
Ronald Reagan's funeral at
Washington National Cathedral in
2004.
*In the
1994 film
Four Weddings and a Funeral, a character sings "Jerusalem" in a terribly off-key fashion.
*
Miles O'Brien and
Julian Bashir of
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine sing it while drunk in the episode "
Explorers" (season 3, episode 22).
*In
Shameless, a British television series, the whole family sing it together in the final episode of series 2.
*Eddie Izzard jokes about the song in a segment of one of his taped comedy routines, Circle.
*During
Genesis' tour supporting
Selling England by the Pound,
Peter Gabriel would often whistle the tune towards the end of the introduction to the song
Supper's Ready.
*In the
rockumentary Stalking Pete Doherty,
Max Carlish speaks the last stanza aloud.
*An altered version of the first stanza is used in the lyrics of "God Song" by Bad Religion.
*In
V for Vendetta, V is saying the last few lines when he is picking a rose to leave at Reverend Lilliam body after killing him.
*
Charlotte Church's debut album, Voice of an Angel, features the song. She also performs it Live in Jerusalem (it can also be seen in the Best Of.. DVD)
*The song is referred to in
Michael Flanders monologue which precedes
Flanders and Swann's performance of "A Song of Patriotic Prejudice": their song is jokingly intended as a better national song for England than "Jerusalem," especially in comparison to the patriotic songs of
Ireland,
Wales, and
Scotland.
*The established
Church of Scotland debated altering the lyrics of the hymn to read '
Albion' instead of England to make it more locally relevant.
*
Civil religion*
Merry England*
UK topics*
Romantic Movement and the industrial revolution*
RealMedia Audio File
