Wie singt man auf Deutsch, ‘Rule, Britannia’?*
mainWord is tweeting out that the BBC has booked a German soloist for Last Night of the Proms.
No problem with that, until you get to the last number but one.
Not so much *how do you sing Rule, Britannia in German, as how does a German give credence to British rule?
Think of all those Unions Jacks.
Think what Angela Merkel will make of it.
Heavens above, she might even turn up.
Jonas Kaufman one assumes, or Andreas Scholl.
Andreas Scholl has appeared at LNOP before, so not the first time for a German soloist.
How does a German give credence to British rule?
Ask the Royal Family, it’s not too tricky.
When Deutschland first, at Heaven’s command
Arose from out the azure main;
This was the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain:
“Rule, Germania! rule the waves:
“Germans never will be slaves.”
You’re welcome π
Don’t British Soccer Fans wear t-shirts saying “Two World Wars and one World Cup”? π And considering the fact that the last successful German invasion of Britain took place some 1,5k years ago, I would say yes, a German can give perfect credence to “Britons never will be slaves”.
By the way, we do have songs of similar political and poetic value, though they are no longer considered pc. What about this:
“Sie sollen ihn nicht haben
den freien deutschen Rhein
ob sie wie gierige Raben
sich heiser danach schrein
…
Sie sollen ihn nicht haben
Den freien deutschen Rhein
Bis seine Flut begraben
Des letzten Manns Gebein”
Though some Frenchman dared to respond: “Nous lβavons eu, votre Rhin allemand.” π
Just a small point they wave Union Flags NOT Jacks.
It is only a Union Jack if it is attached to a ship.
A very small point indeed, pernickity would be a more appropriate word, and though what you say may be correct etymologically, it certainly isn’t in usage. I remember 1950, the year of the Festival of Brittain, when as small children we all waved Union Jacks. Nobody I knew would have had dreamt of calling them Union Flags. In fact the first time I heard anyone call one a Union Flag was when Ma Thatcher came out with it once. She liked that kind of thing, Stadia was another one of hers.
It’s actually only a Union Jack if its attached to a commissioned Royal Naval vessel – hence the term “Jack” meaning a matlow or Royal navy sailor….one who is in “The Andrew”
Hence also the term “Jack-Shit”.. of which an awful lot is written by people on this forum whose egos are larger than their reading list.
It’s rather like saying Forte is not really that different from Piano… well – it sort of is….
More people are better educated these days and have more respect for their country and get things right instead of showing their ignorance.
Of course, no such problem when RenΓ©e Fleming or Joyce DiDonato, both American, sang the glory of Britannia and its navy…
As did Thomas Hampson back in 1998.
Indeed; they even let RenΓ©e Fleming wave a Star Spangled Banner while singing Rule Britannia, so…
It’s about time that the whole tired, tawdry spectacle was consigned to the dust bin, to be joined possibly by the New Year’s Day concert in Vienna.
Last time I checked, attendance wasn’t compulsory.
What’s that asterisk referring to? Asterisks are usually one of a pair. I couldn’t find the other one.
He forgot the “pedant alert”.
Give credence to the words of “Rule Britannia”?
I did not expect NL to believe that Britain ruled by God’s will π
And most Germans singers nowadays have a quite good accent. No “Britannia rule ze vaves” (and it would be marvellous if we could say the same about the Sixteen doing Bach).
The day homo sapiens realizes that ethnicity and particularly nationality are mental constructs, as is its archetypical foundation, tribalism, and that we are all the same people only in individual varieties will be a great day. Probably the best day in the history of mankind.
Last night I drove with a Muslim taxi driver in Paris of obviously Arabic descent and he said: “In a few years we will be so many, we can take over the world.” “Which car are you going to drive then, once you have taken over everything, an Iranian ‘Peykar’ model?” I asked him. He remained silent behind his Mercedes steering wheel, his iPhone lying on the dashboard…
Well said,and our government is handing UK on a plate to them. Oh sorry can’t upset the Muslims can we. There won’t be any Rule Britannia then.
I really think that it should be a Briton up there singing Rule Britannia. Not a German, for goodness sake. What’s it all about?? There, said it.