National Anthem Comparison
United Kingdom vs United States
1
Shared themes
✗
Different moods
69
69 years apart
✗
Different continents
United Kingdom
God Save the King
United States
The Star-Spangled Banner
Comparison Analysis
United Kingdom (Europe) and United States (North America) come from different parts of the world, yet both express national identity through song. United Kingdom's "God Save the King" was written in 1745; United States's "The Star-Spangled Banner" in 1814.
Both anthems share themes of god / faith. United Kingdom additionally explores monarchy, love of homeland and hope, while United States also touches on flag, battle / war, freedom and resilience.
The emotional tones differ: United Kingdom's anthem is majestic, while United States's is proud.
United Kingdom's anthem predates United States's by 69 years, having been written in 1745 compared to 1814.
Shared themes
United Kingdom
👑 Monarchy ✝ God / Faith ❤ Love of homeland 🌅 Hope
United States
🚩 Flag ⚔ Battle / War 🕊 Freedom ✝ God / Faith 💪 Resilience
Shared themes:
✝ God / Faith
Metadata
| United Kingdom | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1745 | 1814 |
| Adopted | 1745 | 1931 |
| Lyricist | Unknown (traditionally attributed to Henry Carey) | Francis Scott Key |
| Composer | Unknown | John Stafford Smith |
| Language | en | en |
| Region | Northern Europe | Northern America |
Lyrics Side by Side
United Kingdom
God Save the King
Original
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
With heart and voice to sing,
God save the King!
Not in this land alone,
But be God's mercies known
From shore to shore:
Lord make the nations see
That men should brothers be,
And form one family
The wide world o'er
United States
The Star-Spangled Banner
Original
O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Interesting facts
United Kingdom
- 1. The tune is still used for Liechtenstein's national anthem and Norway's royal anthem; it once served Prussia and the German Emperor ('Heil dir im Siegerkranz'), the Russian Empire (1816-1833) and Switzerland (until 1961), and in the United States it carries the patriotic song 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee'
- 2. Around 1745 an extra verse praying that Field Marshal Wade would 'Rebellious Scots to crush' was briefly in use; it was soon abandoned and was not part of the song when it became accepted as the national anthem in the 1780s and 1790s
- 3. As is customary when a king succeeds a queen, the words changed from 'Queen' to 'King' after Elizabeth II's death in 2022, for the first time in over 70 years
United States
- 1. The melody comes from 'To Anacreon in Heaven', the club song of the Anacreontic Society, a London music and supper club. It is often called a drinking song, but musicologist Mark Clague notes that it was written for a trained solo singer, which helps explain why crowds find it so hard to sing
- 2. It only became the official anthem in 1931; before that, 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee' and 'Hail, Columbia' were commonly used
- 3. The flag that inspired the anthem originally measured 30 by 42 feet. It is now displayed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in an environmentally controlled chamber, in dim light, to protect it from further deterioration
Listen
United Kingdom
United States
