Why can’t I be English?

It seems these days that the English identity is being eroded. For some reason, we have to be British first and English second, whereas the Welsh and Scots (and quite rightly so) are Welsh and Scottish first and British second.

When there is an international sporting match (let’s use Rugby Union as an example), the announcement comes across the stadium ‘please be upstanding for the national anthems’. The Welsh have their anthem – ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ and the Scots have ‘Flower of Scotland’, and it’s quite right that they should have these anthems.

But, the English have ‘God Save The Queen’ which is the national anthem of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’. This may be a great and rousing song and I will sing it with pride when supporting GB. But this is NOT the National Anthem of England.

England does not have a national anthem.

Why should the Welsh and the Scots have a national anthem and not the English?

Perhaps a little poem might explain it a bit better:-

OUR ENGLAND

Goodbye my England, so long old friend
Your days are numbered, being brought to an end.
To be Scottish or Irish or Welsh that’s just fine,
But don’t say you’re English that’s way out of line!

The French and the Germans may call themselves such,
As may the Norwegians, the Swedes, and the Dutch.

You can say you are Russian or maybe a Dane,
But don’t say you are English ever again.

At Broadcasting House that word is taboo,
In Brussels, they’ve scrapped it, and in Parliament too.
Even schools are affected, staff do as they are told,
They mustn’t teach children about the England of old.

Writers like Shakespeare, Milton or Shaw,
Do pupils not learn about them anymore?
How about Agincourt, Hastings, or Mons?
Where England lost hosts of her very brave sons.

We’re not Europeans, how can we be?
Europe is miles away, over the sea!
We’re English from England let’s all be proud.
Stand up and be counted, shout it out loud!

Let’s tell Whitehall and Brussels too.

We’re proud of our heritage, not just red, white, and blue.
Fly the flag of St. George AND the Union Flag!
Let the World know ENGLAND is back!