National anthems ...

Ah well, a day on and I haven't thought of any new ideas either. I still think they should be brought up to date though. The world has changed far faster than anyone could have imagined over the last few decades and all these morbid tunes with lyrics of 'we will beat the crap out of anyone else' get on my nerves. I know you are against nationalism Tony but when you cheer on Brighton I bet you sing along to the club song/whatever and that is a form of nationalism albeit reduced to regionalism or 'clubism'. Without anthems and nationalism it would surely become a case of 'team A' versus 'Team B' from the World Confederation? I think it terrific that nations compete at sport, it's one reason the third world war did not start. The Soviets were so determined to prove their system right they used sport (albeit by illegal methods), rather than war (once they realised they couldn't win one), to try and prove their point. I love cheering on England, or Britain, no matter what the sport. I just wish we had an anthem that a) wasn't so dire and b) the players could be bothered to sing. For some reason the Cheeky Girls and Touch My Bum has come to mind. *Goes off for more medicine*

Well Colin, if the government would listen to ME for once and shoot the bloody scummy Windsors we would HAVE to change our crap sycophants song. How about 'Maggies Farm' ? And we could scrap the f*cking Eurovision song contest and institute a National anthem contest where we have a new song every year.

How about the theme tune from The Muppets? With Prince William doing the drum solo.. [%sig%]

The only good bit in our National Anthem is that bit in another verse about the joy of killing Scottish people. No wonder our friends north of the border love it so.

Well dicko, that's a whole nation alienated, what you gonna do for an encore?

North Korea's is very stirring.

The South African one is brilliant! I love to see all those sad Boer rugby players singing along in Zulu or Tsonga or whatever it is. I would like to see Jerusalem become our national anthem (a) because it would be so incongruous to have an anthem named after a city that is nowhere near us (b) because it has fine socialist credentials and (c) because it's a damn fine tune.

I'm almost with Tony on the Jerusalem thing but more for the reason that William Blake was absolutely crackers and therefore is the perfect candidate to have written a national anthem. I'd go for Elvis Costello's Pills and Soap.

It's the insanity of it that I like! Ridiculous words but a great tune. I am opposed to nationalism of any sort and after singing your way through this you'd be far too knackered to fight.

We come from Gibrovia and we don't give a ****.

I think the English should take the east enders tune as their national anthem. Any one can fall in Love... di di di di da da da da da da

Well ever the odd man out, I love the German Nat Ant. although I believe it was written as a hymn tune and purloined in the way that only Germans can purloin.

'California Uber Alles' would be abrilliant anthem for the USA