reference to "god save the queen", the royal anthem of the britain.

Though usually attributed to Arne, there is good ground for believing "god save the queen" is really the work of Henry Carey, a singer and composer. It is said to have been written sometime between 1736 and 1740, but was first heard in public at a dinner in 1740 to celebrate the taking of Portobello by Admiral Vernon. Carey sang it as his own composition. The oldest copy is in "Harmonia Anglicana" of 1743 to which Carey was one of the chief contributors.

Several similar earlier airs exist in a manuscript of 1619 attributed to Dr. John Bull, an organist in the Chapel Royal during the reign of James I. In the same book is a song called "God Save the King", but the music is different. Some 140 composers, including Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms, have used the tune in their compositions.

The Scots claim it is based on an old carol of 1611 called "Remember O thou man" or "Franklyn is fled away" of 1669. It has also been traced to Purcell in 1696.

As a phrase from the Coverdale Bible of 1535, "God Save the King" was used as a naval watchword to which the countersign was "Long to reign over us".

For a long time the song was used as an expression of personal loyalty to the king and in translation it was used in Prussia, Denmark, and in Russia until 1833 when Czar Nicholas commissioned a new version. The tune has also been used in Sweden, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the United States."GOD SAVE THE QUEEN" is sung in the United Kingdom as a matter of tradition. It has never been proclaimed the national anthem by an Act of Parliament or a Royal Proclamation. "God Save the Queen" also serves as the royal anthem for most Commonwealth countries, such as australia [place] and Canada . (Governor-generals of Commonwealth countries usually have bits and pieces of the national anthem strung together played as their anthem.)the first part of this anthem is as follows:

God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen:
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save the Queen.

Thy choicest gifts in store,
On her be pleased to pour;
Long may she reign:
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen [...]

using this line, the manics of course also refer to the sex pistols' song 'god save the queen'. the cover of god save the manics, a picture of nicky wire looking like the legendary bass player of the sex pistols, sid vicous, makes this reference even clearer.'god save the queen' was the second single by The Sex Pistols (see be a man. be someone. kill someone. be a man. kill...), taken from their 1977 album 'never mind the bollocks'. this single was released on May 27, 1977.

The Sex Pistols originally wanted to call the song 'No Future', but their manager Malcolm McLaren (see generation terrorists [phrase]) knew Queen Elizabeth II's (see elizabeth windsor) Silver Jubilee was approaching. He convinced the band to change the song's name to "God Save the Queen" and delay the song's release to coincide with the Jubilee.

On June 7, 1977 - the Jubilee holiday itself - the band attempted to play the song from a boat on the river Thames, outside The Palace of Westminster. After a scuffle, the band was promptly arrested.

Many observers argue that 'god save the queen' sold more copies in Jubilee Week than the official number 1, 'The First Cut is the Deepest' by Rod Stewart, and that it was held at number 2 for political reasons. When it was released, it was banned by most radio stations.

The phrase "no future", the song's closing refrain, became emblematic of the punk movement.the first part of this song is as follows:

God save the queen
The fascist regime
They made you a moron
Potential H-bombGod save the queen
She aint no human being
There is no future
In England's dreamingDon't be told what you want
Don't be told what you need
There's no future no future
No future for you [...]