“GOD SAVE THE KING”

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 4 October 1924, Page 7

“GOD SAVE THE KING”

ORIGIN OR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM. ■lt has been said that the authorship ol “God Save Llie King’’ once exeiteu as much controversy as the authorship of the Letters of Junius, says a writer in the Weekly Scotsman. Many believed it to have been composed by .Dr. John Hull fur King James I. in 1(>07. In endeavouring to arrive at the date, we may derive a little help from the Memoirs ol Madame de Creuuy, wherein it is stated that “God Save the Kiijg” is an almost literal translation of tlie Cantiouc sung by the demoiselles de St. Syr when Louis XIV. entered the chapel of that establishment. The words were attributed to M. de Brinon and the music to Lully : Grand Dieu, sauve le Roi, Grand Dieu. venge le Roi, vive le Roi! Que touiours gloreux. Louis vitorieux, Yoye see ennemis, Toujour* soumis! Grand Dieu, sauve le Roi, Grand Dieu, venge le Roi, vive le Roi! But Rinibaulf, who supported the authoriship of Dr. John Bull, affirmed that the music was sixteenth century, and in all essentials could be found in a. manuscript of Dr. John Bull. There is another claim to the authorship, namely, that of Harry Carey, who died in 1742. Chappell, in his notes to his collection of Old English airs, records that abo.ut the year 1796 George Saville Carey asserted his father’s claim and made a journey to -Windsor in the hope of obtaining soma pecuniary recompense from the King. It was by no means Ca.vey’s wish, though he claimed the authorship for his father, to. prove also that the anthem was written for King James, as that would have defeated his hopes of reward, and it has been suggested that his concealment of the fact tended to throw a suspicion upon his statement. It was immediately proved upon concurrent testimonies to have been sung “God Save Great James Our King” ; and from that time may be dated the endless discussions on the subject. The song did not become widely known until 1745. Partly owing, perto the fact that it had originally been sung “God Save Great James,” the Jacobites adopted it with enthusiasm. Whether the French version was adapted from a pre-existing English form, or whether the English form was adapted from a pre-existing French form are interesting topics of speculation.