Jerusalem with lyrics by William Blake

A recital of the hymn "Jerusalem" in which the lyrics are taken from "And did those feet in ancient time", a poem by William Blake. The poem was included in the preface to Blake's epic poem "Milton: a Poem" which was written and illustrated between 1804 and 1810. The music for "Jerusalem" was written by C. Hubert H. Parry in 1916.

The full text of the poem "And did those feet in ancient time" is below:

And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold:
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor Shall my sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green & pleasant Land.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Poetry
• William
• Blake
• Jerusalem
• And did those feet
• ancient time
• hymn

[CrimsonPhantom88]

"Jerusalem" refers not to the city in Israel, but to the "New Jerusalem", the utopia of heaven from Christian mythology. The song is about Britons doing their part to build heaven here, today, on earth, in England.

[lollyclan]

Great fun! what a hoot! Loved the guy in the car singing with such gusto; we need a few million of him to put the country right. Thanks!

[eatingutube]

absolutely lovely my Engantyne. Be gently to the world see who you are. My Jerusalem, my paradise. And I´m not english..... loads of kisses

[bagz216]

Bravo..!

[doobeedoo58]

my piano is piled high with music scores too!

[clearlogicify]

@cowerme That is not the purpose of a national anthem

[cowerme]

A very unifying song in a way God Save the Queen isn't.

[carol301455]

Well sung and yet quite amusing all the same.

[costadancer]

This is better than god save the queen imo!!

[teevanator]

@BlogBitch Fair enough, could have explained that in the original comment ;) agreed it is shite too!

[BlogBitch]

@teevanator I was drawn in by the fact that this is a brilliant hymn, I'm English and too think it reflects our country better than the current anthem. But this is the crappiest version I have ever endured. There seems to be a chipmunk chorus running through it.

[teevanator]

@BlogBitch Why are you listening to it then? Haha.