William Blake’s Jerusalem

2011, the year of revolution, and in my humble opinion it’s directly comparable to the 1848 revolutions in Europe. More detail about 1848 later, but in the meantime let’s stick with William Blake. In the very early years of the 19th century, Blake wrote an epic poem called Milton. The preface to Milton was called And did those feet in ancient time, a four stanza poem that more than one hundred years later, in 1916, was set to music by a composer called Hubert Parry. Parry’s musical interpretation of Blake’s poetical piece is called Jerusalem. Jerusalem is now a part of the English psyche, so much so that poll after poll has shown that the majority of English people would prefer to have Jerusalem as the national anthem rather than the godawful God Save the Queen.

The religious brigade have hijacked Jerusalem as a hymn. Although based on a Bible story it is most definitely not a hymn. William Blake was not religious. Jerusalem is a response to the horrors of the Industrial Revolution. I’ll reprint the poem here in full. But first, some interpretations of it, starting with my favourite by Billy Bragg…

Jerusalem is always played at the last night of the proms…

I hate nationalism, jingoism, racism and all the other bloody ‘isms’. Jerusalem is none of these things. In recent years scholars have tried to put a different take on Jerusalem. I’m an Englishman, and take my word for it when I say that I know exactly what Jerusalem is all about.

Jerusalem, originally written by William Blake as a poem called And did those feet in ancient time in 1804, and set to music by Hubert Parry in 1916…

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

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