England needs an anthem

We got back too late from France to witness the booing of the anthems at the Wales-England game on Saturday. I don't condone any booing - nor do I accept it only happens at football games either.

But there are real issues about the fact that the 'Royal' anthem - the anthem of the UK State - is officially the song sung by England fans before games. The height of absurdity was reached for me in November 2003. Wales were playing England down under in the Rugby World Cup - as it happens, on Remembrance Sunday. I remember just having time to watch the anthems and the kick-off, before going to the Remembrance Day Parade and Service in Tonypandy. Before the game of course, the Welsh anthem was Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau - and the English anthem was God Save the Queen. Then at the Remembrance Service, the congregation sang both Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and God Save the Queen. Either 'God Save the Queen' is the English anthem - or it is the UK State anthem. It is absurd for it to be both.

In rugby, of course, England has had the unofficial anthem - 'Sweet Chariot' - for years. Scottish fans adopted the folk song Flower of Scotland as their own in the '70s. Today, fans of the England Cricket Team are singing 'Jerusalem' as I type. Now, the problem with cricket is that the England team is really the England-and-Wales team, particularly this summer, with the Jones boys, so actually Jerusalem is inappropriate for cricket. (And of course, a former England captain, Mike Denness, was a Scot.)

However, Jerusalem is a good anthem for England, I think. Maybe the English fans will adopt it and assert it in sports other than cricket. That would stop the BNP claiming it as their own, which wikipedia says they do, bizarrely given who wrote it.

BBC Four has a programme on this theme of Jeruslem as an anthem for England tonight. 'God Save the Queen' should be reserved for official state occasions.