I'm sure anyone British who writes poems or songs will have had a go at something for the jubilee. I'm equally sure that were I to post mine in a more open forum it would call down a s**tstorm of vitriol from some quarters. I think I'm safe enough here. If you want to sing it. it's to the tune of the Monkees' Randy Scouse Git which was known in the UK as Alternate Title, a deliberate poke in the eye for the people who had insisted it be retitled.
(Note: I have slightly modified the lyrics to the chorus since first posting.)

They’re waving flags and laughing, hanging bunting in the streets
They’d be dancing to the anthem if it had a better beat
Every paper has a pull out of her pictures through the years
The bad things have been banished for a moment by the cheers

So give a hearty cheer
And drink a glass of beer
Without debate just celebrate
Remember why you're here

The high streets have been turned into a makeshift village green.
You have to raise your glasses, and then sing “God Save The Queen”
The tables have been loaded with all kinds of things to eat
And the food banks have all closed, because they have to be discrete


While yesterday you couldn’t raise the money for the bills
Today’s all froth and gaiety and fripperies and frills
You’re not allowed to frown and so you wear a different mask
Though you’d like to know what’s changed today, you’re not allowed to ask

You must not shed a tear
Instead drink another beer
And sing today, for you will pay
Tomorrow, never fear

There’s pageantry and puppetry, and pomp and circumstance
And all’s right with the country if you only take a glance
Try not to look too closely or to think about the cost
Or consider for a moment that the Rubicon’s been crossed.

When you wake tomorrow and you think back on today
You’ll find that last week’s problems are back, and here to stay
Your spirits that were lifted will have crashed back down to Earth
It was only bread and circuses and had no lasting worth

So give another cheer
A little weaker but still here
Though it's a drag, a waving flag
Won’t make things disappear

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale,

WOW.
For those not already familiar with the song (I wasn’t), do like me:
1.Read Bob’s anthem through. To me it sounded a little wistful, a little cynical, yet light-hearted.
2.Go to youtube.com and listen to The Monkees - Randy Scouse Git official music video 1967 (stereo)
There’s a subtext of anger in the chorus that pops right out, yet is strictly managed by the rhythm, nonsense-y words, high spirits.
Very late ‘60s. The Kinks meet the Beatles.
Way to go, Bob!!

Mickey Dolenz wrote it about his time living in the Uk. The title was the catchphrase of a comedy character called Alf Garnet (played by Warren Mitchel) in the series Till Death Us Do Part. The character was a bigoted working class Tory who frequently used the phrase about his long haired left wing Liverpool son in law. It’s one of the Monkees’ best songs.

Btw which are the nonsense-y words. There is one word - naugahyde - which doesn’t make sense in the context of a song set in England but it’s not a nonsense word just, I think， a brand name.

love it, Bob. However, it is a good thing you are in China for the Jubilee, I think.

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
love it, Bob. However, it is a good thing you are in China for the Jubilee, I think.

Because Boris Johnson's still at 10 Downing St? They shoulda had Boris Karloff*. Or Boris Becker. Or Boris Godunov. Anybody BUT Johnson.

* Not his real name, which was Pratt.

Yeah, that vote was annoying. But then we have had a lot of annoying votes lately, too.

I do think the world is beginning to go back to normal though. I was happy with the French vote.

There was never a possibility of Boris losing the vote of no confidence. He wanted it now because he knew he couldn’t lose though it was closer than he must have expected. The reason he wanted it now is that the rules say there can’t be another vote for twelve months so he is safe for at least that long. Even if he had lost the rules say that he should resign but he and his supporters make the rules so my guess is that he wouldn’t have gone if the vote had been 99% against him. I also think that if he called an election now he would win because his base is, rather like Trump’s, more or less unwavering. It seems that there are a lot of people who would rather live in a hell ruled by a clown than a heaven ruled by an accountant - which is largely how Johnson and Starmer are respectively perceived.

quote:

Originally posted by Geoff:

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
love it, Bob. However, it is a good thing you are in China for the Jubilee, I think.

Because Boris Johnson's still at 10 Downing St? They shoulda had Boris Karloff*.

* Not his real name, which was Pratt.

I am, despite how it might look, neither pro nor anti monarchy, but I do think these celebrations are a bread and circuses distraction that have more to do with raising a patriotic fervor than any genuine celebration. They are designed to take people’s minds off the fact that as a nation we have families that can’t afford to eat and pensioners riding buses all day because they can’t heat their homes.
Hence the poem