I Vow to Thee, My Country is an British patriotic song and Anglican hymn. The lyrics were written by Cecil Spring-Rice in 1918 after World War I. This is an incomplete list. ... The Church of England logo since 1998 The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ... Sir Cecil Spring-Rice (1859 - 1918) was a British diplomat. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

Hymn history

In 1921, the music of "Jupiter" from Gustav Holst's Planets Suite (1914–16) was added to create a singable hymn. In hymnals, the melody is usually referred to as Thaxted. The music from planets has to be extended slightly to fit the final two lines of the first verse. Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Gustav Holst Gustavus Theodore von Holst (September 21, 1874 – May 25, 1934) was an English composer with Latvian (and some Spanish) roots. ... The Planets Op. ... Thaxted, the English village where the British composer Gustav Holst resided much of his life, is also the name of the stately main theme of the Jupiter movement of Holsts orchestral suite The Planets. ...

The first verse is a reference to Britain and the sacrifice of those who died during the First World War. The second verse starting, "And there's another country" is a reference to heaven. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Spring Rice wrote the words for the hymn as a poem in 1908 whilst posted to the British Embassy in Stockholm. Then called Urbs Dei or The Two Fatherlands, the poem described how a Christian owes his loyalities to both his homeland and the heavenly kingdom. At that time, the first verse glorified warfare in a manner common to the bellicose patriotism at the beginning of the Great War. Nickname: Location of Stockholm in northern Europe Coordinates: , Country Sweden Municipality Stockholm Municipality County Stockholm Province Södermanland and Uppland Charter 13th century Government  - Mayor Kristina Axén Olin (m) Population (March 2007)  - City 786,509  - Density 4,160/km² (10,774. ...

In 1912, he was sent to Washington, D.C. as Ambassador to the United States of America where he worked to influence the administration of Woodrow Wilson to abandon neutrality and join Britain and her Empire in the war against Germany. After the Americans entered the war, Spring Rice was recalled to Britain. Shortly before his departure from the US in January 1918, he re-wrote and renamed Urbs Dei, significantly altering the first verse to concentrate on the huge losses suffered by British soldiers during the intervening years. For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856–February 3, 1924), was the twenty-eighth President of the United States. ...

In 1925, Gustav Holst set the words to music, likely influenced by his daughter who had attended the same school, St Paul's Girls' School in London, as Spring Rice's daughter. The hymn became a common element at Armistice memorial ceremonies at this time. St Pauls Girls School (or SPGS) is a major British independent school, located in Hammersmith, London. ... A white flag is traditionally used to represent a truce. ...

The second verse gave the title to both the play and the film Another Country, where the song is sung. Movie adaptation Another Country is a play by Julian Mitchell loosely based upon the life of the spy Guy Burgess, called Guy Bennett in the play, examining the effect that his homosexuality and his exposure to Marxism have on him and the hypocrisy and snobbery of the British public school...

In August 2004, the Rt Revd Stephen Lowe, Bishop of Hulme, called for the first verse of the hymn to be removed from Church of England services, calling it "totally heretical". He believed it placed national loyalties above religious ones and encouraged racism and an unquestioning support of governments. His words sparked a debate on the wider implications of the hymn. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Diana, Princess of Wales, requested that this hymn be sung at her wedding, saying that it had "always been a favourite since schooldays". It was also sung at her funeral in 1997 and her ten-year memorial thanksgiving service in 2007. “Diana Spencer” redirects here. ... The Pont de lAlma tunnel, where Diana was fatally injured. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ...

There is also a little known third verse, to the hymn, which was not considered suitable for modern use, and is not included in hymn books. The hymn is also associated with Remembrance Day services in the UK and also in Canada.^[1] Wreaths of artificial poppies used as a symbol of remembrance Remembrance Day (United Kingdom, Australia, Canada), also known as Poppy Day (South Africa and Malta), and Armistice Day (United States, New Zealand, France, and many other Commonwealth countries; and the original name of the day internationally) is a day to...

The extra verse (in actual fact the second verse) lyrics:

I heard my country calling, away across the sea,
Across the waste of waters she calls and calls to me.
Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,
And round her feet are lying the dying and the dead.
I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns,
I haste to thee my mother, a son among thy sons.

Commercial uses

• An instrumental version of the song appears in an episode of the satirical television show The Day Today to accompany a 'patriotic' video.
• A variation of the tune is entitled "The World in Union", and is a theme for the Rugby World Cup.
• The song appears on Libera's 2003 album Free.
• The song appears in Voice of an Angel, the debut album of Charlotte Church. It also appears in the album G4 & Friends by the X Factor group G4.
• Maddy Prior includes the tune in two pieces of her 2003 album Lionhearts.
• After winning the 2005 Ashes the English cricket team did backing vocals for the song, sung by Keedie, as a B-side to the cricketing favourite Jerusalem.
• The song is also featured in the Katherine Jenkins album Living a Dream the UK version.
• The music appears in the British mini-series To Play the King (1993)
• The song is frequently used in the BBC show Top Gear as a soundtrack to momentous events.

The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs news programmes. ... For the world cup that is contested in rugby league, see Rugby League World Cup. ... Libera Angel Voices album cover (2006) Libera is the third public name for the boys section of an Anglican parish church choir from South London. ... Voice of an Angel is the title of a music recording featuring the voice of soprano Charlotte Church. ... Charlotte Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed on 21 February 1986) is a Welsh pop singer and television presenter who rose to international fame in childhood as a popular classical singer with a precociously mature dramatic operatic voice, in particular in its tonal qualities. ... G4 and Friends is the second album released by X Factor group, G4. ... The X Factor is a British popular music talent show, broadcast on Saturdays on ITV1 (with spinoff behind-the-scenes shows The Xtra Factor and X Factor 24/7 screened on ITV2). ... G4 are a vocal troupe made famous by The X-Factor television programme. ... Maddy Prior is a British folk singer. ... The 2005 Ashes series started on 21 July 2005. ... The logo of the England Cricket Team which shows the three Lions of England below a five-pointed crown The England cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales, operating under the auspices of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). ... Bowler Shaun Pollock bowls to batsman Michael Hussey. ... For the British patriotic song by Hubert Parry see And did those feet in ancient time. ... Katherine Jenkins (born 29 June 1980 in Neath, Wales[1]) is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. ... Prime Minister Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson) and the King (Michael Kitchen) in the BBC Television Drama To Play the King. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... The current format of Top Gear is a BAFTA[1] and Emmy Award-winning BBC television series about motor vehicles, mainly cars. ... In film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ...

Lyrics

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,

Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;

The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,

That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;

The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,

The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

I heard my country calling, away across the sea,

Across the waste of waters she calls and calls to me.

Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,

And round her feet are lying the dying and the dead.

I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns,

I haste to thee my mother, a son among thy sons.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,

Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;

We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;

Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;

And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,

And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

Notes

BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• I vow to thee, my country at the "Cyber Hymnal".
• Easybyte - free easy piano sheet music for I Vow to Thee / Thaxted
• Ban this racist hymn, says bishop
• BBC Radio 4 discussion of the hymn
• Patriotism and Sacrifice at the Diocese of Oxford website