Lloyd Webber’s call to fix Rule Britannia’s ‘ offending couplet’
ANDREW LLOYD Webber has suggested his collaborator Sir Tim Rice could “fix the offending couplet” in Rule Britannia! as the row over the Last Night Of The Proms rumbled on.
New, orchestral versions of Rule Britannia! and Land Of Hope And Glory will be performed on the final night of the Proms this year, but Lord Lloyd Webber said the anthem will sound “ordinary at best” without lyrics.
There will be no live audience to sing along and wave flags at the September 12 concert because of coronavirus restrictions.
The outgoing director- general of the BBC, Lord Tony Hall, has said the decision to remove the lyrics was a “creative” one, but confirmed that the issue of dropping songs because of their association with Britain’s imperial history had been discussed.
The BBC has also confirmed that the traditional anthems will be sung at next year’s Last Night of the Proms.
Some of the lyrics deemed controversial in the songs include
the Rule Britannia! lines: “Britons never, never, never shall be slaves”, and: “The nations, not so blest as thee / Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall/ While thou shalt flourish great and free: The dread and envy of them all.”
Land Of Hope And Glory, which was composed by Edward Elgar, also has colonialist lyrics, including: “By freedom gained, by truth maintained/ Thine Empire shall be strong”; and: “God, who made thee mighty/ Make thee mightier yet!”
In a letter to The Times, Lord Lloyd Webber said: “Sir, Rule Britannia! is one of those melodies that is made by a lyric.
“Played by an orchestra on its own, the chorus will sound ordinary at best.
“There are some great British lyricists around who could fix the offending couplet.
“In the 50th anniversary year of Jesus Christ Superstar, the BBC should send for Tim Rice.”
A representative for the composer confirmed that he had written the letter.
The debate over the inclusion of the songs has become a political one after Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an intervention on the issue and called for an end to “self- recrimination and wetness”.
In a letter to The Times on Tuesday, David Brice, a commodore in the Royal Navy, wrote: “Any attempt to remove the right to sing Rule Britannia! on the Last Night of the Proms seems at variance with historical truth.”