The music for this patriotic song was composed by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, (1848-1918) in 1916. The words are from a poem by William Blake (1757-1827)
JERUSALEM
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 and pleasant land.
From Milton, a poem in two Books (1804-1808) by
William Blake.
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