# Help! Give me the QUINTISENTIAL British song! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015 "2003-04-29T22:11:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![big\_alex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e56c9b/32.png) [@big\_alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/big_alex)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/41 "2003-04-30T11:38:38Z")
How about “Lazy Sunday Afternoon”? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/42 "2003-04-30T12:49:33Z")
The presentation is completed and burned onto a CD. Thanks so much for everyone’s help. A Very Sleepy JuanitaTech ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/43 "2003-04-30T13:03:45Z")
It’s a pity that, despite it being pointed out by a couple of posters, half of this thread still couldn’t differentiate between England and Britain, particularly when the OP clearly states which flag it would be displayed with. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/44 "2003-04-30T13:19:47Z")
I agree, **Futile Gesture**. I would have suggested Jerusalem but didn’t, for that very same reason. It’s a tough one, isn’t it? Anyway, if you’re ever going to do it again, **JuanitaTech** , I would suggest Jupiter from Gustav Holst’s Planets Suite. Despite his name, Holst was British, and the piece has no political connotations or national affiliations - it’s just a stirring piece of music. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/45 "2003-04-30T13:20:02Z")
Yes, but if the intended audience doesn’t know the difference either, why go to all the trouble? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/46 "2003-04-30T13:26:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > \*\*Yes, but if the intended audience doesn’t know the difference either, why go to all the trouble? \*\* Fighting ignorance…? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/47 "2003-04-30T14:12:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > \*\*Yes, but if the intended audience doesn’t know the difference either, why go to all the trouble? \*\* :rolleyes: Because it’s no extra trouble and there’s a difference between getting it right and getting it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/48 "2003-04-30T14:50:34Z")
jjimm, I love Holst’s Jupiter but for this audience, while they would have appreciated the music, as it is indeed stirring, I don’t think they would have equated it with the UK. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/49 "2003-04-30T17:12:41Z")
**Greensleeves** supposedly composed by Henry VIII **Waterloo Sunset** or **Muswell Hillbilly** by the Kinks **It’s a Long Way to Tipperary** by a whole bunch of English people ---
**Author:** ![Vixenation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/278dde/32.png) [@Vixenation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vixenation)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/50 "2003-04-30T17:22:14Z")
A decent amount of people don’t know much about rock music (i.e., Blur, the Clash) so they might not get the reference to Britain if you put a song like “London Calling” in there. And MIDIs are notorious for being very Muzak-like, so that could only make the song that much more unrecognizable. I’d put in Rule Britannia, I can’t imagine a WAV file of it not existing. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/51 "2003-04-30T18:37:19Z")
I’m sure one exists but if you google _rule britannia_ and _.wav_ you’ll find not one of the resulted sites has a .wav of the song. ---
**Author:** ![Vixenation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/278dde/32.png) [@Vixenation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vixenation)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/52 "2003-04-30T20:44:07Z")
[http://www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk/local/rmbnd.htm](http://www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk/local/rmbnd.htm) This has a 15-second WAV clip of the Royal Marines’ Band playing the song. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/53 "2003-04-30T20:47:31Z")
Autumn Almanac - The Kinks Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks Fortis Green - Dave Davies Many of the Kinks songs are nostalgic about Britain, being British, being English, when one thinks about it! cheers ---
**Author:** ![Chris\_Sousa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac8455/32.png) [@Chris\_Sousa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chris_Sousa)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/54 "2003-04-30T23:06:34Z")
Funny, right when I opened this thread, “The Queen Is Dead” by the Smiths started playing on my computer… Forget Blur, you can always go with Oasis for some good Brit Rock. I’d suggest Bonehead’s Bank Holiday 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/55 "2003-04-30T23:15:44Z")
**JuanitaTech** , out of curiosity… What did you go with? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/56 "2003-05-01T13:10:51Z")
I went with the MIDI file I had of _Rule Britannia_. The problem was we wanted a specific part of _Rule Britannia_ (you know, the most well known part, about 35 seconds into the piece). ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015/57 "2003-05-01T16:53:30Z")
Well personally nothing screams “England” to me more than a chorus of “Celery” Ahem. But Britain? Hmm. The trouble with a “British” song is that it has to be inclusive of Anglo-Saxons, Picts, Celts and of course the myriad more recent ethnic additions to the island. Such a task is tough, but I believe that I most definitely have it. It’s got to be “Vindaloo” byt Fat Les. pan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-give-me-the-quintisential-british-song/172015.md?page=2)