Britons, Strike Home!

Britons, Strike Home! is a British patriotic song, originally an air written for a theatrical production by Henry Purcell in 1695. It was popular during the various wars of the 18th and early 19th centuries.

An unusually vicious caricature print by James Gillray dated 1803 and entitled "BUONAPARTE, 48 Hours after Landing!". Napoleon's severed head is held aloft on a pitchfork by John Bull whose hat bears the legend "BRITONS STRIKE HOME", which was a popular slogan during the Napoleonic Wars.

Origin

In the last year of Purcell's life, he wrote the music for an October 1695 adaptation of John Fletcher's tragedy, Bonduca, called Bonduca, or the British Heroine. Purcell's score has the "Z number" Z 574 and ranks amongst his finest music for the theatre,[1] In the play, the Ancient British general, Charatach is trying to rouse the army of Queen Bonduca against the Romans. He appeals to their god Divine Andate and finally commands, Now Sing, ye Druids. The Druids take up the theme with a duet, To Arms, To Arms! followed by a solo and Druid chorus, Britons, Strike Home![2] In 1728, the tune was used as Air LIX in The Beggar's Opera by John Gay.[3]

Lyrics

Purcell's original lyrics

(Solo by the Chief Druid, repeated by the chorus of Druids)

Britons, strike home!
Revenge, revenge your Country's wrong.
Fight! Fight and record. Fight!
Fight and record yourselves in Druid's Song.
Fight! Fight and record. Fight!
Fight and record yourselves in Druid's Song.[4]

Lyrics composed during the Invasion Scare of 1803–5

Should Frenchmen e'er pollute Britannia's strand,
Or press with hostile hoof this sacred strand;
The daring deed should every Briton arm
To save his native land from dire alarm;
Her freeborn sons should instant take the field,
The Altar and the Throne to shield.

Chorus

Britons, strike home! avenge your country's cause,
Protect your King, your Liberties, and Laws!

There are a further five verses.[5]

Notable uses

gollark: This is "generic" over the type of `a`.
gollark: For example,```haskellapifyBees :: Number a => a -> a -> aapifyBees x y z = z - y * x```
gollark: You convert generic functions to many nongeneric ones during compilation.
gollark: Macron will monomorphize literally everything.
gollark: Malware should use GF2P8AFFINEQB so that nobody can understand it.

References

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