"London Pride" is a patriotic song written and composed by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

in World War II.

Composition

Coward wrote "London Pride" in the spring of 1941, during

. According to his own account, he was sitting on a seat on a platform in

Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

, watching Londoners going about their business quite unfazed by the broken glass scattered around from the station's roof damaged by the previous night's bombing: in a moment of patriotic pride, he said that suddenly he recalled an old English folk song which had been apparently appropriated by the Germans for their national anthem, and it occurred to him that he could reclaim the melody in a new song. The song started in his head there and then and was finished in a few days. In fact the tune of the German national anthem was composed by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

in 1797 in a different context. The song has six verses. The opening lines, repeated three times within the song, are: Saxifraga x urbium 02

The flower mentioned is ''Saxifraga'' × ''urbium'', a perennial garden flowering plant historically known as London pride, which was said to have rapidly colonised the bombed sites of the Blitz. The song was intended to raise Londoners' spirits during that time, and was also circulated after the July 2005 bombings.

Melody

Coward acknowledged one of the traditional cries of London ("Won't You Buy My Sweet-Blooming Lavender", also used in the musical '' Oliver!'') as the starting-point for the tune, but he also pointed out the similarity with " Deutschland über alles", which he said was based on the same tune. It contrasts with many of the major-key, grandiose melodies used to celebrate patriotism, including

God Save The King "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is ''de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of national anthems of New Zealand, two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle ...

and Land of Hope and Glory. Its orchestration also contrasts with those anthems, employing muted strings and a celeste, rather than a pipe organ and a choir.

Usage

The music is used in the film '' This Happy Breed'', including the closing titles. The song has since been covered by artists such as

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was a British actress, singer and comedian. A star of cinema and music hall, she was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

, Cleo Laine, and

Donald Peers Donald Rhys Hubert Peers (10 July 1908 – 9 August 1973) was a Welsh people, Welsh singer of traditional pop. His best remembered rendition and signature song was "In a Shady Nook by a Babbling Brook". Biography Early life Donald Peers was b ...

. Julie Andrews sang the song on her 1957 debut album, ''The Lass with the Delicate Air''.

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

and Michael Nyman recorded the song in 1998 for the '' Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward'' tribute album. To mark the 100th anniversary of Noël Coward's birth, Jeremy Irons sang a selection of his songs at the 1999 Last Night of the Proms held at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in London, ending with "London Pride"."Last Night of the Proms 1999"
BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2015 In May 2015, Alexander Armstrong performed the song at VE Day 70: A Party to Remember at Horse Guards Parade in London.VE Day Concert Katherine Jenkins, Pixie Lott, Status Quo Lead Party at The Standard
Retrieved 11 May 2015

References

External links

*
Words of the song
{{authority control 1941 songs Songs written by Noël Coward Songs about London Songs about flowers