Britannia, rouse at heav’n’s command!
And crown thy native Prince again;
Then Peace shall bless thy happy land,
And Plenty pour in from the main:
Then shalt thou be—Britannia, thou shalt be
From home and foreign tyrants free.
Behold great Charles! thy godlike son,
With majesty and sweetness crown’d;
His worth th’ admiring world doth own,
And fame’s loud trump proclaims the sound.
Thy captain him, Britannia, him declare,
Of kings and heroes he’s the heir.
The second hope young Hero claims,
Th’ extended empire of the main;
His breast with fire and courage flames,
With Nature’s bounds to fix thy reign.
He (Neptune-like), Britannia will defy
All but the thunder of the sky.
The happiest states must yield to thee,
When free from dire corruption’s thrall,
Of land and sea, thou’lt Emp’ror be.
Britannia, unite! Britannia must prevail,
Her powerful hand must guide the scale.
Then Britons, rouse! with trumpets’ sound
Proclaim this solemn, happy day!
Let mirth, with cheerful music crown’d,
Drive sullen thoughts and cares away!
Come, Britons, sing! Britannia, draw thy sword,
And use it for thy rightful lord.
Another example will suffice:
When our great Prince, with his choice band
Arriv’d from o’er the azure main,
Heav’n smil’d with pleasure on the land,
And guardian angels sing this strain:
Go, brave hero; brave hero, boldly go,
And wrest thy sceptre from thy foe.
A striking proof of the general popularity of the music of the Ode is the quotation made from it by Handel in 1745-6, when he composed the “Occasional Oratorio” to commemorate the suppression of the Rebellion. The words “war shall cease, welcome peace” are set to music, evidently intentionally taken from the song of the day, “Rule, Britannia”: