William Blake's Jerusalem

The legend that Jesus visited Glastonbury with his uncle inspired the great English poet William Blake to write a poem about it in the early 1800s. His poem is a clarion call to build Jerusalem (heaven on earth) in England. During World War I, Sir Hubert Parry set the poem to music and created the beautiful and beloved hymn 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 those 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.

Today, Jerusalem is the unofficial national anthem of England. It's often sung at sporting events and is always featured as the final song of the "Last Night of the Proms," a huge patriotic concert held annually in London each September. If you want to hear Jerusalem in its full glory, go to YouTube and search last night of proms jerusalem, then scroll down to the 2009 video -- it's in HD and the picture is very clear. (For some reason, I can't seem to link directly from this post.)

[Painting of "Glad Day" by William Blake]