God Save the Queen

## Single by Sex Pistols

"**God Save the Queen**" is a song by the Sex Pistols, released as their second single on 27 May 1977. It was included as the fourth track from their only album *Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols*.

Named after the national anthem of the United Kingdom, the song was highly controversial at its time and was banned from the BBC, but landed at Number 2 on the Official UK Singles Chart. Additionally, the group performed the song that coincided with the Queen's Silver Jubilee on a boat sailing down the river Thames, resulting in several members being arrested once landing ashore. Paul Cook addressed that they weren't aware of the date, and "it wasn't a contrived effort to go out and shock everyone." There were also incidents of assaults on the group and producers, such as being attacked with razors. When the A&M label severed ties with the band in 1977 due to the group's disorderliness, approximately 25,000 copies of the record were destroyed. The remaining copies were estimated to be sold up to £16,000. The band signed with Virgin Records, through which the record was officially released, with the cover artwork designed by Jamie Reid.

On 27 May 2022, thousands of physical copies were reissued ahead of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, along with a "God Save The Queen Revisited" video uploaded to YouTube.

## Background

The track critiqued the country that underwent hard times, particularly for the youth and the working class, rather than a personal attack at the royal monarchy. Frontman John Rotten said, "You don't write God Save The Queen because you hate the English race. You write a song like that because you love them, and you're fed up with them being mistreated". Lydon later explained, "It's anti-royalist, but it's not anti-human. [...] Everyone presumes that I'm against the royal family as human beings, I'm not".

In a track-by-track review, they discussed to *Rolling Stone*:

Matlock: I came up with the riff and main set of chord changes for this when we were starting to do the first proper recordings of "Anarchy." We'd given our sound engineer, Dave Goodman, the go at being the producer, but it didn't work out and we went on strike and we rang up Chris Thomas. There was a piano in the studio; I can't play the piano, but I've fiddled around and I can play "Blueberry Hill" if you want to hear that. But I came up with this riff on it. I worked it out on the guitar and I said, "I've got a song." And John had a set of lyrics.

Rotten: I'd written this down as one solid piece. We did quite a bit with [producer] Chris Spedding before doing the album, and he taught me aspects of song structure and how to not ignore the music and just to stop ranting. Music was new to me. Even though I had bought records ever since I can remember, it's quite different to be in the studio trying to keep in time with the tune and fit the words in.

To me, the lyrics themselves were a fun thing. It was expressing my point of view on the Monarchy in general and on anybody that begs your obligation with no thought. That's unacceptable to me. You have to earn the right to call on my friendship and my loyalty. And you have to have value-proven points in order for me to support you. That's how it is.

Matlock: And that song was originally called "No Future." And when it came out, after I left the band, it occurred to somebody, maybe Malcolm that although the words were never changed, it was the Queen's silver jubilee and the first line is "God save the Queen," so why don't we call it that. But on early set lists it was called "No Future."

Rotten: I think that the song was misunderstood as a personal attack [on the Monarchy]. It wasn't. It's absolutely anti the institution of monarchy, but not them as people. Oh, my God, they get my heartfelt sympathy; I feel they have been born into a birdcage. There is no way out because there is nothing to compare it to, other than the entrapment of rule and regulation.

## Personnel

* Bill Price – producer
* Chris Thomas – producer
* Glen Matlock – bass, backing vocals, writer
* Johnny Rotten – lead vocals, writer
* Paul Cook – drums, writer
* Steve Jones – guitar, backing vocals, writer

## Lyrics

**Lyrics**
[Verse 1]

God save the Queen

The fascist regime

They made you a moron

Potential H-bomb

God save the Queen

She ain't no human being

There is no future

In England's dreaming

[Bridge 1]

Don't be told what you want to want to

And don't be told what you want to need

There's no future, no future

No future for you

[Chorus]

God save the Queen

We mean it, man

We love our Queen

God saves

[Verse 2]

God save the Queen

'Cause tourists are money

And our figurehead

Is not what she seems

Oh, God save history

God save your mad parade

Oh, Lord, God have mercy

All crimes are paid

[Bridge 2]

When there's no future how can there be sin?

We're the flowers in the dustbin

We're the poison in your human machine

We're the future, your future

[Chorus]

God save the Queen

We mean it man

We love our Queen

God saves

[Instrumental Solo]

[Chorus]

God save the Queen

We mean it, man

And there is no future

In England's dreaming

[Outro]

No future

No future

No future for you

No future

No future

No future for me

No future

No future

No future for you

No future

No future for you

## References

1. ↑ Savage, Mark (3 May 2022). "Sex Pistols to re-release God Save the Queen ahead of Jubilee". *BBC*.
2. ↑ Peacock, Tim (27 May 2022). "Watch The New Video For Sex Pistols' Punk Classic, ‘God Save The Queen'".
3. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (3 May 2022). "Still a fascist regime? Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen reissued to mark platinum jubilee". *The Guardian*.
4. ↑ The miniseries, *Pistol*, also aired on FX on Hulu several days later on 31 May.
5. ↑ ""Harry, GO WORK IN MCDONALDS!" John Lydon on The Royal Family | PMU". *YouTube*. 12 May 2022.
6. ↑ Grow, Kory (27 October 2017). "Sex Pistols Break Down 'Never Mind the Bollocks' Track by Track". *Rolling Stone*.