And did those feet in ancient time

And did those feet in ancient time is a poem by the English poet William Blake from the preface of his work Milton: a Poem (1804).

The song - originally for voice and piano - in Britain became known as Jerusalem. The music is by Sir Hubert Parry and dates from 1916 . Due to its popularity it became the unofficial anthem.

The terminology "Satanic Mills" (Devil's mills) probably refers to the early industrial revolution and the destruction of nature. Other explanations include the state church, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge andNeolithic monuments such as Stonehenge, which were considered diabolical objects by Blake.

The poem was in the 19th century, not very well known, but it was published in 1916 in a patriotic anthology of poems. This was a time when the morale of the people was low due to the high number of victims of theFirst World War . When King George V 's song first heard by unanimous choral and orchestral accompaniment of Edward Elgar, he probably said that this was to be the national anthem instead of God Save the King.

Officially, this never happened, but it's one of the most popular patriotic songs became and is often associated with British nationalism, anti-modernism, post-modernism, socialist ideals and Christianity . Jerusalem is the official song of the British National Party and the British Women's Institute and is enthusiastically sung at cricket competitions every year and especially at the Last Night of the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall . The band Emerson, Lake & Palmer took the number.

The inspiration for the text was the legend that Jesus, as a young man with Joseph of Arimathea to Glastonbury came. According to biographers of the poet William Blake believed in this legend. The poem is susceptible to many interpretations.

In the third stanza, the line "Bring me my chariot of fire". This was the inspiration for the film Chariots of Fire, and likely refers to the biblical story of 2 Kings 2:11, where the prophet Elijah goes to heaven. At the end of the film is Jerusalem sung by the congregation.

[Text edit ]

 * 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 thesis 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.