Rule, Britannia!

Rule, Britannia!

Composer Thomas Arne Released 1740-08-01

Rule, Britannia! is a song based off of a poem by James Thomson and set to music composed by Thomas Arne. It has become the unofficial national anthem of the United Kingdom. Several games have used this tune, but most notably the Ultima series which has used the song in the majority of its games when you reach Lord British's castle.

Games

Released	Game	Arranger	Length	Format	Listen
1983-??-??	Blue Max (A8)	Unknown		SAP
1983-??-??	Blue Max (C64)	Unknown		SID
1983-??-??	Ultima III: Exodus (A2)	Ken Arnold	0:16	UNK
1984-??-??	Ultima III: Exodus (C64)	Ken Arnold	0:16	SID	-
1985-09-18	Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (A2)	Ken Arnold	0:38	UNK	[[File:|-]]
1985-??-??	Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (C64)	Ken Arnold	0:38	SID
1988-03-??	Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (A2)	Ken Arnold
1988-??-??	Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (C64)	Ken Arnold	0:37.23	SID	-
1989-09-20	Ultima: Quest of the Avatar (NES)	Seiji Toda	0:01	NSF
1989-??-??	Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (AST)	Wally Beben		SNDH	[[File:|-]]
1990-??-??	Ultima VI: The False Prophet (DOS)	Herman Miller	0:37	M
1991-01-??	Ultima: Warriors of Destiny (NES)	Martin Galway	0:35	NSF, VGM
1991-??-??	Ultima VI: The False Prophet (C64)	Ken Arnold	0:37.23	SID	-
1992-04-16	Ultima VII: The Black Gate (DOS)	Dana Glover	1:14	MIDI
1992-02-10	Stanley: The Search For Dr. Livingston (NES)	Paul Webb	0:05	NSF
1992-07-03	Ultima VI: The False Prophet (SNES)			SPC
1994-06-17	Ultima: Runes of Virtue II (SNES)			SPC

Note: Blue Max for ZX Spectrum lacks music.

Blue Max (C64)

Played at the title screen.

Ultima III: Exodus (A2)

Played at Lord British's castle.

Ultima III: Exodus (C64)

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Like the Apple II port, Rule, Britannia! is played in Lord British's castle. It is track 8 in the SID file.

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (C64)

In the Commodore 64 port of Ultima IV, Rule, Britannia! plays when you are talking to Lord British. The song is track 9 in the SID file.

Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (A2)

Rule, Britannia! is played in three different versions in Ultima V. It is played in a down beat from as The Missing Monarch, in normal form as Rule, Britannia!, and in a happy version as Joyous Reunion. The song loops.

Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (C64)

The Commodore 128 version of Ultima V plays Rule, Britannia! in the same manner as the Apple II version.

Ultima: Quest of the Avatar (NES)

Seiji Toda sneaked about a second of Rule, Britannia! into the Ending track. It can be heard around the 1:00 mark.

Ultima VI: The False Prophet (DOS)

Unlike earlier games, Rule, Britannia! is not played specifically for Lord British's castle. Rather, it is one of the tracks that randomly plays throughout the game after conversations. It its, however, played in the game's ending when Lord British is summoned to meet the Lord Draxinusom. The song is also integrated into the ending song, Unity.

The song file is named Brit.m.

MT-32 AdLib

Creative Music System Tandy 3 Voice

Ultima: Warriors of Destiny (NES)

Played at the title screen.

Ultima VII: The Black Gate (DOS)

Played when nearing Lord British's throne room.

Stanley: The Search For Dr. Livingston (NES)

The first ten notes of the song are played at the map screen.

Lyrics

This song has lyrics, though no game uses them.

When Britain first, at Heaven's command
Arose from out the azure main;
This was the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain:

"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
"Britons never will be slaves."

The nations, not so blest as thee,
Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall;
While thou shalt flourish great and free,
The dread and envy of them all.

"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
"Britons never will be slaves."

Still more majestic shalt thou rise,
More dreadful, from each foreign stroke;
As the loud blast that tears the skies,
Serves but to root thy native oak.

"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
"Britons never will be slaves."

Thee haughty tyrants ne'er shall tame:
All their attempts to bend thee down,
Will but arouse thy generous flame;
But work their woe, and thy renown.

"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
"Britons never will be slaves."

To thee belongs the rural reign;
Thy cities shall with commerce shine:
All thine shall be the subject main,
And every shore it circles thine.

"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
"Britons never will be slaves."

The Muses, still with freedom found,
Shall to thy happy coast repair;
Blest Isle! With matchless beauty crown'd,
And manly hearts to guard the fair.

"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
"Britons never will be slaves." 

Links

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule,_Britannia! - Wikipedia.
• youtube.com/watch?v=yHNfvJc99YY - Professional recording with lyrics.