No doubt the left looks with gloomy ingratitude upon the memory of A.C.Benson, who gave us the words for Land of Hope & Glory.  Likewise, Dr Henry Carey of National Anthem fame will not be admired among those who would prefer Prince William to marry an exotic flower of our, of course, always vibrant minorities.

As for James Thomson, his stirring Rule Britannia probably can’t be sung at all by anyone who has read as far as page 2 of Das Kapital.  Which isn’t all that many, actually.  I know.  I tried.

And, well, Russ Parker and Hughie Charles (There’ll always be an England) should be on Trevor Phillips little list.  Can’t say blacklist, of course, but you know what I mean.  A million marching feet … the Empire too, we can depend on you!  One must have been a fascist, the other a racist.  It’s perfectly obvious.

So, yes it is unfair that stirring music is all so sadly deficient in its praise of the Multi-cult.  There’s the odd ditty about some failed workers’ revolt.  But who wants to belt out an Old Labour number nowadays.  Alright, yes, Prescott.  But who else?  I mean, times change … people change, yeah?  Actually, y’know, the people are being changed but we’d better not go over all that again.  No, it’s all about modernity … values … inclusiveness.  You can’t keep banging on about the same old, outrageous, outdated, outright right-wing writing.  All these white cliffs of Dover and hearts of oak, sending her victorious, making thee mightier yet … and did those feet in ancient times walk upon liberal sensibilities.  Well, not in ancient times perhaps.  But they bloody well do now.

But not for much longer.  Move over Sir Cecil (Spring-Rice who gave us the glorious words for I Vow To Thee My Country).  Our working-class hero and all-purpose, forty-something, not exactly pop idle – did I spell that right - Billy Bragg wants musical justice for liberals.

They can’t string up the distinctly unmusical but bitingly truthful P.J.O’Rourke, which was clearly the preferred option.  So it’s a Gramscian makeover for I Vow.  No more love that asks no question, love that stands the test, that lays upon the altar the dearest and the best; the love that never falters, the love that pays the price, the love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice. 

No, Billy doesn’t like all this emphasis on capitalist warmongering.  And love of country is out, out, out, as I’ll bet old Billy used to chant of Maggie, Maggie, Maggie back in the days when Arthur was standing in the rain outside Saltley.

No, he means “to build a country where none of us take heed of birth or disability of race or sex or creed.”  Yep, he really wrote that.  He really expects the remnants of the luvvies and the ministerially useless Blair Babes and all those dour Scottish Treasury Ministers to hit the high notes with, “For there is a simple principle that no one shall displace.  We are all alike in humankind.  We are the human race.”

Ah, yes ... we are all alike.  Rather unfortunate that he wrote that, what with all the evidence for difference in mean racial IQ?  Have I told you about difference in mean racial IQ?  Well, I will in a moment.  But first let’s do criminality.  That’s a goodie.  No wait, impulsiveness.  No, testosterone production.  OK, well, you see if they don’t get too flabby those dark chaps seem to turn churn out some astonishing quantities of …