Punk movement- Sex pistols- “God save the Queen”

ANGLOPHONE

Punk movement- Sex pistols- “God save the Queen”

Today we’re going to present the song « God save the queen » made by the Sex Pistols group, one of the punk movement’s pioneers.

The Sex Pistols is a British punk rock band from London, UK. It was formed in 1975 and is known to be the initiator of the punk movement. At the time of its formation, the group consisted of Johnny Rotten on vocals, Steve Jones on guitar, Paul Cook on drums and Glen Matlock on bass. The latter was replaced by Sid Vicious in 1977.

The punk movement was born in the US and spreads in the UK due to the group « Sex Pilots ». One of their well-known songs is called « God save the queen » and was written in the ’70s during the economic crisis, hence the rising of the punk movement.

Indeed, in 1977, the country was facing unemployment, inflation and many racial tensions. The aim of the punk movement was to denounce British society and claiming rights, punks broke rules with provoking lyrics. They were also identified by their unusual outfits which became a symbol of anarchy.

The song is a remake of the British national anthem which has the same title. The band had chosen a national symbol to chock people. In the lyrics, they compared the British government to a « fascist regime ». They pointed to the Queen « our figurehead » as a liar that betrayed for British people a fake ideal the « England’s dreaming ». Punks introduced themselves like rebels opposed to a corrupted government. At the time, this was notoriously controversial, firstly because of the Queen's identification with a "fascist regime", and secondly because of the apparent assertion that the British monarchy had no future ("no future").

Following this, the expression "no future", the final chorus of the song, has become emblematic of the punk rock movement. Moreover, the song was originally called "No Future." The band played it live and recorded a demo version with that title, but changed it when lead singer Johnny Rotten got the idea to mock the British monarchy. The regime is qualified as fascist, it is a direct attack on the contested power, which is a pure provocation.

In conclusion, the punk movement represented a new kind of freedom for a young generation. The punk movement had permitted people to express their revindications and their rights during a low part of British history. Nowadays, this song is a great rock classic emblematic of the rise of the punk movement.

God save the Queen has indeed been a great success that it is in 1977 or even today. In fact, in spite of censorship, five days after the release of the song, more than 15 000 copies were sold and the music was second in the hit-parade, although it was supposed to be first but was blocked by the UK Singles Chart.

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