When Britain first at Heaven’s command,
Arose from out the azure main,
This was the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang the strain:
Rule, Britannia, rule the waves,
Britons never shall 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 shall be slaves.
Thee, haughty tyrants ne’er shall tame;
All their attempts to bear thee down
Will but arouse thy generous flame,
But work their woe, and thy renown.
Rule Britannia, rule the waves,
Britons never shall be slaves.
(_As the chorus reach the refrain “Rule Britannia, rule
the waves!”_ BRITAIN _enters. She is dressed as Britannia.
Accompanying her are_, ENGLAND, _clad in white and rose pink,
bearing the English standard_; SCOTLAND, _clad in white and
purple, bearing the Scottish standard_; IRELAND, _dressed in
white and green, bearing Irish flag_; WALES _dressed in white,
bearing the Welsh flag_; CANADA, _dressed in white robe,
trimmed with maple leaves, bearing Canadian flag_, AUSTRALIA
_and_ NEW ZEALAND, _dressed in robes similar to_ BRITAIN’S
_other daughters_, INDIA, _clad in native costume_. BRITAIN
_with her companions grouped about her, occupies the center of
the stage_, BELGIUM _and_ FRANCE, _the front-left and right_.)
_BRITAIN_ (_touching the Union Jack on her shield with her trident,
then extending it to_ FRANCE):