14 of the Best Republican Anthems

Aeron Gray
9 min readSep 16, 2022

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Edit: Australia is also part of the Commonwealth Realm.

I would say apologies to any US republicans who thought this was about your kind of republican, but I’m not sorry at all. This is about the global, original meaning of the word republican; one who is a believer in abolishing the monarchy and establishing a republic, the opponent of the monarchist.

As I’m sure the entire world is aware, international political news as it is, the hereditary head of the UK, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Isles, and Tuvalu¹, Queen Elizabeth II, died aged 96 after a 70 year reign. Her eldest child, the 73 year old Charles, now King Charles III, is now the king of those fifteen countries, known as the Commonwealth Realm.

Not only is this life-long leadership system undemocratic, but as head of the Church of England it makes any real separation of church and state impossible and as evidenced by the thirteen “Commonwealth Realm” countries the monarch still reigns over, it’s a direct and unchanged part of the shameful colonial era and British Empire. We cannot avoid the religious interference in politics that is endemic in places like the USA and the Republic of Ireland, both of which have anti-abortion laws, while the head of state is a religious leader. We cannot truly begin to make right the wrongs of our national past when the perpetrators are still in charge of the nation.

Change is hard for people to accept, and overthrowing an elderly woman who seems, by surface-level awareness, a nice enough lady, has been a difficult standpoint to persuade others of. It might even feel like a feminist victory for a woman to be in charge, if you ignore her complete lack of feminist action and the way that isn’t said about Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May or now Liz Truss. However, now that she has died of natural causes and the much less beloved Charles is King as a brand new state of the nation, it’s the perfect time to abolish the archaic monarchy, and catch up with the 21st Century.

While I’m not advocating we storm Buckingham Palace with a guillotine, hyperbole is a brilliant songwriting tool and it is fun to think about. So without any further ado, here are 14 of the best republican songs to listen to while you write your arguments and articles and work towards the United Republic of Great Britain (and Northern/United Ireland? Who knows?)

The Queen is Dead by The Smiths

The title track of the 1986 album, The Queen is Dead wasn’t a single but the name was on the UK album charts for 22 weeks². Referencing Charles and the Queen, with the chorus saying “the Queen is dead, boys”, Morissey critiques the economy and the church as well. According to NME and album sales stats, it’s their best album³, so the sound is from the best era of the Smiths. Elizabeth was 60 at the time, but 36 years later the song name has come true, and gives us the perfect opener for this playlist.

God Save the Queen by The Sex Pistols

Nowhere near as clever or, in my opinion, good as some of the others on this list, the Sex Pistols’ irreverent take on the national anthem couldn’t NOT be on the list. Banned by the BBC⁴, declined for sale by high street retailers Boots, WHSmith and Woolworths, it still reached number two in the UK singles charts during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations, with many sources saying it was actually the best selling single but the BMRB refused to allow it; the BBC admitted its number one status in 2001⁴.

Heatongrad by Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbot

Heaton and Abbot go all out in the first line, “Fuck the King and fuck the Queen with an AK47”. The song keeps that energy, pumped up and lambasting the monarchy and all it stands for until the close. It was the duo’s closing song on the second biggest Glastonbury stage, The Other Stage, in 2016 and is a really strong alternative pop/rock song.

Go Fuck the Queen by The Pirate Charles

Time for a change of gear, as the Pirate Charles are a folk rock band who make sea shanties. Pipes and choral responses give this song the strong feel of drunken sailors carousing around their ship or port-town tavern; exactly what you want to hear from a band with ‘pirate’ in the name. The lyrics, too, are about preferring the dangerous life and potential death of an outlaw to one subjugated to a malevolent monarch. The fun chorus has a high pitched snooty voice singing “God save the Queen!” followed by the lead singers’ “NO! Go fuck the Queen!” — it’s great fun even if it’s not your usual taste in music.

Royalty by Exploited

Back to more typical punk sound, the Exploited are an ‘oi!’ and hardcore punk band, and this two minute ode to the Queen is from their first album ‘Punks Not Dead”. Less in reference to her death, Wattie Buchen sings about setting the whole working class on her and selling her to an Arab, which is a reference to historical stories of travelling Arabs who bought and sold things including slave — just like the biblical story of Joseph⁵. Between the smug laughter and repeated “she’s no fucking use” it has enough to hold up after her death.

Repeat UK by Manic Street Preachers

For a band classed as alternative rock, this song from their debut album has the short punchy lyrics and angry politics content of punk rock. While the British military oath is simply to the current monarch⁶, the phrase “for King and Country” or “for Queen and Country” is associated with British soldiers; the Manic Street Preachers turn this on its head, repeating “fuck Queen and country”. Repeat UK manages to denounce the palace, the generational and hereditary nature of monarchy, and the flag, references the Khmer Rouge, and calls the royal family ‘imitation demigods’ in its repetitive three minutes.

Fuck the Queen — Slim

Slim is a fairly obscure Danish punk band, and this song was on the 1979 Danish compilation vinyl “Paere Punk”. While the song is likely to be about Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II⁷, it’s luckily in English and can be enjoyed by any anti-monarchist in any country. The chorus of “fuck the Queen, fuck the King, fuck the Pope, fuck with God” makes their position clear. Quite low-key for a punk song, Slim calmly state their opinions and close side A of the album.

Elizabeth My Dear by The Stone Roses

In less than a minute, this song gets to the point quickly and succinctly; “I won’t rest ’til she’s off her throne”. Just four lines to the traditional tune of Scarborough Fair, this laid back track is a relaxing moment. Republican and anti-monarchist sentiment isn’t always a high energy anger, but a thought-out opinion, after all. From the self-titled debut album in 1989, it might have been 33 years but The Stone Roses can finally rest now that it has been, finally, curtains for Elizabeth. The baton is passed from her to Charles, and from The Stone Roses to us. Charles, my dear, it’s curtains for you.

England’s Ending by Bob Vylan

Combining the sounds and politics of grime and punk, Bob Vylan has a lot of fun musically while talking about serious topics. Calling for the death of the Queen in 2020, ‘England’s Ending” is about the economy and society; rent, gambling, work culture, football, the lack of options for young people, and the law are criticised in detail. He’s talking about more universal overhaul, but the opening specifically calls the royal family “dinosaurs” that need to be removed — and the idea that the monarchy is an outdated relic⁸ is thankfully common.

Flag Day by The Housemartins

This 1985 debut single from indie rock band The Housemartins is about the wealth of the Queen and others like her, and how little good any appeal to her sense of charity would do. Queen Elizabeth’s personal wealth was estimated as being between $430 to $500 million, and the whole Windsor family as being worth $28 billion⁹. The British taxpayers give them £102.4 million a year¹⁰, and there’s no evidence that they ever donate their own personal money to charity¹¹. “Try shaking a box in front of the Queen” indeed.

Take Down The Union Jack by Billy Bragg

And of course, folk punk legend and socialist activist Billy Bragg has a song for this playlist. The 2002 single ‘Take Down The Union Jack” is from his album with The Blokes ‘England, Half-English’. In an album about racism and anti-immigration from people and media, when the core culture of England is based on decades of immigration¹² and cultural mingling¹³. This song in particular is about the Queen and royal family, and makes reference to the Emperor’s New Clothes fairytale, Scottish independence, and the British Empire.

Storm the Palace by Catatonia

A more inciting call to action than Bragg, Catatonia tell us to storm the palace, repurpose the building and either banish the royals or force them to get customer service jobs. Without any specific reference to the Queen herself, this is a song that breezes past her death without any continuity issues at all. In fact, there are at least 41 people in line to the throne¹⁴, and without overthrowing them this song could be unfortunately timeless.

Prince Andrew is a Sweaty Nonce by the Kunts

And just for fun, as Prince Andrew is still Duke of York and is ninth in line to the throne, the brilliant song reaction to Prince Andrew’s involvement in the Epstein paedophilia case, his ridiculous claim that he is physically unable to sweat, and the fact that it was settled out of court for an ‘undisclosed sum’ suspected to be £12 million. The whole family is full of scandals like this, Philip’s near-constant bigoted remarks¹⁵, the Palace vetoing black Palace staff¹⁶, and Harry’s nazi fancy dress photo¹⁷.

Sources:

1: Evans, E 2022 “What is the Commonwealth, which countries is King Charles III head of state for — what role will he play?” The Star website 9th September 2022
https://www.thestar.co.uk/read-this/what-is-the-commonwealth-which-countries-is-king-charles-iii-head-of-state-for-what-role-will-he-play-3837942

Replacing Al Jazeera source: information was incorrect
Al Jazeera 2022 “Which countries will Charles III reign over?” Al Jazeera website 12th September 2022
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/12/which-countries-will-uks-king-charles-iii-rule-over

2: Official Charts 2022 “Official Charts matching: The Queen Is Dead” Official Charts website no date given
https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/the-queen-is-dead/

3: Renshaw, D 2013 “The Smiths’ ‘The Queen Is Dead’ tops NME’s list of 500 greatest albums of all time” NME website 22nd October 2013
https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-smiths-29-1237525

4: BBC 2001 “Sex Pistols cover tops chart” BBC News website Wednesday 14th March 2001
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1219770.stm

5: Leibowitz, N 2021 “Vayezhev: The Sale of Joseph” Jewish Federation of Greater Metrowest NJ no date given
https://www.jfedgmw.org/vayeshev-the-sale-of-joseph/

6: The British Army 2022 “British Army recruits swear oath of allegiance to new King for first time” Army/MOD website 11th September 2022
https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2022/09/british-army-recruits-swear-oath-of-allegiance-to-new-king-for-first-time/

7: Kongehusit 2022 “HM The Queen” Kongehusit website no date given
https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/the-royal-family/hm-the-queen/#

8: Benyamin, C 2022 “Is the British Monarchy a worthy institution or outdated relic?” The Perspective website updated 2022
https://www.theperspective.com/debates/living/perspective-royal-family/

9: Taylor, A 2022 “How rich is the British royal family? No one knows for sure.” Washington Post website 13th September 2022
https://www.theperspective.com/debates/living/perspective-royal-family/

10: BHT Staff 2022 “How much does the Royal family cost the British taxpayer?” British Heritage Travel website 9th September 2022
https://britishheritage.com/royals/royal-family-cost-british-taxpayer

11: Albrecht, L 2022 “Queen Elizabeth II ‘demonstrated an unstinting passion for charities’ — these were her favourite causes” Money Watch website 9th September 2022
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-queen-demonstrated-an-unstinting-passion-for-charities-queen-elizabeth-ii-supported-more-than-600-charities-these-were-her-favorite-causes-11662723746

12: Shang, J 2019 “How immigrants have enriched UK culture” The Upcoming website 9th September 2019
https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2019/09/09/how-immigrants-have-enriched-the-uk-culture/

13: Insure and Go 2015 “Quintessential British things that originated elsewhere” Insure and Go website 22nd October 2015
https://www.insureandgo.com/blog/cultures-and-traditions/quintessentially-british-things-that-originated-elsewhere/

14: The Editors 2022 “The British Line of Succession” Town & Country magazine website 8th September 2022
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/g10352514/british-line-of-succession/

15: Al-Arshani, S 2021 “Prince Philip had a long history of racist and problematic language stretching back nearly 40 years” Insider website 10th April 2021
https://www.insider.com/prince-philip-long-history-racist-problematic-language-2021-4

16: Pegg, D & Evans, R 2021 “Buckingham Palace banned ethnic minorities from office roles, papers reveal” The Guardian website Wednesday 2nd June 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/02/buckingham-palace-banned-ethnic-minorities-from-office-roles-papers-reveal

17: Tweedie, N & Kallenbach, M 2005 “Prince Harry faces outcry at Nazi outfit” The Telegraph website 14th January 2005
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1481148/Prince-Harry-faces-outcry-at-Nazi-outfit.html

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Aeron Gray
Aeron Gray

Written by Aeron Gray

London-based freelance journalist, Aeron is non-binary, a film fan, and strongly opinionated.

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