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Jerusalem is a choral song for organ and either unison-voices or solo voice, written by Hubert Parry in 1916. The lyrics are taken from the English poet William Blake's short poem And did those feet in ancient time, which is a part of Blake's preface to his epic-poem Milton. Sir Edward Elgar re-scored the work for very large orchestra in 1922 for use at the Leeds Festival. It may well be that Elgar's orchestration has overshadowed Parry's original version.
England's King George V said that he preferred Jerusalem over God Save the King (the British national anthem), and Jerusalem is considered to be England's most popular patriotic song. In 2009, a New York Times article said that Jerusalem was "fast becoming an alternative national anthem," and there have even been calls to give it official status.
English cathedrals, churches, and chapels frequently use Jerusalem as a recessional hymn on St George's Day. It is also sung in some churches on Jerusalem Sunday in Anglican churches throughout the world, and even in some Episcopal churches in the United States.
Hundreds of recordings of Jerusalem have been made of both traditional choral performances and of new interpretations by popular music artists.
"Bring me my Chariot of fire!" is a famous excerpt from the lyrics. It inspired the title of the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire. Jerusalem has been featured in many other movies and television programs.
Hubert Parry (1848 - 1918) was an English composer, teacher, and historian of music. As a composer he is best known for the choral song Jerusalem, the coronation anthem I was glad, the choral and orchestral ode Blest Pair of Sirens, and the hymn tune Repton. His orchestral works include five symphonies and a set of Symphonic Variations. Parry's influence on later composers is widely recognized. Edward Elgar learned much of his craft from Parry's articles in Grove's Dictionary; and among those who studied under Parry at the Royal College were Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Frank Bridge, and John Ireland.
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