Rule, Britannia! by Thomas Arne - a Patriotic Song of Britain and England

The lyrics of "Rule, Britannia!" were written by the Scottish-born Poet James Thomson (1700–1748) and set to music by the English composer Thomas Augustine Arne (1710-1778). The Song was part of a Masque about Alfred the Great called "Alfred" and first performed in 1740. The overall show soon became largely forgotten, but the Song "Rule, Britannia!" became very popular. The music has been used or quoted by a number of Classical Composers and also more recently by Film Composers usually to accompany scenes set in London. The Song is often performed at the last night of the Proms - the series of "Promenade Concerts" held each summer, generally in the Royal Albert Hall in London. Because the Song is Patriotic in nature, it has become almost a secondary National Anthem.

This arrangement of "Rule, Britannia!" is for piano and it can be performed as a solo piece, or used to accompany singers or other instruments. Use the download links at the left hand side for the PDF sheet music, MIDI and MP3 files. You can see the music being played as a tutorial in the video below, or scroll down to play the mp3 file or see the sheet music. On mfiles there is an alternative arrangement of "Rule, Britannia!" for Flute and Piano. More Patriotic or National Songs can be found in our article National Anthems and Patriotic Songs.