I was talking to a group of folkie friends who were insistent that the tune of God Save The Queen is of Irish or French origin and was borrowed by the English. I can't hear that in the tune, it has no lilt or lift that I would normally associate with Irish melodies. And it is hardly a march - it's too slow.

It does seem to make some sense that stealing of a traditional tune and dedicating it to a tyrannical monarch would be a powerful tool in aiding the subjugation of new colony.

Has anyone more information about the song's origin.

Julia