Noone was able to come through for me with the answer to the brain teaser from the other day. I was starting to panic. Would I ever find the answer to this most vexing of queries?

(FYI if you came in late: the query was, what is that highly recognisable orchestral music in the middle section of The Anvil Will Fall by Harvey Milk?)

Then it struck me when I was -- literally -- in the shower. It's not Jerusalem, it's the bloody Rugby World Cup theme song, World in Union.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - World in Union (3.57 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using player below)

Well not quite. It's actually the Jupiter bit out of Gustav Holst's Planet Suite. Some guy named Charlie Skarbek put words to it at some point, and it's been recorded and performed by Kiri Te Kanawa, among others. It was made the official song of the Rugby World Cup in (I believe) 1991, and was performed by Shirley Bassey and Bryn Terfyl at the opening ceremony of the 1999 cup (click image at right to watch video). It was also released as a single by Bassey around the same time.

This is Hubert Parry's hymn Jerusalem (a setting of William Blake's poem), arranged by Elgar (from the Last Night of the Proms, 2003):

Last Night of the Proms - Jerusalem (2.45 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using player below)

Here's a spooky organ/electronic version by film-composer Vangelis (probably from the film Chariots of Fire, the the title of which was taken from words in the poem/hymn):

Vangelis - Jerusalem (2.54 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using player below)

And here's a version by slighty-silly prog-rockers Emerson, Lake and Palmer, taken from their 1973 album Brain Salad Surgery:

Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Jerusalem (3.24 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using player below)

Well well well -- a result. I'm happy about that.

Labels: Friday farce, music