Jerusalem - HM Coldstream Guards & Alfie Boe

The song's lyrics are taken from a poem by Blake of the early 19th century called 'And did those feet in ancient time' (the music was added later by Sir Charles Hubert Parry - in the early 20th century).
Blake was without doubt a religious man, and a Christian. He was a visionary and a prophet, meaning, in his own context, that he communicated directly with what he believed were celestial beings and took their messages to create art and to be a force for good in the world. Whether one believes that those beings really were divine or simply figments of his imagination, the work they inspired speaks for itself.
They also led him towards lofty social attitudes of which Christ would have approved almost certainly more than he would of some aspects of the church's behaviour. Blake believed that many people could share in his experiences, if only they could throw-off the dark shackles of oppression to which they were subjected. This subjugation came in the form not only of social restrictions and the nature of work, but also by government, and by the church which Blake believed had long since strayed from the true Christian message. He thought, as many do today, that organized religion had hijacked human spirituality. Although opinions differ, many Blake commentators think that the 'dark satanic mills' in the lyrics are actually churches. Of course, they could also be the factories which oppressed people greatly during Blake's era.
Blake contested the drudgery of the 'real' world and instead existed somewhere between it and paradise, living in the far more beautiful, colourful world of the imagination for much of the time.
The word Jerusalem, to Blake, represented a heaven on earth where peace, love and equality replaced social injustice. The poem that became the song asks if Christ really did visit England (as some say he did as a boy, with his uncle Joseph of Arimathea ) and if so did we have heaven on earth in our land for a short time. It goes onto say that regardless of whether the question is answerable, we should strive to build it again.
The patriotic element is connected to the religious element here. If we were able to build such a place, we would deservedly be proud of it - and anybody within England or outside could share in it because that was its purpose.

[@mcwelland]

God bless the Queen. RIP. By the grace of God I love what this country stood for. AMEN!

[@gazza2933]

I can comment on this but not on
'I Vow To Thee My Country." 🤷🏼‍♂️