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We all know the tune of Jerusalem. It was written by Hubert Parry in 1916, in the midst of the Great War. The intention was to boost morale, and few people would want to deny that it is a rousing hymn, says writer Laurence Coupe.

Though Parry was willing to inspire the English nation at that time, it is unlikely that he would have been pleased to hear the hymn sung heartily at the Last Night of the Proms along with Rule Britannia.

He was no pillar of the establishment. Rather, he was an atheist, a pacifist and a campaigner for women’s suffrage.

The words of Jerusalem actually come from the Preface to an epic poem written by William Blake in honour of an earlier poet who inspired him: Milton (1808).

John Milton, author of Paradise Lost, had been a vigorous spokesperson for the 17C English Revolution – even going so far as to defend the execution of Charles I on Biblical grounds.

However, Blake was convinced that physical violence was to be avoided, and he believed in a republic of the imagination.

Where he refers to a sword, it is symbolic. ‘I will not cease from Mental Fight,/Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand:/Till we have built Jerusalem/In England’s green & pleasant Land.’

The inspiration for the lyric was the legend that Jesus visited England as a boy: ‘And did those feet in ancient time/Walk upon England’s mountains green:/And was the holy Lamb of God/On England’s pleasant pastures seen?’

”The author of those lines – and of Jerusalem – was no more a pillar of the establishment than Parry himself,” says guest columnist and writer Laurence Coupe.

If this was indeed the case, why should we not work to re-establish God’s kingdom in our land – ‘Among these dark Satanic Mills?’

That phrase is sometimes read as referring to the industrial revolution but it is equally likely that Blake is thinking of the established church, which he sees as having corrupted the message of Jesus. So if Jerusalem is to be rebuilt, it will be in defiance of the religious authorities.

After all, in an earlier poem, London, he discovers evidence of the ‘mind-forg’d manacles’ in church as well as state, as he protests: ‘How the Chimney-sweepers cry/Every blackning Church appalls,/And the hapless Soldiers sigh/Runs in blood down Palace walls.’

The author of those lines – and of Jerusalem – was no more a pillar of the establishment than Parry himself.

Column: Fascinating story behind Jerusalem is definitely worth delving into