Tune of the Day: Land of Hope and Glory
The music to which the words of the refrain “Land of hope and glory…” are set is the Trio theme from Sir Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1. The words were fitted to the melody on the suggestion of King Edward VII, who told Elgar he thought the melody would make a great song. When Elgar was requested to write a work for the King's coronation, he worked the suggestion into his Coronation Ode, for which he asked the poet and essayist A. C. Benson to write the words. The last section of the Ode uses the march's melody.
In the USA and Canada this march is also known as “The Graduation Song”, as it is played at graduation ceremonies. This custom was created when Elgar was awarded an honorary doctorate at Yale University, and the orchestra performed Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1 for the ceremony.