Take down the Union Jack
It clashes with the sunset
And put it in the attic with the emperors old clothes
When did it fall apart?
Sometime in the eighties
When the great and the good gave way
To the greedy and the mean

Britain isn't cool, you know
It's really not that great
It's not a proper country
It doesn't even have a patron saint
It's just an economic union
That's past its sell-by date

Take down the Union Jack
It clashes with the sunset
And ask our Scottish neighbors
If independence looks any good
'Cause they just might understand
How to take an abstract notion of personal identity
And turn it into nationhood

Is this the 19th Century
That I'm watching on TV
The dear old queen of England
Handing out those MBEs
Member of the British Empire
That doesn't sound too good to me
Gilbert and George are taking the piss aren't they
Gilbert and George are taking the piss
What could be more British than is a picture of me bum
Gilbert and George are taking the piss

Take down the Union Jack
It clashes with the sunset
And pile up all those history books but don't throw them away
They just might have some clues about what it really means
To be an Anglo hyphen Saxon in England dot Co dot you-K
To be an Anglo hyphen Saxon in England dot Co dot you-K

Writer : BILLY BRAGG
Copyright : Lyrics © CHRYSALIS STANDARDS, INC.