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 80s When the Great and the Good gave way to the greedy and the mean Britain isn't cool you know, its 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 passed its sell-by date Take down the Union Jack, it clashes with the sunset And ask our Scottish neighbours if independence looks any good 'Cos 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 here's a picture of my bum? Gilbert and George are taking the piss Take down the Union Jack, it clashes with the sunset And pile all those history books, but don't throw them away They just might have some clues about what it really means