Punk Rock Countdown: No. 2 "God Save the Queen," by the Sex Pistols England's Royal Family was preparing for the Jubilee Celebration of Her Majesty when the Sex Pistols came up with their own homage to the Queen. Like all the great Pistols tunes, it's a simply rocking ditty, anchored by Steve Jones' Chuck Berryesque intro (hints of "Johnny B. Goode" and "Roll Over Beethoven" in that opening riff). Drums and bass join in, and Johnny Rotten introduces the tribute:
God save the queen
The fascist regime
They made you a morrrrron
A potential H-bomb
The Pistols created quite a stir when they performed this song on a cruise ship on the Thames during the Jubilee Celebration. While the British press was all wrapped up in the fanfare of the Queen's Jubilee and celebration the nation's glorious past, the punks, led by the Sex Pistols, were turning their backs to the pomp and declaring independence from the celebrated past. The Sex Pistols commentary was expressed in a phrase that became the rallying cry of punks in '77: "no future."