"Island Home" is a musical composition that the
Bailiwick of Jersey, a
Crown Dependency, formerly listed as its
anthem.
It was written and composed by musician
Gerard Le Feuvre.
The song was written in 2002 and adopted in 2008 after a contest to find an official anthem for Jersey. However, in 2025 States Assembly formalised
Beautiful Jersey as Jersey's local anthem.
Background
Traditionally, Jersey used the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen" (or "
God Save the King"), as a symbol of loyalty to
the Crown
The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
.
When times came for a unique individual song to be used as Jersey's anthem because many other states also used "God Save the Queen", Jersey had two unofficial options. The first was "
Ma Normandie", which was designed as a reference to Jersey's historical heritage as a part of the
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans.
From 1066 until 1204, as a r ...
and was first used at the
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and used as the anthem for future
Commonwealth Games.
The other was "
Beautiful Jersey", which was written and performed after the
liberation of the Channel Islands from
Nazi occupation and had been performed annually at
Liberation Day
Liberation Day is a day, often a public holiday, that marks the liberation of a place, similar to an independence day, but differing from it because it does not involve the original creation of statehood. It commemorates the end of an occupation ...
celebrations.
History
In 2007, a contest was held to determine the official anthem of Jersey.
A shortlist of five was drawn up from twenty-three entries. "Ma Normandie" was controversially excluded from the shortlist despite lyrics from it previously adorning banknotes of the
Jersey pound. The justification for exclusion was that the song had no direct connection to Jersey and references
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in its lyrics.
The contest was judged by a panel of five judges and an audience of the public. After voting, the
Bailiff of Jersey announced the contest had been won by "Island Home" written by Gerard Le Feuvre in 2002 from
St Ouen.
Le Feuvre's inspiration was to have a song that was simple for children to sing but also inspire unity. The song was inspired by the wildlife in Jersey, with the first three notes designed to imitate the lowing of a
Jersey cow.
The song was written in English, but Le Feuvre said he would release a
Jèrriais version.
The song was first performed at the
Jersey Opera House on Liberation Day 2008.
"Island Home" started to be played at official events and schools in Jersey before being confirmed as the anthem.
Criticism
The decision to select "Island Home" was controversial, as although the public voted against it in favour of "Beautiful Jersey",
their votes were collated as one vote, with the panel members individually getting one vote each, thus the public were outvoted.
The decision was intended to be ratified by the
States of Jersey, however the proposal was never sent to the legislature, leading to Senators requesting in 2010 that the contest be rerun and demanding that it not be officially described as the Jersey anthem.
In rugby, the Jersey
Touch Rugby Association refused to use it, instead preferring to retain "Ma Normandie". In 2015, the Jersey
Island Games team dropped it in favour of "Beautiful Jersey", after athletes called it "dreary and uninspiring".
In 2025, a formal public poll was held on what Jersey's anthem should be. "Beautiful Jersey" came first, followed by "God Save the King". "Island Home" only gained 12 votes, behind "Ma Normandie".
The States of Jersey formally approved this poll to make "Beautiful Jersey" the official anthem of Jersey instead of "Island Home".
Lyrics
See also
*
List of British anthems
References
{{Authority control
Culture of Jersey
Norman music
Regional songs
British anthems
Music controversies