Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s ‘Americana’ won’t drop until June 5th, but we’ve already heard three songs from the album. Now we have a fourth — and since the record is full of American folk standards, this one might surprise you.

Americana‘ is the first album with the full Crazy Horse lineup since 1996, and so far we’ve seen the videos for ‘Oh Susanna,’ ‘Jesus Chariot‘ (which you may know better as ‘She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain’) and ‘Clementine.’

The fourth video? ‘God Save the Queen.’ And no, not the Sex Pistols‘ version — the actual British national anthem. But with all the US-born tracks we’ve already heard, what’s it doing in the mix?

It’s really not so weird, Young told Q, explaining:

Written in the 18th century with possible melodic roots in the 17th century, this anthem has been sung throughout the British Commonwealth and may have been sung in North America before the American Revolution and Declaration of Independence in 1776, which rejected British sovereignty. [Plus] ‘God Save the Queen’ provided a melodic foundation for ‘My Country ‘Tis of Thee.’

So there you go. Makes sense in a twisted, connect-the-dots sort of way, don’t you think?

Watch the Video for ‘God Save the Queen’ by Neil Young and Crazy Horse

More From 96.1 The Eagle