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Traditional Songs we sang at school

S

sylviasayers

master brummie
Do children these days still sing the traditional songs we sang at school. Some I remember are
The Ashgrove, the Ashgrove
Bobby Shafto
Lass of Richmond Hill
 
I couldn't say about kids today - I'll have to quiz the grandchildren, but at the grammar school I went to, we sang traditional songs after assembly on Friday mornings. The ones I remember are - the Ashgrove, David of the White Rock, The Volga Boatsong, Oh Canada (the Canadian National Anthem!), London River and Barbara Allen. As I remember, each form took turns to choose the songs, as well as delivering a stirring tale of courageous/influential women such as Florence Nightingale, Edith Fry etc., in true 'Daisy pulls it off' fashion!
Can I add to this thread and ask if you had a school song, and do you remember the words?
 
The songs we sang wouldn't be allowed today.Like "Hearts of Oak" or "The British Grenadiers".Once at a recital in Birmingham town hall,the M.C.said all you children will know this one..."Charlie is my Darling",there was total silence from our school,no one knew it...no Jacobites in our lot then.
 
First verse of my school song
On the edge of the city,mid meadows green
The towers of the school to the north are seen
Sturdy it stands neath a wintry sky
Unmoved by the winds as they whistle by
The home of the red and green
chorus
And all who shall e'er this school enrol
Shall its' name and its' fame and its' honour uphold
Hurrah for the red and green
(red and green were our uniform colours)
 
Did we ever sing " Green Sleeves " ? Going off thread a bit I remember some of the poem " Old Meg."
 
Wouldnt be politically correct to sing what we used to at school, Jerusalem, Onward Christian Soldiers etc. My daughters in her teens and has never sung hymns in assembly even. No one mentions it when St Georges day comes around. And we live out in the sticks where theres no one to be offended by it.
So in answer to your question Sylvia.. Nah, course they dont !

In America, they sing the Star Spangled banner, swear allegience to the flag daily in schools, Here, we used to have to stand up for the national anthem, at the pictures, at the match, and even at some concerts, which was enough IMO, it definitely invoked a pride in your country as you grew up, even if we did think it was a pain at the time. But I bet most kids wouldnt even recognise the tune now.
 
Only one I recall....

Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les beaux messieurs font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça

Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les bell' dames font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça

Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les jardiniers font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça

Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les couturiers font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça

Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les vignerons font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça

Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les blanchisseus's font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça

Here's a reminder of the tune.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya8EZ5092RU&feature=related
 
D`ye ken John Peel, in his coat so gay, d`ye Ken John Peel at the break of day!, fox hunting song would not be allowed today. Len.
 
Jolly boating weather and a harvest breeze, blade on the feather shade of the trees.....ah the memories for a wet-bob
 
They can't teach them the nursery rhymes as we knew them,they are deemed offensive,sexist racist, political correctness gone stark staring mad,
 
Dashing away with the smoothing iron, Soldier Soldier wont you marry me. What shall we do with the drunken sailor.
 
Our entire school used to spend the last two periods on a wednesday afternoon in a giant sing-song; albeit a very regimented one. Although disipline was severe, I remember those afternoons with great affection. We sang folk-songs, sea-shanties, hymns and martial songs.....most of which, alas, would be frowned upon today. I can still at times conjour-up the sound of five hundred boys belting out 'Onward Christian Soldiers' ...'The Minstrel Boy' (very sad) ...'The Sky Boat Song'...and the ultimate, in my opinion, although quite a difficult piece to sing -'Jerusalem' - I still get goose-bumps when I hear :

''And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green...

...and was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills?''

Well I'd seen green fields; and coming from the Black Country I'd seen a few 'dark satanic mills' ....and, not having the modern, namby-pamby 'humanist' excuse for 'Religious Instruction/Education', I also knew what the song was about : 'a young Jesus, accompanied by Joseph of Aramathea, establishes the first Church of Christ, at Glastonbury'....oh it was powerful stuff!

We also practiced ALL the verses of 'God Save the Queen' (sorry Scotland!) ...''Rule Britania'...'Land of Hope and Glory' and 'There'll Always be an England'.....we also had the occasional bit of light relief with various cow-boy type songs and songs from musical shows.

Unfortunately, our singing afternoons stopped, when in our third year, we amalgamated with the next-door Girls' School. They however continued with their 'choral practicse' (they were 'posher' than us) and whilst we lads were engaged in sawing bits of wood, we could hear the girls singing 'Blow the Wind Southerly' and songs from 'My Fair Lady' - it was all very beautiful, but it wasn't quite the same somehow.
 
My dad can still receite a monologue he was taught at school 90 years ago...
The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God...by J.Milton Hayes....
It begins...
There's a one eyed yellow idol to the north of Kathmandu.
There's a little marble cross below the town.
Where a broken hearted woman tends the grave of mad Carew.
And the yellow god, forever, gazes down....


 
Ray Barrett said:
My dad can still receite a monologue he was taught at school 90 years ago...
The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God...by J.Milton Hayes....
It begins...
There's a one eyed yellow idol to the north of Kathmandu.
There's a little marble cross below the town.
Where a broken hearted woman tends the grave of mad Carew.
And the yellow god, forever, gazes down....


Click to expand...

Yeah ! Ths sad story of Mad Carew and the Colonels daughter. Great stuff.

Not PC now though, even Albert and the lion would probably be frowned upon. I remember showing my daughter the old 'every good boy deserves favour' way of remembering music staves, but her teacher was horrified ! they use the word football these days !

And as for eeny meeny miney mo...............................
 
That's the way I learned "fatfingers" and between the lines "FACE".....I also remember all the songs mentioned.

Does anyone remember the "massed school bands" concert at the town hall?, must have been around 1959/60, quite an event.
 
What memories, I remember that we using to have singing together on the radio at our primary school. Lots of the songs that have already been mentioned and some pretty weird offerings; something about: From Lucerne to Vegis blue, holdirideea, hol de ra, you can go without a shoe hol ... etc. It used to be piped through the radio speakers mounted on the wall, we thought it was pretty clever, the interactive whiteboard of it's day! Amazing how some of the songs just stick with you though.
 
The one that sticks in my mind was a sea shanty, our music teacher also made us learn the French national anthem in French. The sea shanty was Sally Brown and would probably be classed as politically incorrect or even racist nowadays. One of the lines was as follows;' She drinks rum and chews tobacco, spend your money on Sally Brown' Another traditional one was ' The vicar of Bray'
 
I always remember singing "Who is Sylvia, what is she?" in my all boys school - words by Shakespeare from The Two Gentlemen Of Verona and music by Franz Schubert - not quite sure why that sticks in my memory though!

Maurice
 
Ladylinda obviously went to George Dixon Grammar School for Girls.

I went to George Dixon Grammar School for Boys and at a job interview soon after I left school I was challenged to sing the school song. I had to say that we never sang the school song whilst I was a school but I did say that i found a copy one day searchng through some papers in the school library. When I was at school our music master was also choir master at St Martins in the Bull Ring and he had us prectising hymns every music lesson.

It was at primary school that we sang secular songs in music lessons like Do ye ken John Peel, British Genadeers, The Bonnets of Bonney Dundee. In assembly we sang hymns but as we did not have hymn books we had to sing from memory and that ment we kept singing All things bright and bueatiful or at Chrismas, Away in a manger.
 
l remember the words to just about all the songs mentioned after all these years, can'nt believe the schools are not teaching the songs we all grew up with and don't have assembly any more and friday afternoon assembly, l guess its the world over, the public schools in the states are not aloud to say any prayer,( not politically correct ),l always thought one did in rome as the romans do,religion is a touchy subject but it seems we all have to concur with the minorities.....Oh, just thought of another song" Widecome Fair" l can still rmember all those names we sand ...Brenda
 
I agree Brenda about the songs. I belonged choirs all through my schooldays and my brother's grammar school KE Five Ways had singing classes when my brother attended in the l950's. I first saw all the British songs sung in schools in his textbook. Some of them...Cherry Ripe, The Ashgrove, Linden Lea, David of the White Rock, Men of Harlech, Fight for Liberty, Land of Hope and Glory, Jerusalem etc, etc.

This is the reason why I loved watching "The Choir" on Public TV where a music teacher Gareth Malone, discovered that musical singing was not taught in Secondary Schools anymore. Gareth was challenged to change that starting at first with one all boy's Comprehensive school to put together a 100 voice choir. It was so difficult to do. The boys were mostly embarrassed at first. There were four girls from a girl's school in the area who sang a the Royal Albert Hall with this choir. Gareth's goal. Here is the song they sang on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQxHxloG854 He then went on to another school . He also took a choir to compete in a competition for Youth Choirs in China. They didn't win but it was great to see this. I have recently seen a Community Choir on Youtube led by him in South Oxhey. The results of what he has accomplished are amazing. The school boys were very reluctant to sign up in the first programme.I often play their appearance at the Albert Hall. After seeing the first programme.

I wish we had someone like him in Canada since very few schools now have singing classes.
 
Perhaps not 'traditional' but our choir learned 'You are my heart's delight (and where you are, I long to be)' and to this day it brings tears to my eyes. To me, that is one of the most beautiful songs you can ever sing. 'All in an April's Evening' too was another favourite. Perhaps not really suitable for ten year old children, but loved them then and love them now. Shortie
 
strawberry fair, john peel, men of harlech, ( many welsh teachers in Ilmington Road), Jeruselem, Barbara Allen,
 
we also had Who is sylvia,we also had Orpheus and his lute dont know what that was all about.

lynne
 
#8 maybe not fox hunting but gay takes on a new meaning. I remember a song with Lyndon Lea in and we sang Greensleeves quite a lot. Whatever song I learnt at school my brother always had alternative words.
 
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