Songs from Primary School

Ring-a Ring-a Roses

I can never forget in the late 1950s singing this naughty song about school dinners to the tune of Out of Town by Max Bygraves. You have to hear the words to see how we changed them!
Out of Town link here

Say what you will, school dinners make you ill
and Davey Crocket died of shepherds pie.
And school din dins
Come from pig bins
Out of town.
Out there the sun is a big lump of custard
Polishing the blue blue sky
With white fluffy potatoes in a cluser
hanging on the breeze to dry.

This is one we sang in the playground, and one I loved to play on the recorder! My little DGS likes me to play it now:

Little bird, I have heard
What a merry song you sing
Soaring high in the sky on your tiny wing.
Jesus' little ones are we, and he loves us, you and me,
As we share in his care, happy we must be.

‘On yonder hill there stands a maiden’
Anyone remember that?

Who she is I do not know....

I can’t remember any more.

There was one about Bonny Prince Charlie, wasn’t
there, I’m trying to remember how it went.
It will come back to me I’m sure...
Speed Bonny boat like a bird on the wing,
Onward the sailors cry,
Carry the lad that is born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.

Let us haste to Kelvingrove, Bonnie lassio
Green grow the rashes (Burns)
Dream Angus
Vair me o ,ro van o
Ae fond kiss
Wonderful Scottish songs that won our school medals every year. I was 9 when it was my turn and I know them still,and still sing in choirs.

On yonder hill there stands a maiden,
Who she is I do not know
I will court her for her beauty,
She must answer yes or no
Oh no John, No John, No John, No!

My father was a Spanish Captain,
Went to sea a month ago
First he kissed me, then he left me,
Bid me always answer no
Oh no John, No John, No John, No!

Juliet that had a chorus "O, no John, no John, no John, no"

The chorus of your song’s coming back to me now, Juliet. It’s Oh no, John, no John, no John, no. What I can remember seems a bit spicy for primary school children. Did nobody vet these song books?

Ooops, x posts?

Ha ha, cross-posted there, all of us!

Another skipping song:
On a mountain, lives a lady
Who she is, I do not know.
All she wants is gold and silver.
All she needs is a nice young man.

I'm singing away here. I most remember 'Singing Together' and listening to it on the radio in our tiny village primary school between 1953 and 1957. My all time favourite was 'Pearly Adriatic' which won the favourite song competition whatever year it was! I can still remember it all, give or take a word or two I might have substituted.

Far, far away is my pearly Adriatic.
Far, far away my pretty island home.
Far, far away is my lovely Isabella.
Far far away from her I now must roam.

For I'm a sailor, sailing right across the ocean,
Tossed by the billows tossed by the foam.

Chirri Birri Birri I'm a sailor.
Chirri Birri Birri I'm a sailor,
Sailing away from home.

Anyone else remember that one?

We too had ‘Singing Together’ with William Appleby, I think the presenter was. Also ‘Music and Movement’ another day.
Songs that stick with me are,

Men of Harlech.
Shenandoah.
The Rose of Killarney.
Robin Adair.
The Minstrel Boy.

These were when we were older, at junior school as opposed to the infants. At the end of term we could vote for our top three, obviously the X factor of its day!

Will think of loads more now. Still know all the words.

Oh and also The Lass of Richmond Hill.

I think that as Granny’s / Older People we owe it to our GCs and indeed any young person to start singing these songs to them!
RIP off their earbuds and have a sing song.
We also used to sing on car journeys with our children, but I don’t think I remembered half of these old school songs until this thread.
So thanks Bradfordlass

My all time favourite is When a Knight Won His Spurs.
We also used to sing ‘Some talk of Alexander and some of Hercules. Of Hector and Lysander and such great names as these. For all the world’s great heroes there’s none that can compare with a tow row row, row row row, the British Grenadiers.’

Did you ever play that record , Urmstongran? ?

Every singing practice which involved the whole school in amassing in the hall and the head standing up front conducting we would have to sing "Scarlet Ribbons' repeatedly until it was sung to her satisfaction.
We probably sang others but that sticks in my mind.

Kips Tun/ When a Knight Won His Spurs by Martin Simpson,

is a beautiful rendition of this song.

Can probably be found on you tube, we have it on iTunes.

I can remember the sea shanty 'What do we do with the drunken sailor.' Also of course the beautiful hymn 'All things bright and beautiful'.

Oops I’ve seen him live and it brought tears to my eyes when he played it.

It was lovely to hear Marianina sung again Chewbacca.Thanks for the link.

nina I love Scarlet Ribbons!

When I was in the school choir (goodness knows why!) we seemed to sing 'The Angel Gabriel from heaven came' at every opportunity.

Can any one remember a song that began 'Little Brown Houses now what do you hold?' It was about bulbs and I think I must have imagined it as no-one else remembers it.