Songs from Primary School

Sung in a round London’s Burning. Also the blacksmith, the trout, and Barbara Allen.
In Scarlet town where I was born
There was a fair maid dwelling
Made every youth cry well a day
Her name was Barbara Allen.
Also green sleeves, Marianina, the cowboy carol.
Early one morning, the ash grove and so many more. I loved ye banks and braces. This is the cowboy carol.

There’ll be a new world beginning from tonight
Ping a ping pang pong
There’ll be a new world beginning from tonight
When I climb up to my saddle
Going to take it to my heart
There’ll be a new world beginning from tonight (on YouTube)

LancsLass

On yonder hill there stands a lady
Who she is I do not know
I’ll go and court her for her beauty
She shall answer Yes or No
Oh no John no John no John no.

Can't remember many, but do recall
Men of Harlech

Blow the wind southerly

A sailor went to sea, sea, sea to see ehat he could see, see, see but all that he could see, see, see was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea.

When a knight won his spurs

Think that's enough for now, in my head I will be singing these songs for the rest of the day !!

Our music teacher was a doughty old bird who would pound the poor piano into submission as we sang.
There was a little drummer who loved a one eyed cook;
Soldier soldier;
Bobby Shaftoe;
Pedro the Fisherman (which had a whistling chorus but we were such poor whistlers that we had to revert to humming it!);
Down in the Dell;
Greensleeves.

I am surprised at how many of the words of these lovely songs I remember from junior school in Sussex in the fifties... and sung with so much enthusiasm and innocence. My eyes fill with tears of nostalgia as I’m taken right back to the school hall on a sunny morning - what totally different world! It’s interesting to reflect on how these songs created an atmosphere of (mainly) security and stability, humour, the seasons and the countryside, romance - brave men and pretty girls and God keeping an eye on things...

Jaylucy I still play and sing God be with you in the car. Brings a lump to my throat.

In school we used to listen to a radio programme on this really huge old radio which just about worked.
I remember songs that started:
There was a youth ( he loved the bailiffs daughter who lived in Islington).
Where have you been all the day Billy boy. (We all giggled at the line "my Nancy tickled my fancy" for some reason.).
My grandsire beat the drum complete...
See the land to Spring is waking...
On Richmond hill there lived a lass..

Hymns..I too remember The lilies fair.
Also,
I love Gods tiny creatures that wander wild and free
and
Daisies are our Silver, buttercups our gold.

Miss Norman was a great choirmaster.
She taught us
Bring me said David
We thank thee Lord for this fair earth
The Scottish soldier
The Gentle Maiden (There's one who is pure as an angel)

Cheerful nostalgic thread Bradfordlass

Ah yes, I remember “singing together.” Two classes of 40+ in one classroom, some of us at desks, the rest on the floor. I remember “Strawberry fair” because we had a poor Irish boy in our class, who had never been to school before, and couldn’t read or write. Some of the boys used to sing “ trifle, trifle, have a bit of trifle, trifle trifle Polly did a wee” instead of the proper chorus. They played a game of chicken, waiting for the teacher to get near them before singing the proper words. Unfortunately this poor boy was too slow, and carried on singing the rude words, and got soundly smacked. We all thought it was unfair. I loved “Mhairi’s wedding” and have taught it to my little grandaughter Mhairi. We also learnt lots of Latin hymns, without having them translated for us, and I can still sing them to this day, although, as others’s have said, important things I need to remember go right out of my head!

Thank you Juliet27 I’ve just found the Alison Moyet version you mentioned - lovely!! Thanks for that

We also sang around the ‘camp fire’ in the Village Hall at Brownies, we pretty much sang our way through our childhood.

Did anyone’s class sing in ‘rounds’ I remember trying to concentrate on ‘Frer Jaques’ or Frerrer Jacks as we probably pronounced it, counting in one line after the first group. Good fun though, singing always cheered me up.

The British Grenidiers was on that programme too - and Linden Lee, lots of traditional songs - don't children today miss out by not listening to BBC schools on the radio!?

Yea Phoebes - It WAS 'Singing Together' - no music teacher at my school either!

Some years ago whilst on a trip to an ancient burial site we were shown the tomb of Lysander and I was immediately driven to sing a song I loved from Junior School.

Some talk of Alexander and some of Hercules
Of Hector and Lysander
And such great names as these, but of all of these great heroes
There's none that can compare
With a tow row row row row row
To the British Grenadiers

Wow! Just had a visit back in time, so many songs never sung now!
My mission is to teach my grandchildren some of them.
I loved singing lessons at school, the best class. When a knight won his spurs, was one of my favourites along with Lavender's Blue & Maranina.
Thanks you for the memories..

We sang all sorts of traditional songs from a printed pamphlet to a radio broadcast every week - if we paid for the leaflet we were allowed to colour in the pictures while we sang - Men of Harlech, I saw three ships, Blow the Wind Southerly etc.

Apart from Hymns & Carols the only one I remember was , Oh for The Wings Of a Dove.' & I was in the school choir.
I remember far more songs my Grandma used to sing with me & as she was a Scot they were all Scottish songs- probably never heard before in Surrey!.

Lots of these I remember, lots I don’t but any of you recall
“Botany Bay”

I went to a nice little private school back in Wales and we didn’t have a music teacher for some reason, but we did have lots of wireless lessons, one of which was BBC “Singing Together”. We learned all the classic songs mentioned, using a paper pamphlet with the words and music. It seemed perfectly normal to us that we didn’t have a music teacher and when I got to grammar school I was amazed to find out that such things existed! My music really took off then and I was in the school choir right through school, so “Singing Together” obviously didn’t do me any harm! Perhaps having piano lessons from the age of 9 helped.

Oops...so annoying when I pad is slow

Lowering the tone here. I fondly remember "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?" and "There is a tavern in the town". Sensing a theme.

Oh yes...the Raggle Taggle Gypsies. I loved that and wanted to grow up to be a Romany gypsy!! I've just listened to a version of it sung by Alison Moyet - beautiful.

Oh yes...the Raggle Taggle Gypsies. I loved that and wanted to grow up to be a Romany gypsy!! I've just listened to a version of it sung by Alison Moyet - beautiful.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree was my favourite

Do any of you remember having a weekly singing lesson via the radio? We used to sit in the classroom and learn songs this way in junior school. It was a proper learning programme where we practised the same set of songs each week, probably gave the teachers a much needed rest.

All Things Bright & Beautiful.
The Raggle Taggle Gypsies O.
Soldier, Soldier Won’t You Marry Me.
For Those in Peril on The Sea.

I was an Enfield girl and part of the school choir. We entered a festival at the Royal Festival Hall and won!! The prize was a gold medal and each of us were given a photograph of said medal? The original was kept at school!! There was a 45rpm record made which is no doubt somewhere in the loft.
One of the songs was Hansel & Gretal can’t remember the other one.