Songs from Primary School

Hi Gingster, There was a little drummer and he loved a one eyed cook, he loved and he loved her though she had a cock eyed look with her one eye on the pot and the other up the chimney with a bow wow wow, fa la a dow a diddy, bow wow a do a diddy now wow wow. There’s three more verses. In the last one they go to be married but “her one eye killed the parson and the other stopped the clock” ??? Probably not PC now!!

@gingster
I remember that line....and fa la the dower diddy bow wow wow....lol

What a lovely thread! So many memories.

Yes, Wheniwasyourage, Paul’s little hen did come to a sad end. I remember it well. Here it is, lodged firmly in my memory:-

Paul’s little hen flew away from the farmyard,
Ran down the hillside and into the dale.
Paul hurried after, but down in the brambles,
There sat a Fox with a big bushy tail.
“Cluck, cluck, cluck” cried the poor little creature,
“Cluck, cluck, cluck,” but she cried in vain.
Paul made a spring but could not save her.
Now he shall never take her home again.
As a grandma, I now think it a bit of an odd choice for little, primary children (as many of us shed a few tears for both the little hen, and for Paul) but I suppose it must have been intended as a cautionary tale about children straying too far from home, alone!

@Hollycat
Fantastic....did your music teacher teach your class that song.
Ours was a Mrs Diaper.
Do you know the correct title to the song verse.

In Amsterdam, there lived a maid
Mark well what I do say!
In Amsterdam there lived a maid
And she was mistress of her trade
I'll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid!
A-roving, a-roving, since roving's been my ru-aye-in,
I'll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid.

Were you ever in Quebec
Stowing timbers on the deck?
Where there's a king with a golden crown
Riding on a donkey!
Hey-ho, away we go, donkey-riding, donkey-riding
Hey-ho, away we go, riding on a donkey!

Sally Brown, she's a bright mulatto, wey-hey, roll and go!
She drinks rum and chews tobacco
Spend my money on Sally Brown.

These and other sea shanties, totally unsuitable for young lips and ears!
D'ye Ken John Peel?
The Ash Grove
Aiken Drum
He who would valiant be
When a knight won his spurs
Immortal, invisible, God only wise

Glad that I live am I
That the sky is blue
Glad for the country lanes
And the fall of dew
After the sun, the rain
After the rain, the sun
This is the way of life
Till the work be done.
All that we need to do,
Be we low or high
Is to see that we grow
Nearer the sky.

Lots of contrast there, and I still remember all the words. So why can't I remember what I had for lunch today?

The vagaries of the music teachers - I recall well. The favourite of mine was the Kookaboro song ( is that how you spell kookaboro? The Australian bird) as a four part round.

I have heard the maranina song but never sung it. I could sing the Wings of a Dove but I was always told I couldnt sing well at all. I recently found out my school had me singing alto when I am actually a light soprano - no wonder I struggled.

But I was not very musical I suppose. I was not amongst those selected to be musical - another vaguaries of the school music teacher who decided who was in the choir and who was not, and if not, that was the end of your music education or lessons. Neither my parents nor my grandparents understood how I could not sing as they were all good singers. I gave up singing and mimed mostly. Still do today even though I have now been told by a real music teacher that I was very misplaced.

Other songs from school included Glad that I live am I, Christopher Robin, A North Country maid, Pretty Polly Perkins.

Hymns were something else I sang one which began " Can you count the stars that brightly twinkle in the midnight sky" but it was to a strange tune - not the one I see associated with it on you tube etc. another one which included the line " Shine upon us Saviour shine" ( cant recall the title) was also sung to the wrong tune apparently ( I was told this when another teacher tried to play it using the music which accompanied it in the book).

The Skye Boat song was a favourite for festivals ( thats where I was placed to sing second part alto and couldnt do it). Never forget that one.

Then we used to sing lots of pop songs a bit later on. White Horses ( from the TV series) was a favourite.

This thread is bringing back some lovely memories.
I was in the junior school choir. We entered the Carlisle music festival every year. One year we had a tricky song to learn, From a Railway Carriage by Robert Louis Stevenson. I think we came second.
I remember singing "On wings of song" too.

Just remembered " My grandfathers Clock". Anyone remember that? and Football Crazy? ( I have a favourite brother, his Christian name is Paul.... ).

Wheniwasyourage
Sorry, I’ve misled you. I’ve just been singing Paul’s little hen to myself and realised the last line was
actually,
Now he shall never dare go home again.
Even sadder!

Yes, I remember: Little brown seed oh little brown brother are you awake in the dark?

What! You’re a sunflower? How I shall miss you when you’ve grown golden and high.
I’ll be a poppy all white like my mother.
Little brown brother goodbye.

^At Eastertime the lillies fair and lovely flowers grow everywhere, at Eastetime, at Eastertime, how glad the world at Eastertime
Sadly, I can find no more word to that one.^

I remember this song OP. But sadly like you I cannot find it anywhere. I asked a music teacher about it recently, he didnt know it and said it must be one my school made up - but if you know it, I doubt it was.

I asked a Vicar too but again no joy.

I remember the line
"At Eastertime the angels said that Christ had risen from the dead. At Eastertime, At Eastertime, the world is so happy at Easter time"

I used to sing it all the time as a small child ( about six).

Should have added, the thing is, now I have two verses of the song and I can remember the tune, I can sing it again.

I will teach it to my own daughter . Then it will get passed on.

This is a wonderful thread, I remember so many of the songs from school and Guides. Thrilled to be reminded of many especially When a knight won his spurs!

Loving this thread. What about street songs like 'In and out the dusty bluebells', 'Ally bally ally bally who's got the ball?', 'We are three wee gallus girls sailing out to sea'?
Grammar didn't matter in the street!!! And we did play them in school as well.

When I was in Kindergarten (Reception year equivalent in North America), our teacher played guitar. We sang Mr. Finnegan, a special spelling song, and a special alphabet song (not the standard one that goes to the same tune as Twinkle, Twinkle). In later years I remember learning Zippidy Doo Dah (from the Disney film "Song of the South"), Polly Wolly Doodle, and Kookaburra. We also did some seasonal songs - I remember a couple of Halloween ones. (Keep in mind that Halloween is a big thing in North America.)

Our mum had been trained as a pianist and a singer, so she used to sing for us. I learned "My Favourite Things" when I was quite young ("The Sound of Music" is Mum's favourite musical).

Yes ! A little bit! an Italian song -Mariana was a merry fay soft her wings as something the light of day...!

Oh dear, I think my education was somewhat lacking in music. All I can remember singing is hymns. But I do remember some poems we were taught, like Bessie was a Black Cat.

It seems the Eastertime song was published in a book called Songs of Praise for Children in 1957 but you would have to find a second hand book seller or maybe an old church who might have a copy stashed away somewhere. I will be looking I think.

I remember Daisies are our Silver buttercups our gold, also Wide wide as the ocean. I also used to love singing Marianina and many of the others already mentioned. Funny how you can remember all the words when you probably haven’t thought about them for years.

Love the slight regional differences here. I was born in 1939 and we spent a lot of our school time singing and playing singing games. I think my favourite was Strawberry Fair and just to hum it transports me back decades. We used to sing about the Big Ship sailing down the Alley Alley O on the First Day of September. What was the Big Ship and what was important about that date? To this day, I remember the Big Ship on each 1st September. And then there was In and Out the Bluebell Windows ..... WHAT the children are missing today!

I always used to think the Skye Boat Song was referring to Jesus with “Carry the lad that was born to be King”. I missed the point entirely!

I remember My Grandfather’s Clock, aprilrose. “And the clock - stopped - never to go again/When the old - man - died”.

What about the Wraggle Taggle Gypsies? I suppose singing about gypsies wouldn’t be considered politically correct today, but it’s a very enjoyable song.

aprilrose. Is this the one?

Ring, happy bells of Easter time
The world is glad to hear your chime;
Across wide fields of melting snow
The winds of summer softly blow,
And birds and streams repeat the chime
Of Easter time, of Easter time.

The world is glad to hear your chime;
Ring, Happy bells of Easter time!

Ring, happy bells of Easter time,
The world takes up your chant sublime;
The Lord is risen! The night of fear
Has passed away and heav'n draws near:
We breathe the air of that blest clime,
At Easter time, at Easter time.

The world is glad to hear your chime;
Ring, happy bells of Easter time!

Ring, happy bells of Easter time,
Our happy hearts give back your chime;
The Lord is risen, we die no more:
He opens wide the heavenly door;
He meets us, while to Him we climb,
At Easter time, at Easter time.

And on an Easter theme, we used to sing:

Hot cross buns, hot cross buns,
One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns
If you haven't any daughters, then give them to your sons
One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns

If l were to list all the songs l remember from primary school l would be here all day. We had a school choir and many musical programmes on radio and television as well as other music lessons, but my favourite was Singing Together, which we had in the last two years in the juniors. A way of learning our rich heritage of folk songs - sadly children do not seem to learn these nowadays. Our school choir always went to the Norfolk and Norwich festival in May/June but when l was in the top infants my teacher, Mrs. Cottrell,formed a choir from our class and we also went to the festival. I can't remember what we sang but we were awarded a second class certificate, excellent for seven year olds, and Mrs. Cottrell bought us all an ice cream.

Grandma70's - the grandfather clock song always meant a lot to me as a child because my grandfather did have such a clock and it did go tick, tock, tick tock ..... and it stopped when he died.

But he had given it to me and had told me how it needed to be wound each week and it is still going. I sent it to an antique clock repair man and he got it working again and now its my life seconds its numbering, tick tock and hopefull it will tick tock my childs life time too. It is a westminster chime and it strikes the hours and quarters.