Old School songs and did they affect you in any way?

[Deathraystare]

For some reason the same bloody song from school keeps going around in my head. I hated it! Basically it quite angers me! Yes I suppose that sounds hard but it must have stirred some early feminist feelings.

Basically it went "Oh Soldier, Soldier won't you marry me with your musket, fife and drum?" "Oh no sweet maid I cannot marry you for I have no xxx of my own" "So off she goes to her Grandfather's chest and gets him a xxx of the very, very best and the Soldier puts them on".

Of course at the very end after the bastard has sponged off her he tells her he cannot marry her as he has a wife of his own. Everyone else thought this was funny. I did not, I thought it was terrible!

Another song was about "Go and tell Aunt Nancy the old grey goose is dead" this upset me cos I was (still am) soft over animals.

I liked the tune to one with the chorus “Donna Donna”. It began with
“On a wagon bound for market
Is a calf with a mournful eye”
I think it was connected to my decision to become a vegetarian aged seven.

@Easternfells

I liked the tune to one with the chorus “Donna Donna”. It began with “On a wagon bound for market Is a calf with a mournful eye” I think it was connected to my decision to become a vegetarian aged seven.

Ah, that's a beautiful song by Donovan. It goes on later: "calves are easily bound and slaughtered, never knowing the reason why..."

It also helped me along the way to vegetarianism!

I remember singing lots of these songs as a child in the 70s and then teaching them as a teacher. These days although we still do singing at school (depending on covid), we have lost all the traditional songs which I think is a bit sad.

A lot like the hippopotamus song, mouse in a windmill, lily the pink, were from a book called apusskidu .Then there was a selection of old time music hall songs in "Ta ra ra boom de ay" .

I can remember doing the BBC singing Together songs - the radio programme was recorded I think (though it may have been live) and we would have little booklets to share. It had lots of traditional British folk songs as well as those from other countries and would have a theme each term.

@kennythekangaroo Thanks for the photo, that has brought back lots of memories.

@kennythekangaroo my mum was a piano-playing primary school teacher in the 1970s. We had that book at home.

We had a leavers song that went:

"End of the term
End of the Year
It's time to say
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye".

We did "singing together" and "time and tune". I have some of the old books.

I'm glad some one else has heard of it. Mostly we had to sing hymns but occasionally we were allowed to pick a 'secular' song as special treat and this was one of the the limited to selection. They other one I remember, Football Crazy, has already been mentioned.

We did a BBC end of year musical extravaganza in y6 called 'An odd Odyssey (or what's missing from Homer)' it was a comedy musical based on Odysseus adventures after the seige of Troy. Looking back it seems oddly pretentious themed musical for a primary school in Barnsley to do. It was great fun though. Even though I was assigned to musical section and didn't get towear a costume

The opening song went....
We went to rescue Helen from the wicked men of Troy. Who when it came to.fighting did nothing but annoy. We hid our men in olive wood.....

join in if you know it....

@LadyEv that reminds me of our primary school production of "Jonah Man Jazz" (about Jonah and the whale) when I was 11. I still remember 95% of the lyrics to all of the songs. I'm 52!

Ninevah City was a city of sin,
The jazzin' and the jivin' made a terrible din,
Beat groups playing rock and roll,
And the lord, when he heard it, said "Bless my soul!"

I remember going to a junior school musical play in the 80s, about Samson and Delilah, and one song about Delilah had the lyrics:
" She is pretty, she is witty, she has big brown eyes
And other features quite remarkable in shape and size!"

I think that may have been part of Jonah Man Jazz too!

Our history teacher sometimes used to play a song about a man who sits down next to the grave of a soldier called Willie Mcbride. There was a line about how he hoped he died quickly and I used to get a lump in my throat everytime I heard it

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Did anyone else ever sing ‘Oh Jesus I have promised’ to the Match of the Day theme tune? ‘Oh JEsus I have promised, to SERVE thee to the end (bom bom), Be THOU forever near me, My MASter and my friend (bom bom), I SHALL not fear the battle, if THOU art by my side, No-or wander from the pa-athway if thou wilt be my guide’. (Yep after 40 years grin)

I don't remember those words to the MOTD tune, but I vaguely remember another set of lyrics, sort of using football terminology in a hymn context, including a line about 'proclaiming Christ as your Captain', Can't remember any more of it, though.

I really like the Eton school song, "Jolly Boating Weather", though I should stress that I have never had anything to do with the school!

I have no links whatsoever with Harrow School (rough comp, me!), but I find some of the phrasing and concepts in 'Forty Years On' really poignantly beautiful.

I remember in Sunday School singing a song to the Match of the Day theme tune that went

Why don’t you put your trust in Jesus
And ask him to come in
He saw your need from up in heaven
And due to save your sin

It ended with words like “and he’ll cleanse and guide and keep you till you reach the Promised Land”

Maybe not the same as not particularly footbally!

*died not due

We had Apusskidu for music lessons and In Every Corner Sing for assembly

We used to love Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory and sniggered at the word “bosom” every time

Bread and Fishes got banned in my school because the teacher playing the piano got so annoyed by everyone shouting 'fishes'- "We will have bread and FISHES and a jug of red wine". She also told us off for singing "This little light of mine" in what she said was an American accent

@ MonsteraDeliciosa we did the Jonah play at school too, late 1980s. ‘Jonah Jonah listen to me Jonah, listen while I tell you of a plan I have in mind’ I can remember bits of it :)

Oh crikey, the Jonah one! I remember far too much of that.

“Go down Jonah, deep in the ocean, go down Jonah, far from the shore”.

And
I need a boat, man, that’ll carry me away, and how I hope, man, you’re sailing today.
You can see I got no suitcase,
I’m travelling light.
Ain’t got no reason
For staying the night.
You don’t even have to tell me
Where we’re sailing to,
Just as long as we are SAILING SAILING SAILING
Into the blue…

Isn’t it amazing how the words have stuck? I think I remember that Samson and Delilah one too. And possibly a Joseph one.

yes has to be puff the magic dragon so sad,

There was a Joseph one. It’s all coming back now. One of the songs was weirdly French style, about walking down boulevards together and “No one comes to dinner now, we’d only eat them anyhow, Et maintenant we drink a bitter wine”. Made no sense. It also had a line in it about being happy and gay and I can remember the whole class getting bollocked for giggling.

Oh no ignore me - just googled and those Joseph lines are from Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Ah, so glad others had the pleasure of Jonah Man Jazz!