To hate modern school assembly songs?

[MintyChapstick]

Following on from a recent thread about those bloody awful modern class photos.

When I was growing up in the 90's we used to sing religious based songs like All Things Bright and Beautiful and Who Put the Colours in the Rainbow?Now they sing bloody weird shit about school rules, one about the lunchtime queaue. A few even have raps in them! They are hideous and to be quite frank, mostly drivel. For some reason I really pine for the songs I sang as a child.

It's nothing to do with school assemblies becoming more secular either, because they have to have collective worship as part of the curriculum and still say the Lords Prayer, hear Bible stories so I don't understand why they can't sing proper old songs?

Is your dad's Gaudeamus igitur by any chance Lance?

They are hideous and to be quite frank, mostly drivel.

Whereas hymns are always totally sensible of course.

Yes, I think it is, Polkadots!
Just had a quick google and I see that it's 'chiefly used as a lighthearted drinking song'. Interesting choice for an old-style boys' school.

One reason some of us work full time to pay school fees... for the hymns....

I completely get where this is coming from (although I can't afford the fees!) I have deeply conservative tastes in hymns and can't help feeling that the vast majority of post-1950 hymns should be chucked into Room 101. Give me I Vow to Thee my Country, Jerusalem, Abide With Me, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, Onward Christian Soldiers (how's that for non-PC?), For All the Saints, and Come ye Thankful People Come, instead of all the stuff about big red combine harvesters and flicking rubbers. Interesting to see that the composers Parry and Holst were responsible for one or two of those tunes, and Blake and John Greenleaf Whittier for the most evocative (if misunderstood) words.

(I do, however, have a soft spot for a couple of the 'modern' hymns of my childhood: Lord of the Dance, though, despite the inane lyrics, and Living Lord, which actually has quite an uplifting tune).

Our school song was 'England' based on John O'Gaunts speech from Richard 11 by Shakespeare. We sang traditional hymns, dear Lord and father of mankind and Love divine, all loves excelling were my favourites along with I vow to thee my country.
DS school song is Jerusalem but they are at a Grammar school that's been around since Elizabeth 1 days so I guess they do tradition on an industrial scale.
Do you think its primary schools who sing more modern songs? Certainly that's been my experience.

Oooh, heavenlypink, I remember that hymn book in a rather more purple and black colourway! (Different edition perhaps? We're talking 1970s). As a five-year-old I found the purple and black swirliness creepily terrifying. When I read about the Veil in the fifth Harry Potter I immediately thought of that hymn book cover. It's not the same in green.

When I was in my first or second year, the graduating 6th formers burst into an impromptu burst of an infamous song about our school.

Didn't go down too well!

www.odps.org/glossword/index.php?a=term&d=5&t=157

Just read the lyrics for the first time in years and honestly, I'm shocked! I'm fairly unshockable but I only really knew the first verse.

We used to have hymn practice every week (state school) and although we didn't like it at the time, those hymns have really stuck in my mind! Great atmosphere singing together too. We sang mainly traditional ones (loved Dear Lord and Father or Mankind) with a few modern ones chucked in (Where have all the flowers gone - which always seemed to go on for years). I loved it too that I could sing them along with my gran as we had a lot of songs in common - also made it easier for choosing wedding hymns. I find a lot of people don't know what to choose for a wedding so end up with something really school-ey like All Things Bright and Beautiful - and the words are really terrible and so out of date!

Wol1968 Yes circa 1970's The cover is 'brighter' than I remember, I couldn't even remember the name - it's scary amazing what Google can tell you sometimes!

There's a respect element too. When I was in primary school (Catholic, 60s), we used to routinely mock the efforts of the young nuns to drag us into the 20th century with their unstrached wimples and guitar-playing - "When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun" was quickly changed to "When I fall on my face", "For I am the Lord of the damp settee" etc etc.
But we never attempted it with "Faith Of Our Fathers" or "To Christ The Prince Of Peace" because they were proper hymns.

The rich man in his castle
The poor man at his gate
God made them, high and lowly
And ordered their estate

All things bright and beautiful . . .

I guess that verse is well and truly forgotten!

But I do love Dear Lord and Father of mankind . . . what a tune.

herecomethepotatoes About thirty years ago I had a client, a lady in her seventies who had done a.b.h. to a police officer and a bailiff. She made two unforgettable remarks over coffee after being convicted and getting a conditional discharge.

I am a graduate of Roedean and Holloway. The food was better at Roedean but the company was better in Holloway

and

My sister was the first woman ever struck off the Roll of Solicitors

Somebody had to be!

I am a graduate of Roedean and Holloway. The food was better at Roedean but the company was better in Holloway

I have no first hand experience for comparison but the food must have been truly terrible in Holloway!

My favourite was 'Stand up clap hands shout thank you Lord'
Did anyone else sing this?

I've been trying to remember 'The Ink is Black, The Page is White' but it keeps ending up as '3 Wheels On My Wagon'.

herecomethepotatoes And I would have to assume that the company was truly wonderful in Holloway!

Love a rousing hymn. Our assemblies had a teacher on piano and if the headmaster thought we weren't singing with enough gusto interrupted and made us start again .In addition to 'When a knight won his spurs ' could I throw in 'Immortal, Invisible' ?

Years ago the Church Times had a debate in ins correspondence columns about who should choose the hymns in Church schools: the HT, the Governors, the clerics? It ended when somebody wrote in to point out that it all depended on the ability and repertoire of the teacher who played the piano.

I loved Dear Lord and Father of mankind

Also
Jesus shall reign where e'er the sun
doth his successive journeys run;
his kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
till moons shall wax and wane no more.

In music lessons we used to sing this by Handel
Haste thee, nymph, and bring with thee
Jest and youthful jollity,
Quips and cranks, and wanton wiles,
Nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles
Such as hang on Hebe's cheek,
And love to live in dimple sleek,
Sport, that wrinkled care derides,
And laughter, holding both his sides.

And Mozart
Ave, ave verum corpus natum
De Maria virgine

The words are Milton's, I didn't know Handel set them!

Then there's Let us with a gladsome mind - more Milton - and Teach me, my God and King and of course the Metrical Psalms such as All people that on earth do dwell and The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.

TheSultanofPingu
My favourite was 'Stand up clap hands shout thank you Lord'
Did anyone else sing this?

You know what, I think we did! I can't for the life of me remember the tune but reading your post just triggered a very hazy memory. We had a quite hippyish guitar-playing class teacher in junior 2 (1982/3) and I'm sure he had us singing that!