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Original poster

For those of you who were at Primary School in the 80's

662 replies

Tequilamockinbird · 28/09/2011 21:31

Would you like to reminisce with me about school assemblies?

DH and I were talking about the 'Come and Praise' book, and singing remembering the songs.

Does anyone else remember songs such as Autumn Days and Cross over the road my friend? Which others were there?

OP posts:
weevilswobble · 01/10/2011 06:57

Wildfig, a couple of years ago after a school christmas service/ sing song thingy we would put uuuuuun-ex-pect-ed-leee at the end of each sentence as a family joke. You had to have heard that song though! Which has an exagerated unexpectedly at the end of each line. Iyswim!

notevenamousie · 01/10/2011 07:18

We used to call "Hymns Old and New" "Hymns Old and Very Old" which we thought was really witty Hmm
I had completely forgotten about When a Knight Won His Spurs! I loved Colours of Day and I think I could probably still play it on the Recorder. Make me a channel of your peace, anyone? We used to think Shine Jesus Shine was modern and exciting even in secondary school. Graham Kendrick has a lot to answer for...
We sang The Wise Man built his house upon the sand at Sunday school the other day, I am now wondering if this was for the children's benefit or the adults!!
There is a really lovely arrangement for All Things Bright and Beautiful - it must be 10 years old now - I think it's one of Rutter's. Used to find it agonising at school. Along with 'To be a pilgrim' which we sang the other Sunday and I could remember all the words though never understood what it meant at school.

mumzy · 01/10/2011 07:57

For some reason unknowest to me our school favoured songs in assembly which were on Telly. Remember singing 'mull of kintyre', 'I'd like to teach the world to sing( in perfect harmony)', ' when I 'm 64',

bigfatgypsy · 01/10/2011 08:43

This thread has made me want to join a choir Grin I LOVED singing at school. I'd completely forgotten When a Knight and just looked it up on YouTube. I actually nearly cried as I realised I knew every word!

We had a very musical Head at Primary school so we always had classical music playing as we walked into assembly. You had a big role to play if it was your turn to sit by the cassette player (massive box thing, weighed a ton) and press PLAY and STOP at the relevant moments Smile

He also used to encourage us to play musical instruments and once a week someone would 'play' their instrument of choice while everyone filed in. I was rather good on the piano so a friend and I used to play jaunty duets while everyone took their places cross-legged on the floor.

As for songs, we used to have the numbers of the songs we were singing that day on a board and we got to know the song numbers, so if it was one we liked we'd be like 'yeah, it's Autumn Days ' or 'Eurgh it's Think of a World' or whatever we didn't like.

Off to look for a choir to join Smile

thisisyesterday · 01/10/2011 09:03

sheepgomeep, no I didn't, but I was just down the road in Handcross!

DrNortherner · 01/10/2011 09:07

LOVE this thread! I seem to remember:

If I had a hammer
I'd hammer in the morning, I'd hammer in the evening
All over this land

The ink is black, the page is white

Cross over the road my friend....

sheepgomeep · 01/10/2011 09:38

They do still sing some of these at school even in wales. In dd's they sing Sing hosannah, he's got the whole world in his hand, cum by ya (spelling?)

I remember at school Wednesday was vicar day (or it might have been every other) and the local old vicar would come and read from the bible and give us a sermon. He used to sway rhythmically back and forth on his toes which was very mesmerising. Thursday was hymn practice day (loved that)

thisisyesterday you werent all that far from me then! I haven't lived in Crawley down since I was 15 as I moved to wales. What secondary did you go too. I went to Imberhorne in East Grinstead.

Original poster
Tequilamockinbird · 01/10/2011 10:31

Another song from look and read

"I'm an apostrophe, come and take a look at me, I'm not a comma, I'm not a full stop, don't put me on the line - I go at the top!"

Bill the brickie and the magic e were my faves though!

OP posts:
brodyboo · 01/10/2011 11:28

Peter and John went to pray,
They met an old man on the way,
He asked for alms and held out his palms,
And this is what Peter did say,

Silver and gold I have none,
But such as I have I give you,
In the name of Jesus Christ of,
Nazereth, rise up and walk.

thisisyesterday · 01/10/2011 11:54

sheep i went to warden park, in cuckfield

Greensleeves · 01/10/2011 11:58

God's spirit is in my heart
He has called me and set me apart
This is what I have to do
What I have to do
He sent me to give the good news to the poor
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more
Tell blind people that they can see
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone
The news that the kingdom of God has come
And go tell everyone
The news that God's kingdom has come

We used to sing:

God's spirit is in my fart
He has called me a pulled me apart
This is where I have to poo
Where I have to poo
He sent me to give the bad news to the poor
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners once more
Tell blind people that they can't see
And tie the Pope to a tree
And go tell everyone
The news that the kingdom of God can't come
And go tell everyone The news that God's kingdom can't come

CupOfBrownJoy · 01/10/2011 13:53

Oh God this thread is becoming a brain-worm.... in bed this morning I suddenly remembered-

Walk with me, oh my Lord
Through the darkest night and brightest day
Be at my side oh Lord
Hold my hand and guide me on my way.

Sometimes the road seems long,
my energy is spent
then Lord I think of you and I am given strength....

My mum's favourite of the ones we sang at school, she wants it at her funeral!

janedoe25 · 01/10/2011 13:53

I loved badger girl, does anyone remember through the dragons eye and ghost writer?

We used to sing "rise and shine, give god the glory, glory" whilst furiously clapping our hands!

LetThereBeRock · 01/10/2011 14:53

I can't believe that I forgot about Walk With Me Oh my Lord,Cup.

Original poster
Tequilamockinbird · 01/10/2011 14:57

Janedoe, I remember one about a fairground but not sure what it was called?

Other than that only Dark Towers, Badger Girl and Geordie Racer

OP posts:
CupOfBrownJoy · 01/10/2011 17:05

Glad I have reminded you then, Rock Smile

weevilswobble · 01/10/2011 22:54

I mentioned Walk with me oh my Lord, further back! I still sing it when i'm in a scary place.

jimswifein1964 · 02/10/2011 11:27

I adore nostalgia threads!!
Btw, the up yo date come&praise is only a couple of quid. Think it has the same songs??

RufusTFirefly · 02/10/2011 18:51

You poor buggers - so much shitey music. I went to primary in the sixties and by and large we still had good old traditional hymns (e.g. The Lord is My Shepherd to the tune "Crimond"). I absolutely hate modern jiggy-jiggy-jumpy up-and-downy hymn tunes, especially as played by trendy vicars in possession of three chords and a guitar.

This one - And "Oh Jesus I have Promised" with a kind of syncopated cowboyish beat? got me into trouble at grammar school. I'd liked the proper tune (Victorian?) at primary and was so outraged by this abomination that I sent it up in assembly by boogying to it in a sarcastic way and got sent out. In vain did I try to explain that I had no objection to Christian assembly, just piss poor music and I got a detention.

Little boxes was written by a dopy cow called Malvina Reynolds, who also wrote What have they done to the rain. She, Pete Seeger and such equally pious gits - he wrote Where have all the flowers gone - were so worthy and dull that I wanted to KICK them. Even then I was listening to the blues and these were pallid indeed compared to Leadbelly's songs about slavery.

Even at infants' school I hated dull, bad music and remember with horror this little gem:

John built a luvverly house
He did it just for fun
He started it at nine o'clock
And finished it at one
He buillt it all of bits of wood
Right up in a tree
And there was room
For two inside
But not enough for three
So John invited An-O-Bel
To come and stay for tea

Gaaah!

Ponders · 02/10/2011 19:09

She, Pete Seeger and such equally pious gits were so worthy and dull that I wanted to KICK them

bit harsh, Rufus, considering the context in which they were written.

world war & nuclear holocaust less of an issue than slavery?

(& you had detention in primary school? Hmm)

Ponders · 02/10/2011 19:10

oh sorry, just re-read & see now that was grammar school.

RufusTFirefly · 02/10/2011 19:21

Not harsh at all. They were well meaning but the music was shite, that was my point. I once saw a film clip of the Seeger person appearing with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee. They outclassed him by a mile - and who earned all the fucking money? They had to come to the UK (courtesy of Chris Barber and others) to get some of the recognition they deserved.

I did say that I had learned the traditional hymn tune to "Oh Jesus I have promised" at primary school, but had the jiggy modern tune inflicted on me at grammar school. That's where I got the detention. Incidentally, we did have detention at primary school, not to mention the cane and boxed ears. It was the sixties. I managed to avoid any of that however.

RufusTFirefly · 02/10/2011 19:26

X post, sorry.

My objection to the white folkies I suppose is that they were so worthy. Turns me right off even now. I did like Joan Baez however as I love her voice; I also liked Woody Guthrie. My brother was into all that Hootenanny stuff (there was a tv programme called the Hootenanny show circa 1962, which I called the Hootenannygoat show). He and his three chords were in a folk group, and were they crap? You betcha.

RufusTFirefly · 02/10/2011 19:37

I liked this one:

God is love, his the care
Tending each everywhere...

Refrain

Sing aloud loud loud
Sing aloud loud loud
God is good
God is truth
God is beauty, praise him.

Having googled it I was amazed to find that the melody dates from the 16th century and the lyric is by one Percy Dearmer who died in 1936! I had thought it was modern (or modern-ish, my brother was singing it at school in the fifties.) It's good one, whenever it was written.

Ponders · 02/10/2011 19:56

\link{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Seeger\you might be interested in this account of the worthy, dull & pious Seeger}

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