Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Gideon CoeΒ  permalink

Songs sung at school.

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by gidarmy (U7627527) on Monday, 30th March 2009

  Hello,
  
  We'll get to that in a moment. Welcome to BST one and all. I've been doing some calculations and by my reckoning in less than a month the show will begin in not total darkness. Heavy dusk - yes, almost dark - okay but it's a sign that nights are drawing out.
  
  Though it will be downhill to winter after the summer solstice. Let's not dwell on that though. If I fail to play April Come She Will on April first then something serious will have happened. Most probably somebody forgetting to do their job properly. Most probably me.
  
  Anyway, to business...
  
  Here's a list of songs we were forced to sing at school in music lessons or as part of some school concert (including the legendary Fairfield Grammar School concert at the Colston Hall Bristol the night after Maiden had blown Priest offstage - 29 years ago.)Man 29 years ago, how is that possible. Man....
  
  Sorry, here's the list
  
  My Way
  Both Sides Now
  The Wild Rover
  The Windmills of you Mind
  Theme from M*A*S*H
  Excerpts from Oliver.
  The plot to A Christmas Carol set to the music of God Rest You Merry Gentlemen (rarely did it scan properly over the 36 verses).
  
  I also seem to recall one music lesson that consisted of rehearsing the opening to Ooo...Oaklahoma.
  
  Any other memories of massed singing joy/emarrasement/both while at a seat of learning?
  
  If not, fair enough.
  
  Gidx

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message1

• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by purrmeister (U11445326) on Monday, 30th March 2009

  Girl group ensemble of 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' which wasn't current at that time or even re-released..............honest!!!!!!! (maybe it was in the music teachers top 10 favourites, a song we could all sing without hitting bum notes, or sounding reedy like a lot of early teenage girls singing tend to be)
  
  
  As to the event, it was end of term and probably best forgotten.

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message2

• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by Lee1975 (U4412355) on Monday, 30th March 2009

  As a ten year old, (with severely limited musical ability I might add), I once had to sing a solo of "Lily of Laguna"; part of a "three night residency" at St Francis Primary School. Rather than the usual Nativity play, our class teacher had decided we would perform a truly bizarre "Musical Hall Christmas" for an equally bemused audience made up of well meaning, if bewildered, relatives and school dignitaries.
  
  Anyway, the rousing finale to our show was Class 6's rendition of "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", complete with a closing "Altogether now..." invitation as we repeated the chorus for the final time. Surprisingly, most of the audience joined in and actually seemed to know the words which, rather worryingly, much of Class 6 didn't.
  
  I still bear the mental scars of these performances to this day. I think the feeling of utter intimidation and dread I felt as a 10 year old soloist prevented me from becoming the great front-man I would have undoubtedly otherwise become... probably.

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message3

• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Monday, 30th March 2009

  We had a completely bonkers junior school head who made us sing Men of Harlech at every single opportunity. He also rewrote a lot of hymns so they were all about the second world war. Thanfully, memories of exact details have faded.
  
  Does anyone else remember a hymn that went "There are UNDREDS and FOUSANDS and MIWWIONS of SPARRAS, all across the world for everone to see....." . I think it was in the same book as the weirdy "I was cold I was naked " hymn.
  
  

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message4

• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by gidarmy (U7627527) on Monday, 30th March 2009

  There was also a hymn to the same tune as the Match of the Day theme.
  
  I might invetigate this further tonight. Despite being refreshed from some days off I forgot to have lots of ideas and to write them down. New Jeff and Jack Lewis is sounding good by the way, expect something from it this week.

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message5

• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Monday, 30th March 2009

  The Come and Praise Hymn Book - that was it.
  
  "...and the silk inside a chestnut shell....!"
  
  

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message6

• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by Al McGregor (U2976807) on Monday, 30th March 2009

  "were you there, were you there?"

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message7

• Message 8

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by tolhurst (U6377463) on Wednesday, 1st April 2009

  We used to sing a song in Music class about the miller's dog called Bingo - "B - I - N - G - O".
  
  This was before Ottowan but I did hear one of those annoying spelling records on the radio yesterday where you are trying to work out what is being spelt. RADIO LADIO?
  
  In the playground (not officially-organised singing) in the Sixties we used to chant "We Won the War - in 1964". I've never really worked out why!
  

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message8

• Message 9

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by nowayisit_billyliar (U13870159) on Wednesday, 1st April 2009

  "Message posted by gidarmy
  
  There was also a hymn to the same tune as the Match of the Day theme"
  
  Remember this well...
  our version used to start..
  (cue motd theme..)
  "i want to live and work for jesus........who's with me every day"
  
  Whilst the music teacher played the tune on one of those tiny handheld keyboards that was played by blowing into a long platic tube sprouting out the side....(what the flip was those called)
  
  leaving time involved chairs on tables and a whispered chant of
  "were going home..... shhhhh shhhhh
  were going home.....shhhh shhhhh"*
  
  
  (*That is unless we had footie practise or YES! a full bloodied match)
  
  
  
  

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message9

• Message 10

  , in reply to message 9.

  Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Wednesday, 1st April 2009

  There was a drummer (not so good)
  And Ringo was his name-o
  R - I - N - G - O, R - I - N - G - O
  
  etc etc
  
  Not only did we win the war in 1964, but I seem to remember, if the song is taken as gospel , that the Monkeys lost it in 1944, having 'dropped their guns and used their bums'
  
  Strangely, no mention of this was ever made on their TV show.
  
  

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message10

• Message 11

  , in reply to message 10.

  Posted by gidarmy (U7627527) on Wednesday, 1st April 2009

  Was this a playground chant confined only to my Primary School?
  
  "All in for Cowboys and Indians".
  
  Another variation was
  
  "All in for war." Didn't scan as well but I can't write down the tune for you so you'll have to take my word for it.
  
  this would be accompanied by walking round the playground arm in arm taking on new conscripts. At a certain point someone would decide we had enough personnel and.. war would break out. Until the bell.
  
  

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message11

• Message 12

  , in reply to message 11.

  Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Wednesday, 1st April 2009

  I remember something similar.
  
  I never could understand what anyone at my primary school was on about - kids or teachers. It was like my parents had, for no apparent reason, dropped me off at a lunatic asylum every morning.
  
  

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message12

• Message 13

  , in reply to message 12.

  Posted by tolhurst (U6377463) on Wednesday, 1st April 2009

  For some reason I have just remembered the chant of "Chelsea boo! Chelsea boo!".
  
  Joining one class automatically entered you into a closed shop of Leeds supporters, while the other class were Chelsea supporters to a child.
  
  For some reason. Neither team was based close to school (and was this before Manchester United?)
  
  The games such as "ticky off wall" had no chant or song, so do not count...

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message13

• Message 14

  , in reply to message 13.

  Posted by Chicago Jeff (U13649238) on Wednesday, 1st April 2009

  One of my primary school teachers, Mr. Hurvitz, would take any opportunity to have us all sing 'Charlie of the MTA'
  
  BUT WILL HE EVER RETURN??
  NO, HE'LL NEVER RETURN,
  AND HIS FATE IS STILL UNLEARNED
  HE WILL RIDE FOREVER 'NEATH THE STREETS OF BOSTON,
  HE'S THE MAN WHO WILL NEVER RETURN!!!
  
  I think the Kingston Trio was one of the first folk ensembles to make this ditty famous...

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message14

• Message 15

  , in reply to message 14.

  Posted by tolhurst (U6377463) on Thursday, 2nd April 2009

  A lot of the hymns you might sing at primary school have such tortured syntax, I still look at them today for a game of "spot the verb". (Is this where the Parson gets his name? from "parsin'"
  
  I know some people may be prepared to react adversely to the mention of hymns, but I offer this factually as a song we sang which just happens to have been a hymn, without suggesting I think anyone should change their beliefs - unless the belief is "explain to the little ones what this means" which sounds good to me.
  
  I took the line "always thy sweet will obey" as meaning that good children always had to do exactly what Jesus's Spangle said.
  
  Fortunately, I never spotted it anywhere...

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message15

• Message 16

  , in reply to message 14.

  Posted by nowayisit_billyliar (U13870159) on Thursday, 2nd April 2009

  and updated by Dropkick Murphys as Skinhead on the mbta
  
  BUT WILL HE EVER RETURN??
  NO, HE'LL NEVER RETURN,
  AND HIS FATE IS STILL UNKNOWN (oioioi!)
  HE WILL RIDE FOREVER 'NEATH THE STREETS OF BOSTON,
  HE'S THE SKINHEAD THAT NEVER RETURNED

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message16

• Message 17

  , in reply to message 16.

  Posted by Chicago Jeff (U13649238) on Thursday, 2nd April 2009

  Good one...will have to check it out...the Dropkicks are primo!!!

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message17

• Message 18

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by aviddiva (U13145965) on Monday, 1st June 2009

  Fist of Onan, I had an English teacher who used to crowbar the war into every discussion we had on Lord Of The Flies at school!
  
  Was your music teacher very keen on the movie 'Zulu'? Our class had to sing 'Land Of My Fathers' although we weren't Welsh.

  Link to this forum: Songs sung at school.

  Report message18

Back to top