Songs from Primary School

‘When a knight won his spurs’ was always played at cub and scout St George’s Day services.

When I hear it, I still picture DS in his little cub uniform.

He is now 48.

I remember singing that LovesBach
In Junior school assemblies there was a giant easel at the front with the words.
I didn’t even know what a knight was or spurs🙂
“He Who Would Valiant Be” was another
Hymn of “mysterious words”

'When a knight won his spurs' never fails to make me cry; working in a school I often avoided assembly, as the sweet childish voices would get the tears flowing.

Up the airy mountain Down the rushy glen
We daren't go a'hunting For fear of little men
Wee folk, good folk, Trooping all together,
Green jacket, red cap, And a white owl's feather!

It's a very long poem we had to learn off by heart - which I never could!

I shall court her for her beauty
Bid she answer yes or no
Oh, no John, no John, no John no.

Marianina as I mentioned before on this thread 2 years ago.

This is the hymn book that we had at primary school in the late 70s.
We also used to sing a lot of Beatles songs!
We must have had a brilliant music teacher!

Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you

I was in my 50s when I learned the correct words to this song

"Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy

Can't recall many songs from primary school.

'Watch With Mother' they should bring it back!!

All things bright & beautiful.
Morning has broken, blackbird has spoken.
Go tell it on the mountains.
Kumbaya my lord.

Molly Malone (In Dublin's Fair City) Coming through the Rye and What shall we do with a drunken sailor. And many of the songs already mentioned.

Only every sang hymns in Primary school. but I remember popular songs being
Lavendar Blue
How much is that doggy in the window
and my Welsh mothers rendition of "Sosban Fach"

Does anyone remember a song called ‘As I Sat On The Hillside’?

As I sat on the hillside
I heard the birds sing,
And I watched them a building
Their nests in the spring.

……

It was a real favourite when I was about 6/7, and always requested if the class could choose what to sing. Have googled it, but never seems to appear.

I remember a really sad song from primary school days, about a Canadian soldier. It started "Lonely and far away, captive in distant wars" and one of the last lines was "If in these lands I die, Canada weep for me".. would love to hear this one again.

When I saw the title I was immediately sent back to my primary school morning assemblies. It wasn’t a church school but we always sang both a hymn and the Lord’s Prayer. My favourite was ‘Morning has Broken’, long before Cat Stevens made it popular. All the pupils sat crossed legged on the floor. I can’t remember learning songs as music lessons were for learning the recorder, I still can play the tune we learnt.

Here's a puzzle! Do any of you remember the words to "On wings of song."
I remember the beginning, but there are several different versions and I've never been able to find the one we sang at school.

On wings of song far sailing, to distant lands we'll go,
There a dream land unveiling, we'll wend by the Ganges flow.
A garden with fair flowers (gleaming?) ... ...
The lotus flowers awaken to greet their sister dear,
The lotus flowers awaken to greet their sister dear.

I remember ‘Marianina’ , we also sang ‘Bobby Shaftoe’ ‘ Greensleeves’and ‘Molly Malone’ as I recall.

It's funny this thread should pop up again. Just yesterday I was repeating a little song we sung at infant school to my husband.

Tick tock, tick tock, says my Daddy's big clock,
But my Mummy's little clock says tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
What do little watches all say, tick a tick a tick a tick a tock.

At the end of the day, we stood up by our chairs and sang,

Now the day is over, night is drawing nigh
Shadows of the evening, steal across the sky.
Now the darkness deepens stars begin to peep,
Birds and beasts flowers soon will be asleep.

I don't remember singing any more of the verses.
Then we put our chairs on our desks, said goodbye to Miss Little and skipped off home.

Mine wasn't a Catholic school but all I seem to remember are lots of hymns. From an early age it was " Jesus bids us shine " then went on to " When morning gilds the skies " as we got older. So far as songs, I can't even think of one, yet we had music lessons so we must have sung some, but the hymns certainly dominated.

Bringing it up to date- my daughter and son in law, who attended the same infant school, had to be dissuaded from wanting the hymn "Cauliflowers fluffy, and cabbages green" at their wedding...

I recall singing 'Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild when in infants then later in juniors singing 'The Ash Grove' Down yonder green valley etc.......both on you tube.... if I can't remember a song I google it and always pops up on you tube. I lived in London back then
some of your songs are so much more fun.

Maggiemaybe

DH and I have just given a rousing rendition of Green Grow the Rushes Oh, followed by the Camptown Races. You’ve all missed a treat. He’s 5 years older than me, so they must have got full value from those song sheets. I don’t remember the cross-eyed cook, though, and he does. And only I remember Dance to your Daddy, which was probably just for our area.

Dance to your daddy
My little laddie
Dance to your daddy
My little lad

You shall have a fishy
In a little dishy
You shall have a fishy
When the boat comes in.

I don’t think we sang it at school, it was a ‘home’ one, and we didn’t live anywhere near a fishing area. Maybe it was on Listen With Mother? That was a regular thing when I was small.

lemsip I agree. Thank you * Kimpese*. I'm singing them all over again - so many words and tunes that I forgot I knew.

Kimpese a lovely thread to revive, how did you find it?

last posted on nearly two years ago. 1 march 2020.!

I saw someone asking about the song Lovely Moon?
I remember this one but a little differently.

Lovely moon, my heart goes wondering,
To a dreamland far away,
How I wish that I could follow you,
Guided by your silver ray.
Oh my heart fills with sweet longing,
Yet I know that it can never be,
But I’ll always live in that dreamland,
Where you shed your light over me.

Oh, silverlining, that is another song that my late dad would sing in the car with us when we were young!