Junior School Songs you don't hear today


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When attending Greencroft Junior School in the 50's an often sung song was "Pauls Little Hen". Cannot remember all the words but it was about a guy called Paul who had a little hen (Ahhhh). The hen ran out of the farm yard, down the road and met its demise. One suspects it was confronted by a fox.  The fox saw the hen as a food source.  Then the words went something like this.... Cluck, Cluck Cluck, cried the poor little creature, Cluck Cluck Cluck it cried in vain .  (Very descriptive) Then it went on Paul tried to save her but failed etc, etc.     

Apparently it was a Norwegian folk song.

Any one remember this or know any school songs of this ilk that would cause a national out cry if sung in schools today?

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Some great old songs here. Was Linden Lea the tune of Love Me Tender? I always felt sad that my kids didnt have the same amount of singing in school. We had the radio on at 11am for Singing Together (

EEH ARE MISS my trips o'er border to Quaint little places like.....Jump and Wombwell ...even Manor Top where Luscious Lucy dwelt back in 68.........she alus tode me to ''Shut gate..on leavin t' county

I taught that song to a class when I was teaching. They sang it at a concert, all dressed in gumboots and flat caps. They all did the accent, too. Well it was a Yorkshire school. The performance was h

Never sang that song at our Junior school - sounds  bit sad ....

In the very early 1950s, we sang patriotic songs like "Hearts of oak are our ships" and "The British Grenadiers".   I suppose WW2 was still fresh in the minds of our teachers at that time.   I also remember singing "Linden Lea" and "The Ash Grove".   There were other songs - perhaps Phil who was in my class will remember more?     Where are you, @philmayfield ?

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Phil, I can't remember the 'Kitty' song but can remember "Molly Malone".  Paul's just told me that he sang "What shall we do with a drunken sailor".  Did we sing that as well?   He also said that he was in a junior choir and they sang "Come into the garden Maud". Sounds a bit of a dodgy song to me .... I'll have to look up the lyrics!

 

  • Come into the garden, Maud,
    For the black bat, Night, has flown;
    Come into the garden, Maud,
    I am here at the gate alone.
    I am here at the gate alone.
    And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad,
    And the musk of the roses blown,
    For a breeze of morning moves,
    And the planet of love is on high,
    Beginning to faint in the light that she loves,
    On a bed of daffodil sky,
    To faint in the light of the sun she loves,
    To faint in his light, and to die.
    Come! come!

    Come into the garden, Maud,
    For the black bat, Night, is flown;
    Come into the garden, Maud,
    I am here at the gate alone.
    I am here at the gate alone.
    I am here at the gate alone.

    Queen Rose of the rosebud,
    Garden of girls,
    Come hither, the dances are done;
    In gloss of satin and glimmer of pearls,
    Queen, lily, and rose, in one.
    Shine out little head, sunning over with curls,
    To the flowers, and be their sun.
    Shine out!
    Shine out!

    Come into the garden, Maud,
    For the black bat, Night, is flown;
    Come into the garden, Maud,
    I am here at the gate alone.
    I am here at the gate alone.
    I am here at the gate alone. 
    Writer/s: Michael Balfe, Alfred Lord Tennyson 
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind
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 Paul's little hen flew away from the farmyard,
ran down the hillside and into the dale.
Paul hurried after but down in the brambles,
there sat a fox with a great bushy tail.

Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!
Cried the poor little creature.
Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!
But she cried in vain.
Paul made a spring but could not save her.
"Now I shall never dare go home again."

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1 hour ago, MargieH said:

I also remember singing "Linden Lea

'Within the woodland flowery gladed......'      Me too Margie, hated it with a passion. Our music teacher, in hindsight a gentle old soul, was passionate about playing the recorder and traditional songs. Now had she gone with Bill Haley......

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The Skye Boat song? Clementine? Early one morning?, like that one one, Greensleeves and not a school song but loved it when my Mam sang 'My grandfathers clock' for me

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We sang this in my school in the early 50s. It captured my imagination then and remained with me ever since although the school words were quite different the sentiment was the same. I can't find an English translation exactly similar to the one I learned but the tune is pure longing.

 

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9 hours ago, Dodie said:

Some of the songs we did, Who is Sylvia, Silent Worship, Bless this house, Shenandoŕ, Early one morning and Yeomen of England.

 

I remember Bless this House, Shenandoah and Early one morning.   I find it amazing that I can remember so many of the words of those childhood songs even after not thinking about them for nearly 70 years!  I suppose young brains soak up information more efficiently than they do now..

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Hated singing about Bobby Shafto gone to sea with silver buckles on his knee,.   Cockles and Mussels wasn't too bad, loved a good sea shanty though, What shall we do with the drunken sailor, etc. I don't think the singing lessons were about musical harmony, more an exercise in expanding the lungs.

Any ex Greencrofters out there who can remember Syd Richards?  (circa 1958-60)  His piano playing was something to behold. The force that he hit the keys with really inspired a good sea shanty.  

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13 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Any ex Greencrofters out there who can remember Syd Richards?  (circa 1958-60)  His piano playing was something to behold. The force that he hit the keys with really inspired a good sea shanty.  

 

I remember him but was never in his class. There are a number of photos of him on a Facebook Clifton page (I might copy one across here - unless you're the person who originally posted them !).

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On 3/23/2019 at 10:06 AM, Cliff Ton said:

 

I remember him but was never in his class. There are a number of photos of him on a Facebook Clifton page (I might copy one across here - unless you're the person who originally posted them !).

Thanks for info Cliff Ton 

It was not I who posted those on Facebook.  Not a subscriber to Facebook. No class photo for that year, so never had a photo of him, had to pair up with another person in class for a joint mugshot that year. 

I learnt a lot in his class, the one thats never been forgotten....Going up to 20,000ft in a Tiger moth biplane would cure Whooping cough. Never caught whooping cough so could never prove theory.    He would hand out sweets in class to the House with the most points for the month. Also, for that time in my education I learnt a word in French,"Vignt" (20), I'd have struggled if I was No 19 or 21, he liked you to call your number out in French when calling the register. No idea why.  Great last year at Greencroft.  Certainly taught me two things.

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19 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Going up to 20,000ft in a Tiger moth biplane would cure Whooping cough

It would cure something, they could only climb to 18000...  :sickly:

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  • 11 months later...

Remember Dilly,  Dilly.

 

Lavender blue dilly dilly, lavender green.

You'll be my King dilly dilly, I'll be your Queen.

Who told you so Dilly Dilly.......

 

And the school choir singing "Nymphs and Shepherds".  Run away, run away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

AG, by 1959 I was sitting entrance exams at RAF Cardington to join Aunty Betty's flying circus - successfully. Did eight years as a regular.

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  • 1 year later...

Some great old songs here. Was Linden Lea the tune of Love Me Tender? I always felt sad that my kids didnt have the same amount of singing in school. We had the radio on at 11am for Singing Together (late 50s/early 60s) and there was a new book for each season of the year, and you can still buy them in car boot sales and on eBay! I still remember a lot of the songs even now, including lots of those above.  - The Mermaid (while the raging seas did roar, etc), The Drummer and the Cook (with one eye on the pot and the other up the chimney), Donkey Riding, A-Roving, The Garden Where the Praties Grow, The Boatie Rows, Jamaican Farewell (wont be back for many a day), etc. What is ironic is that we were encouraged to embrace the cultures of the lands where the songs originated; the opposite of today's diversity. We were made to sing songs in the vernacular. ie. Scottish songs in a Scottish accent, calypsos in a West Indian, etc. I wonder how that would go down today!

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Welcome, Graham.

 

Linden Lea was set to music by Ralph Vaughan-Williams, one of my favourite composers of the relatively modern age. It's a song that is very special to me and evokes almost visual memories of a time long past.

 

School singing, in general, I wasn't terribly keen on, even though I studied music and love singing.  It always seemed to be the same thing, week in, week out: The Vicar of Bray, The Minstrel Boy, Nellie the Elephant! Oh, Soldier, Soldier, etc.

 

I preferred the much older songs such as: Now is the month of Maying, It Was A Lover and his Lass, Never Weather Beaten Sail, etc. I taught those songs to my pupils when I was teaching, along with Tudor dances from the same age. 

 

Songs are history in music, so we must keep them alive.

 

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