Childhood songs 8 Nick Nack Paddy Wack

What happened to the series on childhood songs I don't hear you ask? This one was not in Singing Together like the others but it is clearly a childhood song. I distinctly remember hearing it for the first time. I'd not been attending school long when I had my first experience of a wet lunch time. The dinner ladies (they all seemed to wear pink nylon overalls in those days) gathered us into a corridor where we sat on wooden benches and sang. We must have sung other things but this one was totally new to me and seemed to be of an exotic flavour that quite blew me away. I think what added to it was that everyone else seemed to know it. The clip above is not the version I learned exactly but it gives you the idea.

Childhood songs 6 Botany Bay

We didn't sing all the verses I'm sure. Another Singing Together number.

Farewell to old England forever,
Farewell to my rum culls as well,
Farewell to the well–known Old Bailey
Where I used for to cut such a swell.

Chorus:
Singing too-ral, li-ooral, li-addity,
Singing too-ral, li-ooral, li-ay,
Singing too-ral, li-ooral, li-addity,
And we're bound for Botany Bay.

There's the captain as is our commander,
There's the bo'sun and all the ship's crew,
There's the first– and the second–class passengers,
Knows what we poor convicts go through.

'Taint leaving old England we cares about,
'Taint cos we mis-spells what we knows,
But because all we light–fingered gentry
Hops around with a log on our toes.

These seven long years I've been serving now
And seven long more have to stay,
All for bashing a bloke down our alley
And taking his ticker away.

Oh had I the wings of a turtle–dove,
I'd soar on my pinions so high,
Slap bang to the arms of my Polly love,
And in her sweet presence I'd die.

Now all my young Dookies and Dutchesses,
Take warning from what I've to say:
Mind all is your own as you toucheses
Or you'll find us in Botany Bay.

Childhood Songs 5 Dashing White Sergeant

Now the fiddler's ready, let us all begin!
So step it out and step it in.
To the merry music of the violin
We'll dance the hours away.

Katey and Peggy and Patsy and Coll,
Callum and Peter and Flora and Moll,
Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance,
Dance the hours away together,
Dance till dawn be in the sky;
What care you and what care I?
Hearts a-beating, spirits high,
We'll dance, dance, dance.

Childhood Songs 4 Mr Froggy

This is another Singing Together memory. I particularly used to like hearing this Burl Ives on the radio as a kid. Ives had such asweet voice and I now see was no mean guitar player.

Childhood songs 3 Football Crazy

This is a third song from my Singing Together days. We actually sung this anglicised version below.

1. I have a favourite brother
And his Christian name is Paul.
He's lately joined a football club
For he's mad about football.
He's two black eyes already
And teeth lost from his gob,
Since Paul became a member of
That terrible football club.

CHORUS: For he's football crazy. he's football mad.
The football it has taken away
The little bit o' sense he had.
And it would take a dozen servants
To wash his clothes and scrub
Since Paul became a member of that
Terrible football club.

2. In the middle of the field one afternoon
The captain says, 'Now Paul,
Would you kindly take this place-kick
Since you're mad about football?
So he took forty paces backwards,
Shot off from the mark.
The ball went sailing over the bar
And landed in New Yark.

3. His wife she says she'll leave him
If Paulie doesn't keep
Away from football kicking
At night-time in his sleep.
He calls out 'Pass, McGinty!'
And other things so droll
Last night he kicked her out of bed
And swore it was a goal!

Childhood songs 2 Darby Kelly

This series has been rather forgotten but here's a second song from Singing Together days:

My grandsire beat the drum complete
His name was Darby Kelly O
No man so true at rat-tat-too
At roll-call or reveillez O

When Marlborough's name first rose to fame
So loud he rolled the points of war
At Blenheim he and Ramillies
Fired all their cannons to the core

With a row-dow-dow
With what a shout the boys came out
The girls they waved, you don't know how!

And now (small shame) I bear the name
And drum of Darby Kelly O
No man so true at rat-tat-too
At roll-call or reveillez O

I couldn't find a sung version of it but the above video (a cover of Status Quo's Burning Bridges) gives you the air.

Childhood songs 1 Leave her Johnny

When I was in Junior School we did plenty of singing. We used to listen to a BBC radio programme called "Singing together". We sang a version of the sea shanty performed here.