hymns

[George 1978]

Re: hymns

All Things Bright and Beautiful was one of my Infant headteacher's favourites. I am certain that we sung it every Wednesday morning.

[Mulletino]

Re: hymns

Our infant/juniors all sat in assembly together. Our Hymns were on an overhead projector, hand written in clear film things. Each "slide" would be swapped as you got to it.

We sang similar songs to those already mentioned, although I remember when we sang "Sing Hosanna" there was always one kid who would mess up the end of the chorus, which irked me at the time.

It was:

Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King.

They'd always add "and kings" to the end of the fourth line....

[Richard1978]

Re: hymns

Our infant/
We sang similar songs to those already mentioned, although I remember when we sang "Sing Hosanna" there was always one kid who would mess up the end of the chorus, which irked me at the time.

It was:

Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King.

They'd always add "and kings" to the end of the fourth line....

I used to do that, & try to hit some very high notes on Lord Of The Dance.

The whole school used to add "bum bum bum..." to A Word Is Alive.

Some didn't bother to sing & mouthed along, leading a teacher to call them a load of goldfish.

[Arran]

Re: hymns

Hymns were never part of my childhood so I don't recognise many of them. How did hymns die out in schools? Were they squeezed out by the National Curriculum or was it a result of an increasing number of teachers no longer being religious or attending church?

[zabadak]

Re: hymns

Anyone else notice that the title of the hymn was pretty much always the first line?

[nimrod]

Re: hymns

When I was at primary/Junior school in the early 1950s we had assembly every morning, with hymns and prayers led nationally by the BBC schools service which used every morning, the music: Sheep May Safely Graze by JS Bach as its introduction allowing time to get into assembly before beginning.

I still sing some of these hymns today and remember them with great affection,

[staffslad]

Re: hymns

At secondary school (1973-78) we had an assembly every morning for the whole school that lasted about 15-20 minutes. The headmaster would often lead the assembly with hymns, prayers, notices and short speeches. The teachers would stand around the hall keeping an eye on their classes. The only pupil who didn't attend assembly in my class was a girl who was a Jehovah's Witness or something similar. Popular hymns were:

O Jesus I have Promised to a quite jaunty tune

Lord of the Dance

Fight the Good Fight

Onward, Christian Soldiers

Immortal, Invisible

All Things Bright and Beautiful