Forty Years On (song)
Encyclopedia
Forty Years On is a song
written by Edward Ernest Bowen and John Farmer
in 1872.
It is specifically about life at school
and is meant to give pupils now an idea of what it will be like in forty years when they return to their old school, and to remind old boys about their school life. It is the main school song
of Harrow School
, and is sung there at the end of any songs (this is an occasion when old boys of the school return to hear the schools songs being sung by current pupils, or an occasion within houses for singing the same songs at the end of each term), followed by Auld Lang Syne
and the British
National Anthem
(God Save The Queen).
Traditionally, verse three is sung by Old Harrovians in attendance at School Songs. The Churchill verse is only sung once a year at a special Churchill Songs. The penultimate Follow Up! in each chorus is sung unaccompanied by the School XII, which is made up of the best singers in the top year.
The song was used in the film Young Winston
.
Parted are those who are singing today,
When you look back, and forgetfully wonder
What you were like in your work and your play,
Then, it may be, there will often come o’er you,
Glimpses of notes like the catch of a song –
Visions of boyhood shall float them before you,
Echoes of dreamland shall bear them along,
Follow up! Follow up! Follow up
Follow up! Follow up
Till the field ring again and again,
With the tramp of the twenty-two men.
Follow up! Follow up!
Routs and discomfitures, rushes and rallies,
Bases attempted, and rescued, and won,
Strife without anger and art without malice, –
How will it seem to you, forty years on?
Then, you will say, not a feverish minute
Strained the weak heart and the wavering knee,
Never the battle raged hottest, but in it.
Neither the last nor the faintest, were we!
Follow up! etc....
Oh the great days. in the distance enchanted,
Days of fresh air, in the rain and the sun,
How we rejoiced as we struggled and panted –
Hardly believable, forty years on!
How we discoursed of them, one with another,
Auguring triumph, or balancing fate,
Loved the ally with the heart of a brother,
Hated the foe with a playing at hate!
Follow up etc.
Forty years on, growing older and older,
Shorter in wind, as in memory long,
Feeble of foot, and rheumatic of shoulder,
What will it help you that once you were strong?
God give us bases to guard or beleaguer,
Games to play out, whether earnest or fun;
Fights for the fearless, and goals for the eager,
Twenty, and thirty, and forty years on!
Follow up etc.
Churchill Verse:
Blazoned in honour! For each generation
You kindled courage to stand and to stay;
You led our fathers to fight for the nation,
Called "Follow up" and yourself showed the way.
We who were born in the calm after thunder
Cherish our freedom to think and to do;
If in our turn we forgetfully wonder,
Yet we'll remember we owe it to you.
Follow up! etc.
The original Churchill verse, sung to him on 12 November 1954, was as follows:
Sixty years on—though in time growing older,
Younger at heart you return to the Hill:
You, who in days of defeat ever bolder,
Led us to Victory, serve Britain still.
Still there are bases to guard or beleaguer,
Still must the battle for Freedom be won:
Long may you fight, Sir, who fearless and eager
Look back to-day more than sixty years on
(adapted from the famous song of Harrow School, written in 1872)
Forty years on, when afar and asunder,
Parted are those who are singing today,
When we look back and forgetfully wonder
What we were like in our work and our play:
Brotherhood strong and teachers devoted,
Assembly, Chapel, the House where we grew,
Posho, Githeri
, the Founders' Day dinner,
Talks in Baraza, the friendship we knew.
Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu!
Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu!
Give honour again and again,
To Starehe where we became men,
Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu!
O the great days in the distance enchanted,
Hours in the classroom and hours in the field,
In games and athletics we struggled and panted,
Learning to strive hard and never to yield,
Scouting, exploring, those long expeditions,
Fighting of fires, swimming and First Aid,
Playing of music, debating and drama,
Voluntary service – our first steps we made.
Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu! Etc.
Forty years on growing older and older,
Shorter in wind as in memory long,
Feeble of foot and rheumatic of shoulder,
What will it help us that once we were strong?
God gives us duty for us to discharge it,
Problems to face, struggle with and overcome,
Service to render and glory to covet,
Twenty and thirty and forty years on!
Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu!
(known to the lads as Napier Mens) in Napier, New Zealand. The "tramp of the twenty-two men" line is altered and instead is "the tramp of the thirty true men" - in reference to Rugby Union which is the national sport. The same is also true for Wellington College
in Wellington, the capital of NZ.
Hamilton Boys' High School
in NZ has also used it with the "thirty true men" since the 1950s. Nelson College, in Nelson, New Zealand, sings the first verse (and chorus - with the reference to the "thirty true men") at Senior Prizegiving
In Australia the song is sung at a number of schools. In the Australian state of Victoria the song is sung regularly at the prestigious Scotch College, Melbourne
, being the official Old Boy anthem and at Melbourne High School's Speech Night (Graduation Night). Wynnum State high and Rockhampton Girl's Grammar School (School Song). Only the first and last verses (excluding the Winston Churchill verse) are sung. Rather than the "tramp of the twenty-two men", both Scotch College and Melbourne High School replace the line with the "tramp of the thirty-six men" in reference to Australian rules football
being the dominant football code in Victoria
.
In the United Kingdom: the school song of Netherthorpe School
, Colyton Grammar School
, Dover Grammar School, Woodford County High School in Essex, Beverley Grammar School in East Yorkshire, Bolton School
, Manchester Grammar School
, High Storrs Grammar School, Sheffield, the now defunct Salford Grammar School, the former Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys, Leicester (succeeded by Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
) and Harrow School's affiliated school, The John Lyon School. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was also the school song of Clifton High School (Bristol)
, an all-girls school at the time!It is also the school song of Wycombe High School for girls and was also sung at the end of term in the 1980s at Wycombe Abbey School, in whose songbook it figured.
It was also the school song of Lawnswood (formerly Leeds Modern School) hence the title of Alan Bennet's play since he is a former pupil.
In the United States: sung at the Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (excluding the Winston Churchill verse) at the commencement ceremony.
In India: the Cathedral and John Connon School
of Mumbai's school song, Prima in Indus, is an adaptation of this.
In Kenya it is sung on Founders' Day at Starehe Boys' Centre and School
In South Africa: at Pretoria Boys High School
, Pretoria
sung at all School Valedictions and assemblies at which Old Boys are present, with certain minor adaptions. 22 good men is substituted by 30 good men. It is sung in Forty Years On
, a play by Alan Bennett. It also sung at Westville Boys High School, Durban, when the matrics have their speech night and ring the Swain bell symbolizing their departure from the school and continues ties to its family. The ringing I the bell is the final act of the Matric group before the final exams.
In Thailand, at Vajiravudh College
considered to be the country's best boarding school built by King Rama VI (King Vajiravudh) in 1910, the "tramp of twenty two men" became "The Might of Thirty Best Men" in reference to the school's supremacy in Rugby. There is also lyric in Thai which is sung each year before the King of Thailand at the Graduation Ceremony.
In Hong Kong, the melody is used by Queen's College
as its school song, with its lyrics written by Headmaster Mr. William Kay (1920). The school song of Heep Yunn School
is also adapted from this song. But its lyrics are in Chinese, rather than English which Queen's College uses.
In Canada, the girls at Havergal College
in Toronto also sing this.
A shortened and slightly altered version of this song is used near the beginning of the 2010 film adaptation of Never Let Me Go
.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written by Edward Ernest Bowen and John Farmer
John Farmer (1835-1901)
John Farmer , from Nottingham, composed oratorios, cantatas, and other church music, and chamber music.His father, also John , was a Nottingham lacemaker and a cellist...
in 1872.
It is specifically about life at school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
and is meant to give pupils now an idea of what it will be like in forty years when they return to their old school, and to remind old boys about their school life. It is the main school song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
of Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
, and is sung there at the end of any songs (this is an occasion when old boys of the school return to hear the schools songs being sung by current pupils, or an occasion within houses for singing the same songs at the end of each term), followed by Auld Lang Syne
Auld Lang Syne
"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...
and the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
National Anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
(God Save The Queen).
Traditionally, verse three is sung by Old Harrovians in attendance at School Songs. The Churchill verse is only sung once a year at a special Churchill Songs. The penultimate Follow Up! in each chorus is sung unaccompanied by the School XII, which is made up of the best singers in the top year.
The song was used in the film Young Winston
Young Winston
Young Winston is a 1972 British film based on the early years of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.The film was based on the book My Early Life: A Roving Commission by Winston Churchill. The first part of the film covers Churchill's unhappy schooldays, up to the death of his father...
.
The Lyrics
Forty years on, when afar and asunderParted are those who are singing today,
When you look back, and forgetfully wonder
What you were like in your work and your play,
Then, it may be, there will often come o’er you,
Glimpses of notes like the catch of a song –
Visions of boyhood shall float them before you,
Echoes of dreamland shall bear them along,
Follow up! Follow up! Follow up
Follow up! Follow up
Till the field ring again and again,
With the tramp of the twenty-two men.
Follow up! Follow up!
Routs and discomfitures, rushes and rallies,
Bases attempted, and rescued, and won,
Strife without anger and art without malice, –
How will it seem to you, forty years on?
Then, you will say, not a feverish minute
Strained the weak heart and the wavering knee,
Never the battle raged hottest, but in it.
Neither the last nor the faintest, were we!
Follow up! etc....
Oh the great days. in the distance enchanted,
Days of fresh air, in the rain and the sun,
How we rejoiced as we struggled and panted –
Hardly believable, forty years on!
How we discoursed of them, one with another,
Auguring triumph, or balancing fate,
Loved the ally with the heart of a brother,
Hated the foe with a playing at hate!
Follow up etc.
Forty years on, growing older and older,
Shorter in wind, as in memory long,
Feeble of foot, and rheumatic of shoulder,
What will it help you that once you were strong?
God give us bases to guard or beleaguer,
Games to play out, whether earnest or fun;
Fights for the fearless, and goals for the eager,
Twenty, and thirty, and forty years on!
Follow up etc.
Churchill Verse:
Blazoned in honour! For each generation
You kindled courage to stand and to stay;
You led our fathers to fight for the nation,
Called "Follow up" and yourself showed the way.
We who were born in the calm after thunder
Cherish our freedom to think and to do;
If in our turn we forgetfully wonder,
Yet we'll remember we owe it to you.
Follow up! etc.
The original Churchill verse, sung to him on 12 November 1954, was as follows:
Sixty years on—though in time growing older,
Younger at heart you return to the Hill:
You, who in days of defeat ever bolder,
Led us to Victory, serve Britain still.
Still there are bases to guard or beleaguer,
Still must the battle for Freedom be won:
Long may you fight, Sir, who fearless and eager
Look back to-day more than sixty years on
The Starehe Boys' Centre and School Rendition
FORTY YEARS ON(adapted from the famous song of Harrow School, written in 1872)
Forty years on, when afar and asunder,
Parted are those who are singing today,
When we look back and forgetfully wonder
What we were like in our work and our play:
Brotherhood strong and teachers devoted,
Assembly, Chapel, the House where we grew,
Posho, Githeri
Githeri
Githeri is a Kenyan traditional meal of maize and beans. It is a staple dish in the Central Province, Kenya, but it is also eaten in other parts of the country. Githeri can be eaten as a maize and bean mixture . It can also be made into a stew with the addition of greens, meat and potatoes which...
, the Founders' Day dinner,
Talks in Baraza, the friendship we knew.
Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu!
Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu!
Give honour again and again,
To Starehe where we became men,
Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu!
O the great days in the distance enchanted,
Hours in the classroom and hours in the field,
In games and athletics we struggled and panted,
Learning to strive hard and never to yield,
Scouting, exploring, those long expeditions,
Fighting of fires, swimming and First Aid,
Playing of music, debating and drama,
Voluntary service – our first steps we made.
Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu! Etc.
Forty years on growing older and older,
Shorter in wind as in memory long,
Feeble of foot and rheumatic of shoulder,
What will it help us that once we were strong?
God gives us duty for us to discharge it,
Problems to face, struggle with and overcome,
Service to render and glory to covet,
Twenty and thirty and forty years on!
Lenga Juu! Lenga Juu!
Other uses
Forty Years On is the school song of the prestigious Napier Boys' High SchoolNapier Boys' High School
Napier Boys High School is a state secondary school on Chambers St, in Te Awa, Napier, New Zealand. It currently has a school roll of 1200 pupils.- Sport :...
(known to the lads as Napier Mens) in Napier, New Zealand. The "tramp of the twenty-two men" line is altered and instead is "the tramp of the thirty true men" - in reference to Rugby Union which is the national sport. The same is also true for Wellington College
Wellington College (New Zealand)
Wellington College is a state secondary school for boys in Mount Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1874 it opened at its present...
in Wellington, the capital of NZ.
Hamilton Boys' High School
Hamilton Boys' High School
Hamilton Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand. The school was established as Hamilton High School in 1903 but was later split into separate boys' and girls' schools. The school crest features a lion, sash and star, and bears the motto "Sapiens Fortunam Fingit Sibi"...
in NZ has also used it with the "thirty true men" since the 1950s. Nelson College, in Nelson, New Zealand, sings the first verse (and chorus - with the reference to the "thirty true men") at Senior Prizegiving
In Australia the song is sung at a number of schools. In the Australian state of Victoria the song is sung regularly at the prestigious Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, being the official Old Boy anthem and at Melbourne High School's Speech Night (Graduation Night). Wynnum State high and Rockhampton Girl's Grammar School (School Song). Only the first and last verses (excluding the Winston Churchill verse) are sung. Rather than the "tramp of the twenty-two men", both Scotch College and Melbourne High School replace the line with the "tramp of the thirty-six men" in reference to Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
being the dominant football code in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
In the United Kingdom: the school song of Netherthorpe School
Netherthorpe School
Netherthorpe School is a secondary school designated science college status that is based in the town of Staveley in the Chesterfield district of Derbyshire.-History:The school was founded in 1572A quote from an 1857 directory:...
, Colyton Grammar School
Colyton Grammar School
Colyton Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school located in the village of Colyford in East Devon and teaches students from years 7 to 13 ....
, Dover Grammar School, Woodford County High School in Essex, Beverley Grammar School in East Yorkshire, Bolton School
Bolton School
Bolton School is an independent day school in Bolton, in the North-West of England. It comprises a co-educational Nursery and Infant School and single sex Junior and Senior Schools . With almost 2,400 pupils it is one of the largest independent day schools in the country.-History:Bolton School...
, Manchester Grammar School
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School is the largest independent day school for boys in the UK . It is based in Manchester, England...
, High Storrs Grammar School, Sheffield, the now defunct Salford Grammar School, the former Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys, Leicester (succeeded by Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College, or "Q.E" is a sixth form college in Leicester, England.-Admissions:There are 1,865 full-time 16-18 year-old students and 140 teaching staff. More than 40 subjects are offered at A Level. Somewhat against the national trend Mathematics and Sciences account...
) and Harrow School's affiliated school, The John Lyon School. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was also the school song of Clifton High School (Bristol)
Clifton High School (Bristol)
Clifton High School is an independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded as Clifton High School for Girls in 1877 by visionaries including John Percival, the first Headmaster of Clifton College...
, an all-girls school at the time!It is also the school song of Wycombe High School for girls and was also sung at the end of term in the 1980s at Wycombe Abbey School, in whose songbook it figured.
It was also the school song of Lawnswood (formerly Leeds Modern School) hence the title of Alan Bennet's play since he is a former pupil.
In the United States: sung at the Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (excluding the Winston Churchill verse) at the commencement ceremony.
In India: the Cathedral and John Connon School
Cathedral and John Connon School
The Cathedral and John Connon School is a co-educational, private school located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, established in 1860.According to the Education World-C fore Survey of Schools 2010, the school has been ranked first in the all India ranking of the best schools in India.It was ranked...
of Mumbai's school song, Prima in Indus, is an adaptation of this.
In Kenya it is sung on Founders' Day at Starehe Boys' Centre and School
In South Africa: at Pretoria Boys High School
Pretoria Boys High School
Pretoria Boys High School, also known as Boys High or PBHS, is a public, fee charging, English medium high school for boys located in Brooklyn, Pretoria, in the Gauteng province of South Africa....
, Pretoria
sung at all School Valedictions and assemblies at which Old Boys are present, with certain minor adaptions. 22 good men is substituted by 30 good men. It is sung in Forty Years On
Forty Years On (play)
Forty Years On is a 1968 play by Alan Bennett. It was his first West End play.-Subject:The play is set in a British public school called Albion House , which is putting on an end of term play in front of the parents, i.e. the audience...
, a play by Alan Bennett. It also sung at Westville Boys High School, Durban, when the matrics have their speech night and ring the Swain bell symbolizing their departure from the school and continues ties to its family. The ringing I the bell is the final act of the Matric group before the final exams.
In Thailand, at Vajiravudh College
Vajiravudh College
Vajiravudh College is an all-boys boarding school in Dusit, Thailand.The school was established by Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua - King Rama VI who is also known as King Vajiravudh. it was originally named the "Royal Pages College"...
considered to be the country's best boarding school built by King Rama VI (King Vajiravudh) in 1910, the "tramp of twenty two men" became "The Might of Thirty Best Men" in reference to the school's supremacy in Rugby. There is also lyric in Thai which is sung each year before the King of Thailand at the Graduation Ceremony.
In Hong Kong, the melody is used by Queen's College
Queen's College, Hong Kong
Queen's College , initially named The Government Central School in 1862, later renamed as Victoria College in 1889, is a sixth form college for boys with a secondary school attached. It was the first public secondary school founded in Hong Kong by the British colonial government...
as its school song, with its lyrics written by Headmaster Mr. William Kay (1920). The school song of Heep Yunn School
Heep Yunn School
Heep Yunn School is an Anglican girls' secondary school founded in 1936. It is located in Ma Tau Wai, Kowloon, Hong Kong.Heep Yunn is notable for its students' high academic achievement...
is also adapted from this song. But its lyrics are in Chinese, rather than English which Queen's College uses.
In Canada, the girls at Havergal College
Havergal College
Havergal College is an independent boarding and day school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Named for English hymn composer, author and humanitarian Frances Ridley Havergal, the school was founded in 1894 by a group of men led by The Honourable H...
in Toronto also sing this.
A shortened and slightly altered version of this song is used near the beginning of the 2010 film adaptation of Never Let Me Go
Never Let Me Go (2010 film)
Never Let Me Go is a 2010 British dystopian drama film based on Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Mark Romanek from a screenplay by Alex Garland. Never Let Me Go is set in an alternate history and centers on Kathy, Ruth and Tommy who are portrayed by Carey...
.