Friday, March 29, AD 2024 2:17am

Heart of Oak

Something for the weekend.  A departure from my usual selections of Irish songs against the English!  I have always been a sucker for the Age of Fighting Sail, and Heart of Oak , written by David Garrick  in the Annus Mirabelis of 1759, captures the spirit of that age when the Royal Navy transformed the seas into an English lake.

Come, cheer up, my lads, ’tis to glory we steer,
To add something more to this wonderful year;
To honour we call you,  not press you like slaves,
For who are so free as the sons of the waves?

(Chorus sung once…)
Heart of oak are our ships, Heart of oak are our men,
we always are ready; Steady, boys, steady!
We’ll fight and we’ll conquer again and again.

We ne’er see our foes but we wish them to stay,
They never see us but they wish us away.
If they run, why, we follow and run them ashore,
For if they won’t fight us, we cannot do more.

(Chorus sung once…)
They swear they’ll invade us, these terrible foes,
They frighten our women, our children and beaus,
But should their flat bottoms one dark night get o’er,
Still Britons they’ll find to receive them on shore.

(Chorus sung once…)
Britannia triumphant, her ships sweep the sea,
Her standard is Justice — her watchword, ‘be free.’
Then cheer up, my lads, with one voice let us sing,
Our soldiers, our sailors, our statesmen, and king.

(Final Chorus sung twice…)

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Matt McDonald
Matt McDonald
Saturday, July 11, AD 2009 9:38pm

When I was a teenager and a Sea Cadet in Canada we sang this song often. A few differences in what you have presented:

not press you like slaves -> you as free men not slaves

Heart of oak are our men -> Jolly tars our men

Still Britons they’ll find to receive them on shore -> Stout Britons they’ll find to defeat them on shore

You should do a post on the “Maple Leaf Forever”.

Matt McDonald
Matt McDonald
Saturday, July 11, AD 2009 10:12pm

Wow, don’t know how I missed that, thanks!

ps. we have other variations, but I can’t share them in mixed company…

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