“Heart of Oak” is an 18th century song of the sea. The tune was written in 1759 by Dr. William Boyce (1711 - 1779). The English words were written by the famous actor David Garrick (1716 - 1779). Garrick is also credited with the theatrical blessing, “Break a Leg” as he was reportedly so involved in his performance of Richard III that he did not notice the pain of a fracture he incurred.
Heart of Oak
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:
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)
They swear they'll invade us, these terrible foes,
They frighten our women, our children, and beaus;
But should their flat bottoms in darkness get o'er,
Still Britons they'll find to receive them on shore.
(Chorus)
We'll still make them fear, and we'll still make them flee,
And drub 'em on shore, as we've drubb'd 'em at sea;
Then cheer up, my lads! with one heart let us sing:
Our soldiers, our sailors, our statesmen and Queen.
(Chorus)
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The song has developed many variations to its words over the years. Fans of Walt Disney motion pictures may recall that actors Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette sung a version in the 1968 Walt Disney film Blackbeard’s Ghost. And fans of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation may remember an episode from the third season, entitled “Alegience,” in which another version was sung. Below is the first verse and the chorus sung in that episode.
Come, cheer up, my lads, 'tis to glory we steer,
To find something new in this wonderful year;
To honour we call you, as freemen not slaves,
For who are so free as the sons of the waves?
Chorus:
Heart of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men,
we always are ready; Steady, boy, steady!
We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again!
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In the above chorus, the word “tar” is a slang term that was used for a sailor. Their hats and clothes were treated with tar to waterproof them. The tar-impregnated cloth, or tarpaulin, provided protection in harsh conditions. Because of this, a sailor was called a “tarpaulin,” or “tar” for short. Fans of Gilbert and Sullivan may remember a song from the musical HMS Pinafore entitled “A British Tar.”
To review the history, the text, or to listen to the melody, check out this page from the "Songs of the Sea" section of "Contemplations from the Marianas Trench - Music and Deep Thoughts" - http://www.contemplator.com/england/heartoak.html
To see a GIF image file of the score of the song, or to download an ABC file of the score, or other notations, visit this mirror site of Digital Tradition -
http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiHEARTOAK;ttHEARTOAK.html
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Heart of Oak
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:
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)
They swear they'll invade us, these terrible foes,
They frighten our women, our children, and beaus;
But should their flat bottoms in darkness get o'er,
Still Britons they'll find to receive them on shore.
(Chorus)
We'll still make them fear, and we'll still make them flee,
And drub 'em on shore, as we've drubb'd 'em at sea;
Then cheer up, my lads! with one heart let us sing:
Our soldiers, our sailors, our statesmen and Queen.
(Chorus)
-
The song has developed many variations to its words over the years. Fans of Walt Disney motion pictures may recall that actors Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette sung a version in the 1968 Walt Disney film Blackbeard’s Ghost. And fans of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation may remember an episode from the third season, entitled “Alegience,” in which another version was sung. Below is the first verse and the chorus sung in that episode.
Come, cheer up, my lads, 'tis to glory we steer,
To find something new in this wonderful year;
To honour we call you, as freemen not slaves,
For who are so free as the sons of the waves?
Chorus:
Heart of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men,
we always are ready; Steady, boy, steady!
We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again!
-
In the above chorus, the word “tar” is a slang term that was used for a sailor. Their hats and clothes were treated with tar to waterproof them. The tar-impregnated cloth, or tarpaulin, provided protection in harsh conditions. Because of this, a sailor was called a “tarpaulin,” or “tar” for short. Fans of Gilbert and Sullivan may remember a song from the musical HMS Pinafore entitled “A British Tar.”
To review the history, the text, or to listen to the melody, check out this page from the "Songs of the Sea" section of "Contemplations from the Marianas Trench - Music and Deep Thoughts" - http://www.contemplator.com/england/heartoak.html
To see a GIF image file of the score of the song, or to download an ABC file of the score, or other notations, visit this mirror site of Digital Tradition -
http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiHEARTOAK;ttHEARTOAK.html
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