The Woad Ode
Encyclopedia
|title=The Woad Ode
|comment=Woad
|image=Isatis tinctoria Sturm28.jpg
|image_size=
|caption=
|writer=William Hope-Jones
|composer=Men of Harlech
|lyricist=William Hope-Jones
|published=1921, The Hackney Scout Songbook
|written=
|language=English
|form=
|original_artist=
|recorded_by=Joe Hickerson
|performed_by=
|Misc=
}}
The Woad Ode is a humorous song
, set to the tune of Men of Harlech
. It recounts the ancient British
tradition of fighting naked in woad dye
, but is not intended as a history lesson. It first became popular in 1920s as a song in the British Boy Scouts
and first appeared in The Hackney Scout Song Book
(Stacy & Son Ltd, 1921). The author was William Hope-Jones, a housemaster at Eton
, who wrote it some time before 1914, as he sang it at a College dinner at that time. "Ho Jo" appears in the M.R. James' ghost story Wailing Well (1928), in which a group of masters take the Eton Scout Troop on an ill-fated camping expedition.
The original last line appears to have been "If you stick to Woad". Other last-line variations: "Bottoms up to woad", "W - O - A - D", "Good for us today". "Go it Ancient Brits". "Woad for us today!" "Bollocks to the breeze!"
This song is also known as The National Anthem of the Ancient Britons, Woad, The Woad Song and Woad of Harlech. A filk parody version is Code. Lament of the Ancient Brit
A version of the song appears in the 2009 novel Skin Overcoat by British author Skee Morif.
|comment=Woad
|image=Isatis tinctoria Sturm28.jpg
|image_size=
|caption=
|writer=William Hope-Jones
|composer=Men of Harlech
Men of Harlech
"Men of Harlech" or "The March of the Men of Harlech" is a song and military march which is traditionally said to describe events during the seven year long siege of Harlech Castle between 1461 and 1468. Commanded by Constable Dafydd ap Ieuan, the garrison held out in what is the longest known...
|lyricist=William Hope-Jones
|published=1921, The Hackney Scout Songbook
|written=
|language=English
|form=
|original_artist=
|recorded_by=Joe Hickerson
Joe Hickerson
Joe Hickerson is a noted folk singer and songleader. For 35 years he was Librarian and Director of the Archive of Folk Song at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress...
|performed_by=
|Misc=
}}
The Woad Ode is a humorous 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...
, set to the tune of Men of Harlech
Men of Harlech
"Men of Harlech" or "The March of the Men of Harlech" is a song and military march which is traditionally said to describe events during the seven year long siege of Harlech Castle between 1461 and 1468. Commanded by Constable Dafydd ap Ieuan, the garrison held out in what is the longest known...
. It recounts the ancient British
Brython
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
tradition of fighting naked in woad dye
Woad
Isatis tinctoria, with Woad as the common name, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is commonly called dyer's woad, and sometimes incorrectly listed as Isatis indigotica . It is occasionally known as Asp of Jerusalem...
, but is not intended as a history lesson. It first became popular in 1920s as a song in the British Boy Scouts
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
and first appeared in The Hackney Scout Song Book
The Hackney Scout Song Book
The Hackney Scout Song Book contains a collection of songs which were popular in the early days of the Scout Movement in the United Kingdom. Although originally intended for the use of Scouts in the Hackney district of East London, it quickly became the standard work of its type in the UK and...
(Stacy & Son Ltd, 1921). The author was William Hope-Jones, a housemaster at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, who wrote it some time before 1914, as he sang it at a College dinner at that time. "Ho Jo" appears in the M.R. James' ghost story Wailing Well (1928), in which a group of masters take the Eton Scout Troop on an ill-fated camping expedition.
- 1.
- What's the use of wearing braces?
- Spats and hats and boots with laces?
- Vests and pants you buy in places
- Down on Brompton RoadBrompton RoadBrompton Road is a street in Knightsbridge, London, in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea .It starts from Knightsbridge tube station and runs south-west through an extremely wealthy residential area until it reaches Egerton Gardens and the area to the east of South Kensington tube station...
?
- What's the use of shirts of cottonCottonCotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
? - StudsShirt studA shirt stud is a decorative fastener that fits onto a buttonhole on the front of a pleated shirt, or onto the starched bib of a stiff-front shirt. Such shirts have special buttonholes solely for shirt studs....
that always get forgotten? - These affairs are simply rotten,
- Better far is woadWoadIsatis tinctoria, with Woad as the common name, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is commonly called dyer's woad, and sometimes incorrectly listed as Isatis indigotica . It is occasionally known as Asp of Jerusalem...
.
- Woad's the stuff to clothe men.
- Woad to scare your foemen.
- Boil it to a brilliant hue
- And rub it on your back and your abdomenAbdomenIn vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
.
- Ancient Britons never hit on
- Anything as good as woad to fit on
- Necks or knees or where you sit on.
- Tailors you be blowed!!
- 2.
- RomansRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
came across the channelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover... - All wrapped up in tin and flannelFlannelFlannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fibre. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. The brushing process is a mechanical process...
- Half a pint of woad per man'll
- Clothe us more than these.
- SaxonsSaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
used to waste their stitches - Building beds for bugs in britches
- We have woad to clothe us which is
- Not a nest for fleas
- Romans keep your armours.
- Saxons your pyjamas.
- Hairy coats were meant for goats,
- GorillaGorillaGorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
s, yakYakThe yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
s, retrieverRetrieverA retriever is a type of gun dog that retrieves game for a hunter. Generally gun-dogs are divided into three major classifications: retrievers, flushing spaniels, and pointing breeds. Retrievers were bred primarily to retrieve birds or other prey and return them to the hunter without damage...
dogs and llamas.
- Tramp up SnowdonSnowdonSnowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, and has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain"...
with your woad on, - Never mind if you get rained or snowed on
- Never need a button sewed on.
- Go it Ancient Bs!!
The original last line appears to have been "If you stick to Woad". Other last-line variations: "Bottoms up to woad", "W - O - A - D", "Good for us today". "Go it Ancient Brits". "Woad for us today!" "Bollocks to the breeze!"
This song is also known as The National Anthem of the Ancient Britons, Woad, The Woad Song and Woad of Harlech. A filk parody version is Code. Lament of the Ancient Brit
A version of the song appears in the 2009 novel Skin Overcoat by British author Skee Morif.
Published Versions
- The Hackney Scout Song Book (Stacy & Son Ltd, ten editions; 1921 to 1972).
- Anthony Hopkins Songs from the Rear: Canadian Servicemen's Songs of the Second World War. 1979 ISBN 0888301715
- Skee Morif Skin Overcoat. 2009 ISBN 0955284120
Recordings
- Joe HickersonJoe HickersonJoe Hickerson is a noted folk singer and songleader. For 35 years he was Librarian and Director of the Archive of Folk Song at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress...
with a Gathering of Friends Folk Legacy 2002 - Oak, Ash and Thorn Sowing Wild Oats & Out On a Limb