The Woad Ode
| "The Woad Ode" Woad |
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| Written by | William Hope-Jones |
|---|---|
| Music by | Men of Harlech |
| Lyrics by | William Hope-Jones |
| Published | 1921, The Hackney Scout Songbook |
| Language | English |
| Recorded by | Joe Hickerson |
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[1] and first appeared in The Hackney Scout Song Book (Stacy & Son Ltd, 1921). The author was William Hope-Jones, a housemaster at Eton,[2] 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 Road?
- What's the use of shirts of cotton?
- Studs that always get forgotten?
- These affairs are simply rotten,
- Better far is woad.
- 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 abdomen.
- 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.
- Romans came across the channel
- All wrapped up in tin and flannel
- Half a pint of woad per man'll
- Clothe us more than these.
- Saxons 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,
- Gorillas, yaks, retriever dogs and llamas.
- Tramp up Snowdon 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. It also appeared in a "YHA Songbook", from the UK Youth Hostelling Association in the early 1970s.
[edit] References
- ^ "Our Pictish Heritage". 2004-12-11. http://www.rook.org/heritage/celt/pict.html. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
- ^ "National Anthem of the Ancient Britons". UK Commentators. 2007-04-27. http://ukcommentators.blogspot.com/2007/04/national-anthem-of-ancient-britons.html. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
[edit] 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
[edit] Recordings
- Joe Hickerson with a Gathering of Friends Folk Legacy 2002
- Oak, Ash and Thorn Sowing Wild Oats & Out On a Limb
