"Sons of the Sea" is a British

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

song written by

Felix McGlennon Felix McGlennon (30 January 1856 – 1 December 1943) was a British songwriter and publisher, whose seriocomic songs were popular in the music halls of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Biography McGlennon was born in Glasg ...

. Praising the might of the

British navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and its men, it was first performed in 1897 by singer

Arthur Reece William Joseph Lee Colverd (5 February 1870 – 2 April 1964), who used the stage name Arthur Reece, was an English comedian and singer who performed in music halls. Biography William Colverd was born in London, the son of Jovial Joe Colverd (1849 ...

, and revived after the sinking of the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

'' HMS Gladiator'' in 1908. It remained popular through the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and Reece continued to perform it on stage until the 1950s. "Sons of the Sea", ''Folk Song and Music Hall''
Retrieved 2 January 2023

Parodies

A parody known as "Bobbing Up and Down Like This" — with those words interposed with the original lyrics — became popular at

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

camps and elsewhere. It is also the chosen song/anthem for the Highridge Utd Football Club in Bristol, and has been known to be sung at Gloucestershire cricket games by supporters. The words are:

Sons of the seas, when we’re bobbin' up and down like this.
Over the ocean, when we’re bobbin' up and down like this.
You can build a ship, my friend, when we’re bobbin' up and down like this.
But you can't beat the boys of the Gloucestershire, when we’re bobbin' up and down like this.

It is used as the club theme song by the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

in the Australian Rules Football league under the title "Sons of the S'cray", as Western Bulldogs' old name was Footscray, a suburb in Western Melbourne. When they renamed their team to "Western Bulldogs", they changed it to "Sons of the West", and changed some of the words to fit in with the new song and club name. There is a very strong similarity to a 1914 Navy song called "Sons of the Sea" sung by Robert Howe.

Songs of the same title

There is also an art-song called "Sons of the Sea", lyrics by

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (''née'' Chattopadhyay; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist, feminist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women's emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important person in Indi ...

, music by

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 18751 September 1912) was a British composer and conductor. Of mixed-race birth, Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white New York musicians as the "African Mahler" when ...

(1910) of which there is a famous recording by Peter Dawson. There is no literary or musical connection with the folk song discussed above.

References

External links

Two versions of the words

harold wood sons of the sea 1914, rare first world war navy song
Sea shanties 1897 songs {{folk-song-stub