HMS Conway - Click here to return to the menu HMS Conway 1859 - 1974

© Alfie Windsor 1998
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Conway Songs & Chants

 

Hullabaloo

Two,Six, Heave

First Conway Song (A Conway Carol)

Second Conway Song

Third (& Last) Conway Song

Order sheet music and CDs

The Conway's The Pride Of The Blue Funnel Fleet


Hullabaloo

Although not a Conway song the hullabaloo was performed before all rugby matches. The team would form a circle, link arms around each others' shoulders and belt out the Hullaballoo. It is now also chanted after the Conway Song at Club dinners and other Club gatherings. Its origins are unknown.

 

       Hullabaloo! Hullabaloo! Hullabaloo! Ba La!

       Conway! Conway!

       Rah! Rah! Rah!     (alternatively Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!)

       Pieces of eight, Pieces of eight,

       Pieces of nine and ten,

       We'll cut the throats of everyman

       And sew them up again.

Dead men tell no tales!

 

    Chanted in unison, Fortissimo!

 

"Two, Six, Heave"

This chant was used to co-ordinate any heavy lifting or pulling work where a number of cadets had to work togther hauling on a rope.

It originates from the days of wooden wall sailing ships and cannon. Every cannon was manned by a gun crew. Each member had a number and specific role in the logical stages of preparting and firing a cannon. Numbers two and six were apparently responsible for finally hauling the loaded gun out.

 

The First Conway Song - A Conway Carol

This was published in the Cadet magazine in 1898. It was titled 'A Conway Carol" .

 

The Second Conway Song

I do not know when the second song was introduced. The words were published in the Cadet magazine in April 1913 and the music in the April 1915 edition.

 

Mine is the Conway, dear old Con-way;

Sons on every sea.

I to the dear old ship belong,

and she belongs to me.        

Sons of the Conway, dear old Conway,

Sons on every sea.

I to the dear old ship belong and she belongs to me.

 

Mine are the Comrades,

Dear old Comrades,

Found on every sea,

Mine are the ships of war, of trade,     

Mine is the ocean free,

Sons etc.

 

Mine is the King

As mine the Country,

Mine is the Lady Queen,

Mine is the pride, the toil, the peril,

Mine is the peace serene,

Sons etc.

 

 

Mine are the men

Who guard the nation,

Watching by day and night,

Mine are the men who serve in silence,

Strong as the men of might,

Sons etc.

 

Marching together,

Sons and fathers,

Listening to the Call,

These to the Conway all belong,

These are the best of all,

Sons etc

 

The Third (& Last) Conway Song

In 1918 for reasons not explained the second song was no longer sung. The Cadet magazine reported that several attempts had been made to create a new song but that these had all faltered. John Masefield apparently wrote a set of words but these were not used. They may be the words for the second song reproduced above. Mr Cecil Roberts (Literary Editor at the Liverpool Post and a well kown author) visited the Ship in 1916 to read his Sea Ballads and was invited to write a new Conway song. He produced the words three day later but did not feel up to the job of setting them to music. He invited Miss Muriel Herbert to do this and her efforts were judged by the Cadet magazine to be "... beyond praise ... it voices the very spirit of the sea ... its rollicking lilt and crashing chords carry all before them". On 1st December 1916 she and Roberts visited the Ship and she sang the song to the staff and cadets. They obviously liked it as she "received an ovation".

The third song was sung until the closure and is still "sung" today at gatherings of OCs. The words are below:

The sheet music for the second song is on the following pages:

Song page 1
Song page 2
Song page 3
Song page 4



Order Music

When I managed to get hold of a copy of the music I obviously needed to get the publisher's permission before I could add it to the web site. I thought finding them might be a difficult task but it turned out to be simple Directory Enquiries gave me the number in seconds - they are still based in Stockport as advertised on the sheet music! I rang them expecting a laborious discussion while I tried to explain about this probably long forgotten piece of music. I got straight through to the owner. After a few moments of rambling on by me he politely intervened to say that not only did he know of the Conway song, he was an OC! And his father (the previous owner) was an OC too. He was pleased to give us permission to add it to the site.

So if you would like a copy please do not print off our rather poor copy, contact the publishers and buy one! The music is published by James Smith & Son of Southport, telephone number 01704 579852.

The Friends Of The Conway publish a cassette with two versions of the second song, one by a military band and one sung by a male voice choir. See Items For Sale.


The Pride Of the Blue Funnel Fleet

There were various unoffical Conway songs. One, current around 1947-49 went as follows (this version has been 'cleaned up" somewhat!

The Conway's the pride of the Blue Funnel Fleet,
There's plenty to do and there's not much to eat,
So roll on the Nelson, the Rodney, the Hood,
This three master frigate is no blinking good.

We rise at six-thirty and work on till nine,
They work us quite hard and they feed us like swine,
So chum join the Worcester or run to Pangbourne,
On the Conway you'll wish that you'd never been born.

Oh Digger's a blighter and Spooky as well,
Crockett's as balmy, as balmy as hell,
Flanagan's ignorant, never been taught,
His mental capacity adds up to nought.

Oh I've sung you my song and it's been full of woe,
Most of its true as all Conways will know,
But despite of all that I'll remember that boat,
For the happiest days I've yet spent whilst afloat

 

 
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