1892 And All That
Sung by Harry Spilsbury at the Y.R.C. 70th Anniversary Dinner, 17th November, 1962.
Tune; “My Old Shako”
Words: John Hirst, Harry Stembridge.
The Yorkshire Ramblers saw the light in 1892. For seventy years it’s brought delight to those who taste its brew.
We’ve climbed the crags; in filthy rags we’ve plumbed the pots below.
And year by year we’ve scared the deer to bag the bleak ‘Munro’.
And year by year we’ve scared the deer to bag the bleak ‘Munro’.
Chorus:
Heigh Ho! Nobody seems to know
Why some delight to scale a height while others crawl below.
But we get thrills from climbing hills, and it was always so
Ten, twenty, forty, sixty, seventy years ago!
On Cuillin Ridge and Lakeland Fell, on Chamonix Aiguille,
It’s true to tell we go like well, with great agility.
Down Lost John’s Hole and Marble Arch, in Reyfad and G.G.
On hands and knees we crawl and squeeze, the ruddy Y.R.C.
Through boulder jams we crawl and squeeze, the ruddy Y.R.C.
Chorus:
Heigh Ho! In sunshine, mud and snow
Some would race and set the pace, and some go very slow.
And some would pick the smallest nick for finger-tip or toe.
Ten, twenty, forty, sixty, seventy years ago!
At end of day, as pints are supped, we talk of men we knew,
Of Roberts, Smythe and Crosby Fox, Slingsby and Frankland too.
Jack Hilton still goes like a bomb, young Stembridge takes the chair,
And though Cliff snores, and Stanley too, it’s good to know they’re there.
Chorus:
Heigh Ho! We’ve loved to watch it grow
From humblest of beginnings to the grandest club we know.
So here’s to all the veterans who helped to make it so
Ten, twenty, forty, sixty, seventy years ago!