Songs of St. Bernard's

St. Bernard’s has many unifying threads that carry on year after year and one of those is the singing of a familiar song. 
Most assemblies begin with a selection from a blue hymnal, which is performed quite well and with the right dose of gravitas.  The real treasure is the red book of thirteen school songs written by Francis Tabor, one of the school’s founders.  Those new to St. Bernard’s will be pleasantly surprised to learn that the boys whistle a full verse before singing each school song.  It is hard not to smile whilst amongst a group of roughly four hundred strong whistling a happy tune in unison. 

The School Songs are quite fun for boys of all ages.  For example, the Baseball Song is performed with such enthusiasm that many have to cover their ears - the kindergarten boys to block the noise and the musically-inclined to mask the lack of a correct pitch.  Within these songs lie valuable reminders of what it means to be a St. Bernard’s boy.  The chorus of the Sportman’s Song encourages perseverance:

I never seem to make a team,
My name’s unknown to fame;
The captain’s list my name has missed,
Yet still I play the game.
 
A long standing tradition to mark the start of October, the boys perform the song October to open the assembly on the month’s first Friday morning.  The song comes from the Harrow School in England and has been sung at St. Bernard’s as long as anyone can remember.

October, October, March to the dull and sober!
The suns of May for the school-girl’s play,
But give to the boys October, October, October!
 
 
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