singing story

previous story	list of stories	next story
Shirley Collins	Home Grown
How I started singing
In the days before television, we sang a lot at home. My grandparents sang to my late sister Dolly and me when we were snug in their air-raid shelter during the war, and many of the songs they sang were the traditional songs of Sussex. We just naturally sang all the time. We'd start practising Christmas Carols in November - and we knew all the words by heart. And I used to love singing hymns in assembly at school, too!
Why I love it
I love singing English folk songs because the genuine tradition connects us with our country's native culture and social history. These songs are 'learnt by heart', being passed down by word of mouth. Past generations of singers, their knowledge, their experience and their lives inhabit these songs. That, as well as the beauty of the songs, really touches me.