Old Leigh Town Regatta

THE OLD LEIGH REGATTA

Early in September on a Sunday

Down Church Hill I made my way

To see the country dancing and hear the band play

At the Old Leigh Town Regatta

CHORUS: DOWN DOWN WON'T YOU COME DOWN

DOWN TO THE REGATTA IN OLD LEIGH TOWN?

DOWN DOWN WON'T YOU COME DOWN

TO THE OLD LEIGH TOWN REGATTA?

The Admiral was there, he was looking very sleek

With a gang of navigators to guide him up the creek

When they all fell in the mud, they said you'd smell 'em for a week

At the Old Leigh Town Regatta

There were sideshows, guideshows, roundabouts and swings

Football, tug-o-war and other sporty things

I'd 've climbed the greasy pole if I'd had a pair of wings

At the Old Leigh Town Regatta

You could see the Thameside Mummers, the flotilla floating by

Or go and have a try on the coconut shy

I saw a man in the stocks, he was looking very dry

At the Old Leigh Town Regatta

The Cockleshell Clog, they looked so neat

All fancy clothes and flying feet

Then someone shouted: "Terry, you've missed a beat!"

At the Old Leigh Town Regatta

Borderdash Morris, they danced along

They looked so bright their faces shone

And when they started singing, then I was gone

At the Old Leigh Town Regatta

The Slow Loris Band, they came and went

They played so loud, you could hear 'em in Kent

But they sounded much better in Martin's tent

At the Old Leigh Town Regatta

There were folk songs and joke songs easy on the ear

And the band kept playing as the crowd disappeared

And everybody said they'd be back again next year

To the Old Leigh Town Regatta

Feb 1976

Verse 5 added 1988 with "Otto" named in verse 2. He was a dancer/musician at the time. Terry is currently a drummer with the Cockleshells. Verses 6 and 7 added 2006 - by popular request, no offence intended!

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