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The Volunteer Organist

[ Roud 5378 ; Ballad Index R826 ; Bodleian Roud 5378 ; W.B. Gray]

George Spicer sang The Volunteer Organist on 12 November 1959 at The Oak Tree, Ardingley. This recording by Brian Matthews was included in 2001 on the Musical Traditions anthology song from Sussex country pubs, Just Another Saturday Night.

George Belton sang The Volunteer Organist in a Vic Smith recording at, BBC Radio Sussex studio on 4 November 1971 which was included in 2020 both on Belton’s Musical Traditions anthology A True Furrow to Hold and on the Musical Traditions Old World/New World anthology Wait Till the Clouds Roll By. Mike Yates and Rod Stradling noted:

Written by W.B. Gray (words) and Henry Lamb (music) in 1863, and sung on the halls by its lyricist, who worked under the name of William Glenroy. Strangely, we have been able to find no extant American recordings. It would appear from Roud that this song was little taken-up by the tradition, since there are only 42 entries and a number of these are duplicates (from books, collections and recordings). All the earlier entries, in the 1920s, are from Canada and the USA. In England it’s been found mainly in Suffolk; John Howson heard it from Charlie Hancy in Bungay and Ginette Dunn found four singers in Snape and Blaxhall who knew it—and I have a feeling that Bob Hart did as well. Few examples are noted from outside this area—and George Spicer’s version was the only other one collected in the entire South East before this George Belton recording came to light. Keith Chandler tells me that he has recordings—made at festivals—of Stanley Marsden (Yorkshire) and Freda Palmer (Oxon) singing it.

Fred Jordan sang The Volunteer Organist on his 1974 Topic album When the Frost Is on the Pumpkin. This track was also included on his Veteran anthology A Shropshire Lad. Mike Yates noted:

W.B. Gray’s Volunteer Organist, a veritable pop song of the 1890s, is still widely met with today. Most country singers know it, although few song collectors have bothered to note it down. At the turn of the century the song’s popularity was such that Gray produced a play, Old Jim’s Christmas Hymn, based on the same idea. Fred had the song from his father, whom he recalls could reduce a pub audience to tears simply by singing a song such as this.

Charlie Hancy from Bungay, Suffolk, sang The Volunteer Organist in a 1986 John Howson recording on the Veteran Tapes cassette Songs Sung in Suffolk . This track was also included in 2006 on the Veteran anthology It Was on a Market Day—Two.

Lyrics

George Spicer sings The Volunteer Organist

The preacher in the village church one Sunday morning said
“Our organist is ill today; will someone play instead?”
An anxious look crept o’er the face of every person there
As eagerly they watched to see who’d fill the vacant chair.
An old man staggered down the aisle, his clothes were old and torn
A stranger drunken seemed to be in church on Sunday morn
But as he touched those organ keys, without a single word
The melody that followed was the sweetest ever heard.

Chorus:
The scene was one I’ll ne’er forget as long as I may live
And just to see it o’er again, all earthly wealth I’ll give
Our congregation all amazed, the preacher old and grey,
The organ and the oganist who volunteered to play.

Each eye shed tears within the church, the strongest men grew pale.
The organist, in melody, had told his life’s own tale.
The sermon of the preacher was, no lesson to compare
With that of life’s example who sat in the organ chair.
And when the service reached its close not a soul had left his seat
Except the poor old organist, who started for the street.
Down the aisle and to the door he slowly made his way
The preacher rose and softly said “Kind brethren, let us pray.”

George Belton sings The Volunteer Organist

A preacher in a village church one Sunday morning said
“Our organist is ill today; will someone play instead?”
An anxious look crept o’er the face of every person there,
As eagerly they watched to see who’d fill that vacant chair.
An old man staggered up the aisle, whose clothes were old and torn
How strange a drunkard seemed to be in church on Sunday morn
But as he touched the organ keys, without a single word;
The melody that followed was the sweetest ever heard.

Chorus:
The scene was one I’ll ne’er forget as long as I may live
And just to see it o’er again, all earthly wealth I’d give.
The congregation all amazed, the preacher old and grey,
The organ and the organist who volunteered to play.

Each eye shed tears within that church, the strongest men grew pale.
The organist, in melody, had told his own life’s tale.
And when the service ended not a soul had left their seat
Except the poor old organist, who started for the street.
Along the aisle and out the door he slowly walked away
The preacher rose and softly said “Good brethren, let us pray.”

Fred Jordan sings The Volunteer Organist

The preacher at the village church, one Sunday morning said,
“Our organist is ill today; will someone play instead?”
An anxious look came o’er the face of every person there
To see who in the church that morn would fill the vacant chair.
An old man stumbled up the aisle, his clothes was worn and torn
How strange a drunkard seemed to be in church on Sunday morn
But as his fingers touched the keys, without a single word
The melody the old man played was the sweetest ever heard.

Chorus:
The scene was one I’ll ne’er forget as long as I may live
And just to see it o’er again, all earthly wealth I’d give
The congregation all amazed, the preacher old and grey,
The organ and the organist who volunteered to play.

Each eye grew dim in church that morn, and the strongest cheek grew pale.
The organist without a word, had told his own life’s tale.
No lesson that the preacher read, that morning could compare
With life’s example that morn sat in the vacant chair.
And as he gently closed the lid and slowly went his way
The preacher rose and softly said “Good brethren, let us pray.”

(Chorus)