Battle Hymn of the New Socialist Party
[also known as "Flagging"]
An enduring number, "Battle Hymn" has been periodically updated over the years, as circumstances have changed. The song is adapted from "The Red Flag" and ridicules the Labour Party's claim to represent Socialism. It was written in 1962, and performed at that year's Labour Party Conference. (Leon has stated on at least one occasion that it was performed at the 1961 conference, but since he gives the location as Brighton, this must be an error. The 1961 conference was held in Blackpool.)
The song seems to have been commissioned by the BBC, and was featured on That Was The Week That Was, which was first broadcast in November 1962. Moreover, Leon has said he wrote it while Hugh Gaitskell was Labour leader (ie, prior to January 1963), thus corroborating its vintage. There is, however, some evidence that similar adaptations were written, prior to Leon's.
The first known recording is Leon's own, but this was soon followed by an accordion rendition, vocalised anonymously (probably by Ralph Trainer), on the LP, Vote For Us (1964), where it confusingly went by the name "Flagging". The familiar title would be restored thereafter. There are several versions in circulation, the 1964 recording already amended lyrically from 1962.
The song seems to have been commissioned by the BBC, and was featured on That Was The Week That Was, which was first broadcast in November 1962. Moreover, Leon has said he wrote it while Hugh Gaitskell was Labour leader (ie, prior to January 1963), thus corroborating its vintage. There is, however, some evidence that similar adaptations were written, prior to Leon's.
The first known recording is Leon's own, but this was soon followed by an accordion rendition, vocalised anonymously (probably by Ralph Trainer), on the LP, Vote For Us (1964), where it confusingly went by the name "Flagging". The familiar title would be restored thereafter. There are several versions in circulation, the 1964 recording already amended lyrically from 1962.
"When the BBC dared me to write a song containing the word Socialist, I thought of all the Socialists I knew, like Woodrow Wyatt, and Anthony Crosland, and Desmond Donelly. And I set this song to a very fine old dirge which some of you may be a bit young to remember." - LR (introduction to song, 1962)
"I wrote this song some years ago when Hugh Gaitskell led the Labour Party. It was sung at a social evening during the 1962 Labour Party Conference at Brighton and subsequently performed on TW3. Today, with a few minor alterations, it's still going strong. (Thinks: Thanks to H. Wilson)" - LR (Songs For City Squares and Secptical Circles (songbook), 1966)
"It's so old, it was performed on the 'satirical' TV programme 'That Was The Week That Was' so, of course, now has only historical interest." - LR (sleevenotes to Guess What They're Selling at the Happiness Counter, 1992)
"I wrote this song some years ago when Hugh Gaitskell led the Labour Party. It was sung at a social evening during the 1962 Labour Party Conference at Brighton and subsequently performed on TW3. Today, with a few minor alterations, it's still going strong. (Thinks: Thanks to H. Wilson)" - LR (Songs For City Squares and Secptical Circles (songbook), 1966)
"It's so old, it was performed on the 'satirical' TV programme 'That Was The Week That Was' so, of course, now has only historical interest." - LR (sleevenotes to Guess What They're Selling at the Happiness Counter, 1992)
Recordings
Version 1 (1962) Live solo recording. Includes spoken introduction
Version 2 (1964) Live version with accordion (as "Flagging"). Lead singer is probably Ralph Trainer. (Leon may join in during the Red Flag refrain.) The lines about Clause 4 in the first verse have been replaced by lines pertaining to tax adjustments, while verse 3 has lost the lines about nationalisation being a flop, in favour of lines about shuffling left and right.
Version 3 (1975) First studio recording, played on keyboards. The text matches the 1964 version again, except that tax adjustments have been changed to "the Social Contract", a 1970s Labour policy of "wage restraint".
Version 4 (1992) Leon backed by Fiz Shapur's keyboards. The newer lines in verse 1 about the Social Contract have been restored to the original 1962 lines about the dropping of Clause 4, a current issue again for the party. Minor tweaks to verse 2 include raising a "red rose" rather than an umbrella, that being the new party logo in place of the red flag.
Version 2 (1964) Live version with accordion (as "Flagging"). Lead singer is probably Ralph Trainer. (Leon may join in during the Red Flag refrain.) The lines about Clause 4 in the first verse have been replaced by lines pertaining to tax adjustments, while verse 3 has lost the lines about nationalisation being a flop, in favour of lines about shuffling left and right.
Version 3 (1975) First studio recording, played on keyboards. The text matches the 1964 version again, except that tax adjustments have been changed to "the Social Contract", a 1970s Labour policy of "wage restraint".
Version 4 (1992) Leon backed by Fiz Shapur's keyboards. The newer lines in verse 1 about the Social Contract have been restored to the original 1962 lines about the dropping of Clause 4, a current issue again for the party. Minor tweaks to verse 2 include raising a "red rose" rather than an umbrella, that being the new party logo in place of the red flag.
Sheet music
- Songs For City Squares And Sceptical Circles p5. Text matches the 1964 recording
- Look Here p13. Text matches the 1964 recording
- Bringing the News from Nowhere p180. Lyrics correspond to the 1992 recording