Royal Navy - Heart of Oak

"Heart of Oak" is the official march of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It is also the official march of the Canadian Navy, as well as the Canadian Forces' Naval Operations Branch.

The music was composed by Dr William Boyce and the words were written by the 18th Century English actor David Garrick. Heart of Oak was originally written as an opera.
The "wonderful year" referenced in the first verse is 1759-60, during which British forces were victorious in several significant battles: the Battle of Lagos on 19 August 1759, the battle of Quebec City on 13 September 1759 and the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759, foiling a French invasion project. These were followed a few months later by the Battle of Wandiwash in India on 22 January 1760. Britain's continued success in the war boosted the songs popularity.

Come, cheer up, my lads, 'tis to glory we steer,
To add something more to this wonderful year;
To honour we call you, as freemen not slaves,
For who are so free as the sons of the waves?
(Chorus sung once...)
Heart of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men,
we always are ready; Steady, boys, steady!
We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.

We never see the French but we wish them to stay,
They always see us and they wish us away;
If they run, we will follow, we will drive them ashore,
And if they won't fight, we can do no more.
(Chorus sung once...)

They swear they'll invade us, these terrible foes,
They frighten our women, our children and beaus,
But should their flat bottoms in darkness get o'er,
Still Britons they'll find to receive them on shore.
(Chorus sung once...)
[Verse sometimes omitted]
Britannia triumphant, her ships sweep the sea,
Her standard is Justice—her watchword, 'be free.'
Then cheer up, my lads, with one heart let us sing,
Our soldiers, our sailors, our statesmen, and king.
(Final Chorus sung twice...)

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[royalmarine97]

I dream that one day the RN will return to its old glory. to hell with politicians and budget cuts

[Sam Currie]

i am i the only one listening to this as a sea cadet?

[philip ashdown]

LOVE IT

[ImperialGuard322nd]

actually, the last sailing engagement for the Royal Navy was in 1827 at the Battle of Navarino off the coast of Greece, so it could very well have been far later into the twentieth century.

[acerb45666555]

The last English/Welsh/Cornish man to serve on a wooden (Man-O-War), was probably in the Napoleanic wars last phase,(1815). So he was probably around 15 or 17 years old. Meaning he could have lived to as far as 1901 ! Because in the USA, the last Confederate infantry veteran died in 1959 in Florida! People from the old horse/wooden ship era lived suprisingly long! Geronimo lived to 1905! Black Elk made it to 1934!

[59nobby59]

Where would we be without our seniour service the Royal Navy ? Here's raising a glass to all those who served past and present... Cheers and thanks.

[1mmccreedy]

Vive le Roi!

[Grungelife Gl]

I love Heart of Oak.

Valparaíso, Chile.

[Patrick Bartlett]

god bless you and long live the queen I would be a loyalist spy and try to stop the french from entering

[Thomas Gage]

God dammit my pet redneck got out again.

[Joseph UK]

We fought Japan in India, where it mattered. Japan wasn't going to get its navy to the UK, we just needed to stop their invasion of India which we did with success.

I do acknowledge the US contributions to the war, but they did not turn the tide of the war. The Germans had already run out of steam in their blitzkrieg machine on the western front and were getting pushed back.

[Joseph UK]

Please show respect to fallen men. Men may be murderers, thieves, or anything, but still men who deserve respect. To disrespect the dead is one of the most dishonourable things a man can do.