Fire for your imagination ‘When a Knight won his Spurs’ the song that started it all…

When I was kid going through Primary School we used to have Assemblies three times a week where we would all get together listen to school announcements and a story, and then sing songs from our little blue hymn books. In this little book was one particular song that fired my imagination every time we sang it, which sadly wasn’t that often. It was called When a Knight won his Spurs, a folk song by Jan Struther written in 1931. Although those Assemblies have long since stopped I still find myself singing this song from time to time and taking inspiration from it.

I think I can safely say if I never sang or heard this song, The Wonder Tales, Tristan with all his adventures and all my other stories would never of taken flight; this is the power this tune has over me. Enjoy the song video by Sam Miller, it is one of the best versions of the song I’ve heard for sometime, you can follow the lyrics below…

When a knight won his spurs, in the stories of old,

He was gentle and brave, he was gallant and bold

With a shield on his arm and a lance in his hand,

For God and for valour he rode through the land.

No charger have I, and no sword by my side,

Yet still to adventure and battle I ride,

Though back into storyland giants have fled,

And the knights are no more and the dragons are dead.

Let faith be my shield and let joy be my steed

‘Gainst the dragons of anger, the ogres of greed;

And let me set free with the sword of my youth,

From the castle of darkness, the power of the truth.

Be gentle with the Earth now