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Hold the Fort

[ Roud 1774 ; DT HOLDFORT ; Mudcat 169370 ; trad.]

Jon Raven sang the Union song Hold the Fort in 1973 on his, Nic Jones’ and Tony Rose’s Trailer album Songs of a Changing World.

Walter Pardon of Knapton, Norfolk, sang Hold the Fort to Mike Yates on 2 November 1978. This recording was included in 1983 on Pardon’s Home-Made Music album Bright Golden Store and in 2000 on his Musical Traditions anthology Put a Bit of Powder on It, Father. Mike Yates noted:

Hold the Fort, like An Old Man’s Advice (Topic 12TS392), was included in the National Agricultural Labourer’s and Rural Worker’s Union Song Book (Caxton Press, Norwich. No date). According to Walter, Uncle Billy had a copy of this booklet. As with An Old Man’s Advice—which parodies the song Grandfather’s Clock—Hold the Fort is based on a hymn written in 1870 by the American Philip Paul Bliss which begins:

Ho, my comrades, see the signal
Waving in the sky
Reinforcements now appearing
Victory is nigh.

Hold the fort, for I am coming
Jesus signals still
Wave the answer back to Heaven
By Thy grace we will.

Both Walter’s father and Uncle Billy were members of the Trunch branch of the Agricultural Union and in the mid 1940’s Walter’s father, who had been the second person to join that branch, was awarded a silver medal for his Union activity.

Lyrics

Walter Pardon sings Hold the Fort

We meet today in freedom’s cause
And raise our voices high.
We join our hands in Union song
To battle or to die.

Chorus (after each verse):
Hold the fort, we are coming
Union men be strong
Side by side, keep pressing onward
Victory will come.

Look my comrades, see the Union
Banner waving high.
Reinforcements are appearing
Victory is nigh.

See our numbers still increasing
Hear the bugle blow.
By our Union we shall triumph
Over every foe.

Fierce and long the battle rages
But we do not fear.
Help will come whene’er it’s needed
Cheer my comrades, cheer.