"Sussex by the Sea", also known as "A Horse Galloping", is an English patriotic song used as the de facto county anthem of Sussex in South East England. It was written in 1907 by the English songwriter William Ward-Higgs. The song is played during sporting events and festivals in the county, such as the Sussex Bonfire Societies, and it is generally performed by marching bands and Morris dancers.[1] In addition, it is used by many local organisations, such as the Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, the Sussex Association of Naval Officers, and the Sussex County Cricket Club, and it was used by the now-defunct Sussex Division Royal Naval Reserve.
Lyrics[]
Now is the time for marching,
Now let your hearts be gay,
Hark to the merry bugles
Sounding along our way.
So let your voices ring, my boys,
And take the time from me,
And I’ll sing you a song as we march along,
Of Sussex by the Sea!
Chorus:
For we're the men from Sussex, Sussex by the Sea.
We plough and sow and reap and mow,
And useful men are we;
And when you go to Sussex, whoever you may be,
You may tell them all that we stand or fall
For Sussex by the Sea!
Refrain:
Oh Sussex, Sussex by the Sea!
Good old Sussex by the Sea!
You may tell them all we stand or fall,
For Sussex by the Sea.
Up in the morning early,
Start at the break of day;
March till the evening shadows
Tell us it's time to stay.
We're always moving on, my boys,
So take the time from me,
And sing this song as we march along,
Of Sussex by the Sea.
Chorus and refrain
Sometimes your feet are weary,
Sometimes the way is long,
Sometimes the day is dreary,
Sometimes the world goes wrong,
But if you let your voices ring,
Your care will fly away,
So we'll sing a song as we march along,
Of Sussex by the Sea.
Chorus and refrain
Light is the love of a soldier,
That's what the ladies say –
Lightly he goes a wooing,
Lightly he rides away.
In love and war we always are
As fair as fair can be,
And a soldier boy is the ladies' joy
In Sussex by the Sea.
Chorus and refrain
Far o'er the seas we wander,
Wide thro’ the world we roam;
Far from the kind hearts yonder,
Far from our dear old home;
But ne'er shall we forget, my boys,
And true we'll ever be
To the girls so kind that we left behind
In Sussex by the Sea.
Chorus and refrain
1957 adoption by Sussex County Cricket Club[]
In 1957, Joe Haddon wrote a two verse version dedicated to Sussex cricket.
Now is the time for playing
Now let your hearts be gay
List what your captain is saying
While off the field of play
So put your best leg forward, my lads
And time each ball you see
If you sing the old song
Well you can’t go wrong
Of Sussex By The Sea
Chorus:
Good Old Sussex by the Sea,
Good Old Sussex By the Sea
You can tell them all that we stand or fall
For Sussex by the Sea.
Good Old Sussex By the Sea
Their cricket is a pleasure to see
They will give you a show
For they don’t play slow
And useful men are they
So when you go to Sussex
Six Martlets men to see
They will delight you all
With the bat and the ball
In the County Ground by the Sea.
Official version by Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. and Sussex County Cricket Club[]
In more recent years, the song has been taken up by both Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. and Sussex County Cricket Club. It is the clubs' official song, albeit with a different chorus. It's a more simplified version with just five verses, making it easier to memorise.
Good old Sussex by the sea,
Good old Sussex by the sea
Oh we're going up
To win the cup
For Sussex by the sea.
Since 2011, when the football club moved to Falmer Stadium, a rousing version by the Grenadier Guards has been used as teams enter the field of play, with the original lyrics of the first verse and refrain appearing on the big screen. Prior to a league match against Middlesbrough F.C. in December 2014 (during a particularly poor season for the team), a technical fault resulted in the music cutting out for the chorus, but this had the positive effect of the home crowd picking up the song at this point and singing it with far more gusto than previous. As a result, the music has been intentionally cut ever since for the last three lines, which are sung by the crowd alone followed by applause.
… Good Old Sussex By the Sea
You can tell them all that we stand or fall
For Sussex by the Sea.
Use by Christ's Hospital[]
Christ's Hospital, an English independent public boarding school in south Horsham, West Sussex, uses the tune as its school march.
1939 Sussex People's March of History[]
Marching through Eastbourne in the 'Sussex People's March of History' of 1939 with banners that included Jack Cade's rebellion in 1450, the Swing Riots of 1830 and the Battle of Lewes Road, which was a significant incident in Brighton in the General Strike of 1926, 400 protesters led by Ernie Trory of the Sussex Communist movement sang the following words to "Sussex by the Sea".[2][3]
Now is the time for marching
Under our banners red
Rank upon rank advancing
Surely we forge ahead
So let your voices ring comrades,
All you who would be free
And we'll sing a song
As we march along
Of peace and liberty
- ↑ Weeks, Marcus (2008). Sussex Music. Alfriston: Snake River Press. ISBN 978-1-906022-10-5.
- ↑ Lowerson, John (1980). A Short History of Sussex. Folkestone: Dawson Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7129-0948-8.
- ↑ Sussex (1939).