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“Two Little Boys” is a song written by Theodore Morse and Edward Madden in 1902 about the experiences of two men in the US Civil War.

In 1969 it was revived by good old Rolf Harris, who hobbled his way through the notes and made it all sound like there was a punch line coming up. Somehow, he persuaded his television producer to incorporate the song into his BBC variety show. The song reached #1 on the UK singles chart in December 1969, where it stayed for six weeks. On the popular BBC radio show Desert Island Discs, Margaret Thatcher picked it as her favourite song. Why? Only God knows.

In October 2008, Harris announced he would re-record the song, backed by North Wales’ Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir, to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I. Proceeds from the new release will go to The Poppy Appeal.He was inspired to make the recording after participating in My Family at War, a short series of programmes in the BBC’s Remembrance season, where he discovered that the experiences of his father and uncle during the Great War mirrored the lyrics of the song.

Lyrics to Rolf Harris’ “Two Little Boys”

Two little boys had two little toys
Each had a wooden horse
Gaily they played each summer’s day
Warriors both of course
One little chap then had a mishap
Broke off his horse’s head
Wept for his toy then cried with joy
As his young playmate said

Did you think I would leave you crying
When there’s room on my horse for two
Climb up here Jack and don’t be crying
I can go just as fast with two
When we grow up we’ll both be soldiers
And our horses will not be toys
And I wonder if we’ll remember
When we were two little boys

Long years had passed, war came so fast
Bravely they marched away
Cannon roared loud, and in the mad crowd
Wounded and dying lay
Up goes a shout, a horse dashes out
Out from the ranks so blue
Gallops away to where Joe lay
Then came a voice he knew

Did you think I would leave you dying
When there’s room on my horse for two
Climb up here Joe, we’ll soon be flying
I can go just as fast with two
Did you say Joe I’m all a-tremble
Perhaps it’s the battle’s noise
But I think it’s that I remember
When we were two little boys

Do you think I would leave you dying
There’s room on my horse for two
Climb up here Joe, we’ll soon by flying
Back to the ranks so blue
Can you feel Joe I’m all a tremble
Perhaps it’s the battle’s noise
But I think it’s that I remember
When we were two little boys

Download the sheet music for this song.