Horrible Histories Horrible Hearts Club Band (The History of Music)
A voice, a beat, a melody
How music began
I play this very nicely
(Lyre) Really, I can
A harp, a flute
And this is really funky
Before that came the Swedish horn
It's cold as a brass monkey
In 700 BC
Greek song contests, we're told
In Chalcis each tune is judged
Is Simon Cowell that old?
We Greeks invent the organ
And the musical - Greece'd lightning
And Celts, the horn of war
That sounds pretty frightening
Music, music, music
Where did it all come from
Music, music, music
We just love to sing along
Music, music, music
Creativity at its best
Music, music, music
I wonder what came next
Gregorian chanting introduces monk rock
Adding harmonies entertains the church flock
Then came troubadours and courts
Play the sackbut, if you've patience
Apart from banning women
It's a musical renaissance
Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel
New music causes shock
Can you handle these changes
Are you ready to Baroque
Forget what has gone before
We call that Jurassic
Listen to our symphonies
Each one is a classic
Opera popular
Romantic, not elitist
Mahler, Verdi, Wagner
That is not a bad list
So the story told so far - music's mostly fun
But oh so many ch-ch-ch-ch-changes gonna come
Mass-produced pianos really strike a chord
What’s that on the phonograph? It’s a record!
Immigrants to the US
Bring their music, heart and soul
Afro, Jews, plus jazz and blues
Equals rock and roll
My singing changes everything
Uh-huh-huh, it's all shook up
The USA led the way
Until we turned up
Ooh
Pop music explodes
Too many styles to mention
Rock, dance, rap, and R&B
Now there's only one direction
Whatever has been
Whatever may appear
Every piece of music
Finds its way back
Here