Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
The gun is fired, the race is on.
Sounds and sweet airs, fill our voices
All summer long, until the race is won.
Racing for gold, on this Treasure Island,
Yo Ho Ho for Pieces of Eight.
Welcoming the world to London and to my land,
Racing together to celebrate the date.
Championing the values of excellence and friendship,
Courage, determination, equality and respect.
Generating here a universal kinship,
Striving together to achieve our personal bests.
Many races, many winning,
Many runners full of grace,
Many cultures, equal billing
One united human race.
Choose your Desert Island discus,
Make your jumping high and long,
Get your medal, sing your anthem,
For your personal marathon.
This, our moment to be treasured,
Treasure lost is once more found.
Just once in a lifetime,
Five ring circus comes to town.
From Mandeville to Wenlock come the inspirations,
We are all torch bearers, setting the pace,
Proud to say to future generations:
I was here to see this island race.
Robin Simpson
19 April 2012
Written to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to the UK, this simple three-minute song for choirs was written by Evan Dawson and Robin Osterley with words by Robin Simpson. It is FREE to download and perform from
http://www.makingmusic.org.uk/our-work/projects-and-programmes/island-race.
This piece was written as part of an ongoing partnership between Making Music, Voluntary Arts and Superact, and supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
