| Keep Right On To The End Of The Road | |
| Language: | English |
| Published: | 1924 |
"Keep Right On To The End Of The Road" is a popular song written by Harry Lauder in 1924.
Lauder wrote the song in a railway carriage in April 1924, returning home to prepare for a tour of England. He débuted the song at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London, on 28 April,[1] to an enthusiastic reception; one gentleman in the audience rose to declare it a "sermon on the stage" and Lauder was prevailed upon to sing it a second time.[2]
Lauder wrote the song in honour of his son, killed in the First World War, and it was originally published under the name "The End Of The Road".[3] Lauder first recorded it on 26 October 1925 at a studio in Hayes, Middlesex, accompanied by the George W. Byng orchestra,[4] and it was released on His Master's Voice (catalogue number D1085), sharing the shellac with "The Road to the Isles", the following April.[5] John Peel chose it as a representative for 1925 in his "Peelennium" retrospective.[6]
The song was such a success that by 1926 he was using it to close his set.[7] It was also played at his funeral, as the pallbearers brought the coffin from Lauder Ha' in Hamilton, where the service took place.[8]
The song is the official club song of Birmingham City F.C., adopted during the club's run to the 1955–56 FA Cup final. On a coach to Highbury for the quarter-final tie at Arsenal in March 1956, the players sang songs to ease the tension, and manager Arthur Turner asked Scottish winger Alex Govan for his choice; he started singing "Keep Right On", and the players were still singing on arrival at the ground, with the coach surrounded by Blues fans.[9] The players were also heard singing the song in the dressing-room after the 3–1 win in celebration.[10]
The fans took to the song quickly, singing it at the semi-final win over Sunderland later that month,[11] and Lauder's recording was played before a home game with Blackpool a week later, with songsheets available for spectators. The song has been a constant at the club's matches ever since, albeit with lyrics slightly altered to suit the club.[12] The song got to no. 157 in the UK singles charts, and no. 23 in the Independent Singles Charts,[13] the week before Blues won the EFL Cup in 2011.