The Ramblers - I'm Only A Poor Little Sparrow 

We did do an album! LOL and I was one of the guitarists who was never filmed. It was a great experience. We were on many tv shows and our school benefited greatly :)

Omg I feel so old, but it’s lovely to hear this again after so many decades.So innocent great days.

This used to be my lullaby when I was a baby only my dad only knew the first line then made up the rest! It's the first time in 17 years I've heard the full song and real words!

It took me YEARS to get this single in a flea market and I payed its weight in gold... and then it is suddenly in RU-vid, haha. C´est la vie.

I was 5 when this song hit the charts .. love it as much now as I did then

I agree. There are so many TV channels now I can't keep up with them. I'm a child of the 1970's and it was a very special time for me.

Fantastic, what a song. thanx for posting such rare footage

Only in the late 70s could a song featuring cute kids singing about a Sparrow reach the top 10.

I’d managed to completely forget this song, then I saw an old Top 40 listing and looked it up. Now I’ll have the earworm for weeks.

I remember this song back when i was at school myself and Have to say I think its great that there was so much variety in the charts back then. I have to hand in to the choir they were great and well done to the lead singer where ever she is now not easy to be in that position at a young age.

OMG!the first ever song i had bought 4 me aged 5.the equally sad thing is that i knew all the words 2 this and the b side,lollipops and skipping ropes!

this song cute part of my memories of growing up

Anyone watching this in 2024?

This is one of those songs that one does not want to admit to quite liking .

omg this was the 1st record i brought when i was a kid about 6 !! lol with my pound pocket money !

I'm only a poor little fairy, stuck on top of the Christmas tree. On came the lights, bang went my tights...

I always loved School Choirs' on Top of the Pops .

They sang those very words at my old junior school in Wales.

IVE SPENT THE LAST 10 MINUTES LAUGHING AT THIS WHAT THE HELL

I was four when this was released!!! Played it (and the B-side of 'Lollipops and Skipping-ropes) incessantly. Still have the vinyl somewhere

I remember this single, and recently saw it on a BBC4 repeat of Top of the Pops 1979 the evening of Friday 7 November (shown on BBC4 7 Nov 2014 00:30 - 01:05; original broadcast date 1 Nov 1979). Watching this song again on that particular edition brought back fond memories. Just for the record, I'm 43 now, and was just 8 when that particular edition of TOTP was first televised on 1 Nov 1979. Thus at the time I must have been about the same age as the children in The Ramblers.

A breath of fresh air, so sweet,

i love this, heard eric bristoe singing on a celebrity last night :)

She's only a poor sedated big girl. What a great song to die on!

It's true that our generation was less spoiled. I remember getting excited if Donald Duck came on tv once a week. Now my kids refuse to watch anything except the latest downloads and new releases. They go to the cinema once a week whereas I would be lucky to go twice a year. I didn't know what Mcd's was...how things have changed.We have become old..

A hard rock classic.

I remember this song from when I was a kid.

I'm the same age, I don't think Tv was any better in the 70's. In fact a lot of it was quite poor but we demanded much less i think. Rentaghost, Jackanory, Magpie..etc. if you watched it now you'll be amazed how sophisticated kids TV has become since the 1970's. I agree that radio and the charts were more relevant and more original as music was much richer, especially from the last 70's/80's. Food was bad. Heinz spaghetti and fish fingers was about as exciting as it got for us.

Gawd I remember this, and now I will have nightmares for weeks (LOL). Still Thanks for posting such a classic? Agree with most of the comments left here.

I am 64 and yes it is true, we had the best times and no one since has had our freedom to play. We had balls, bats in our hands not gameboys. We climbed trees and chased each other now days the most excersize they get is changing the TV channel or twiddling their fingers on game machines.

I'd love to know the back story to this. How did a school find themselves with EMI, and a record deal? Was it their music teacher? From kids to a chart hit is a BIG leap.

Now I've heard everything

This was one of my brother's favourites

@kayteepotatiiee yeas i agree, i'm afraid you sadly missed out, the 70's were a great time to grow up in, i'm 42 now and i still think back to those great times, when music and tv was good, not like it is now.

Darn those sarcastic BULLIES behind her.

I thought it was "I'm only a poor little Ewin', JR keeps pickin' on me, the baby's a punk, Sue Ellen's a drunk and Bobby came out of the sea!"

Love love love!! ❤️❤️❤️

OMG! my cousin is on here!!!

@davemckiernan OMG bring it all back lol I also starting singing in my head Im only a poor little Ewin!!! You know you could always re release this with the Ewin words, especially with Dallas being re- filmed. Thanks for the memory.

School children from various Schools are always very good on Top of the Pops

We sang this in our Primary school play I sang the line I once had a boyfriend called Bertie lol 🤣🤣🤣

LOL you could not get British kids to do anything like this without looking thoroughly embarrassed and uncomfortable. They freeze up when you put a camera on them and look all awkward and perform robotically without any expression.

Used to love this

Play Up Pompey!!!!!!! He’s Only A Poor Little Scummmer!!!!!!!!!! We Hate Scummers!!!!!! BLUE ARMY💙💙💙💙💙

the type of thing teachers forced us to sing at school at gunpoint

Delightful.

re: mistofoles and Sazzied2: the parody of this by the Barron Knights went (to the best of my knowledge) like this: "I'm only a poor little fairy, Stuck on the top of a tree, They switched on the lights, And bang went my tights, And my legs fell off 1,2,3 (1,2,3). A good Christmas themed variation of it, but nonetheless I prefer the original song "The Sparrow" by The Ramblers.

Brilliant song

Poor little sparrow

My surname rhymes with Sparrow, this was in the charts when was about 9 or 10, guess what my schoolfriend's were singing to me....

at last have been waitin for the day when this ever came on youtube cheers

I'm only a poor little Ewing ! Jr keeps on picking on me ! Sue Ellen gets drunk ! Her Baby's a punk & Bobby lives under the sea ! Greetings to all the kids of the 70's. Oh Britannia !

My lullaby as a baby and ten years later my sisters now 30 years later after being mine it’s now my daughters

He’s Only A Poor Little Scummer!

wish i was alive for this. unfortunately i was born in 1996.

a version was sung about the character j. r. ewing from the programme dallas!

We really were fucking starved for entertainment in days of yore.

This was also known as the Lucy Ewing song I'm just a poor little Ewing JR keeps picking on me Sue Ellen's a drunk The baby's a punk And Bobby came out of the sea.

How many football song did this inspire?

Was Sir Jimmy there? 🤸

if anyone owned this record back then im about to upload the b side to this called lollipops and skipping ropes by this group

yea was in that ramblers on granada reports has anyone got a copy of it to post on here been looking for ages oh the memories

He's only a poor little Munich (Bastard) His face is all tattered and torn He asked for a fight So I set him alight Now he don't ask anymore.

Presumably, Bertie was blind..

I wounder where the lead singer is now?

@goodluckwidthat Haha, you're welcome! I actually found a tape of me singing that song back then with a squeeky voice lol! I think a re-release is definitely in order, but not my tape LOL!

The Duggars when they were kids!

How could Chelsea fans in the 80's ruin this lovely song by changing the words and implying that whilst standing on the Shelf I would consume some ale and not get one for my friend????

My grandad sings this to me + I am only 9

Back in those days you could presumably get charisma extraction on the NHS.....

Check out Baron Knights Christmas party for comical version.

Look for Never mind the presents by the Barron Knights

Dividing up royalties among this group must’ve been a challenge. But at least lead singer Lena Dunham went on to a solo career.

YEUCH!

No wonder I know this song, its from 1979 hahah

@anstonian Cos they weren't really playing!

wonder if they ever did an album?? lol

Bloody appalling...."That's right!"

yes they most certainly did haha

i once had a boyfiend called bertie: yeh right

The jerks called the high sparrow No colourful clothing has he He's a creepy old git And cousin Lancel's a shit They'll die at the hands of Cersei

Why were they no close ups of the Guitarists?. My sisters best friend was one of them, they must have been so dissopointed. poor souls. She now hates anyone mentioning her claim to fame, now she's grown up. LOL .

When someone says did u lose your V Card bro 2:01

I forgot how shit that song was! Lucky dlt was hosting that night......

He's only a poor little Munich His clothes are all tattered and torn He asked for a fight So I set him alight Now he don't ask anymore

Eric brought me here too

if your after the b side to this its on youtube now from myself bigdave 6777

I totally agree with you when you said radio one was actually good, back in the 70's it certainly was, the great DJ's like , tony Blackburn, Jimmy saville, noel edmunds and Dave lee travis, today its dreadful, with some DJ's ive not even heard of, or the ones i do know i cant stand, like chris eveans and chris moyles!, and the dreadful music they play now, well, a lot of them ive not heard of!

I remember this, I've managed to blot it out all these years. Utter shite.

Excuse me , did she say "He gave me all of his meths ??"

He’s Only A Poor Little Scummer, His Face Is All Tattered And Torn, He Made Me Feel Sick! So I Hit Him With A Brick! And Now He Don’t Sing Anymore.

2:01

Eric brought me here

that haircut doesn't flatter.....

Hope Jimmy saville was not doing top of the pop that night

Aw nice one for putting this...i was just singing it and found it...im now torturing the kids and wife with it in morning...defo gonna be me annoying alarm clock

shes very static

"I know - let's put the ugliest kid we can find at the front. Yes, that girl with the lantern jaw and the eyes too close together. She'll do."

This is a granny song haha yo mom

Truely dreadful, remember it, and as the machman says.....