Henry's Songbook

Jenkins History sits smiling in his chair
Everything he needs is waiting there
His pipe, his slippers and his cup of tea
And the cat that quickly settles on his knee

He can't believe how easily he tires
As he watches for the faces in the fire
Outside the snow is drifting round his door
Jenkins History starts gently off to snore

And the kings and queens whose lives he often traced
Slowly fade away, soon to be replaced
By the faces of the students, each young lad
Everyone of them the son he never had

Well there had been someone special long ago
Just how much he loved her she would never know
For despite his love of adjectives and verbs
He could scarcely put his feelings into words

And the kings and queens whose lives he often traced
Slowly fade away, soon to be replaced
By the faces of the students, each young lad
Everyone of them the son he never had

Jenkins History sits smiling in his chair
His eyes opened in an empty stare
When Miss Williams brings his morning cup of tea
Mister Jenkins will be part of history

(as sung by Iain MacKintosh)

[1992:] About a schoolteacher who taught history. His name was Jenkins. He was known in the village as 'Jenkins History'. (Intro Iain MacKintosh)