Eton Boating Song - Other Uses

Other Uses

In 1939 the tune (at a quicker than usual tempo) was used as the theme for the film A Yank at Eton. In the 1960s, the tune was adopted by Coventry City as their club anthem. The lyrics were rewritten by Jimmy Hill and Derrick Robbins in order to be relevant to the club, and the song is still regularly sung by City fans today. In his appearance on Inside The Actor's Studio, Hugh Laurie, an Old Etonian, sang, with great embarrassment, the first verse of the Eton Boating Song. He also dryly commented on the homoeroticism that can be read into the phrase 'With your bodies between your knees.'

The Eton Boating Song features in the 1960s television series The Prisoner, in the episodes "The Girl Who Was Death" and "Once Upon a Time".

The song appears in the 1951 comedy film The Lavender Hill Mob, sung by the school girls during the school scene.

The song features in the 1953 comedy film The Titfield Thunderbolt and the 1959 adventure film North West Frontier.

It is briefly sung by the Earl of Gurney (Peter O'Toole) during his sanity examination in the 1972 movie The Ruling Class.

A reworked version of the theme appears as the title music for the satirical 1989 horror movie Society.

In the second-to-final chapter of The Invisibles, Sir Miles Delacourt sings the song before he hangs himself from the aisles of Westminister Abbey.

During the 2010 British election the song was parodied as "The Eton Voting Song", with reference to the fact that David Cameron, Boris Johnson and other leading politicians went to Eton.

During the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, the song was briefly played during the Isles of Wonder introductory film charting the course of the River Thames, as it flows past Eton.