Monday Music: They're Changing Guard at Buckingham Palace

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
We looked for the King, but he never came.
"Well, God take care of him, all the same,"
                                     Says Alice.

I read the poem, “Buckingham Palace,” when I was a child. It was in a collection by A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young. We had that book along with all of the Winnie the Pooh volumes. The poem was published in 1924. Child actress Ann Stephens was the first to record the song (music written by Harold Fraser-Simson) in 1941.

Petula Clark recorded a lovely version of the song in 1953. The words of the song were changed since there was by then a queen on the throne rather than a king. Max Bygraves recorded the song in 1959. His version became well known to American children with its frequent airing on the children’s TV show, Captain Kangaroo.

I wanted to bring all three versions today, beginning with the original recording since, along with the changing of the guard, there is once again a king on the British throne (may God take care of him, all the same).

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