"We All Stand Together" (sometimes referred to as the Frog Song or the Frog Chorus) is a song by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and the Frog Chorus.

History

"We All Stand Together" is from the

animated film Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

'' Rupert and the Frog Song'' and reached number three in the UK Singles Chart in 1984. The "Frog Chorus" backing on the song was provided by The King's Singers and the choir of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. The B-side of the single contains a "

Humming A hum ( /hʌm/ ) Latin: murmur, The sound of giraffes humming () is a sound made by producing a wordless tone with the mouth closed, forcing the sound to emerge from the nose. To hum is to produce such a sound, often with a melody. It is also ...

Version" of the song performed by the Finchley Frogettes. The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 1985, one of three hits to do so that had originally charted in December 1984. ("

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

" by Band Aid and "

Last Christmas "Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!. Written and produced by George Michael, it was released on 3 December 1984 via CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side via Epic Records with " Everything She Wants" in several Eur ...

" by

Wham! Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...

were the other two.)

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...

performed the song on '' Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice'', his satire of TV talent shows. Although intended purely as a children's song in the mould of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' " Yellow Submarine", "We All Stand Together" is sometimes derided as an example of McCartney's inconsequential songwriting by his critics. In a satirical cartoon by Stephen Collins of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in 2012, McCartney is shown recalling his creative partnership with

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

in the 1960s, before concluding: "It was a great time, y'know ... And then I went on to do The Frog Song." The song is a staple of Christmas Radio in Ireland and receives much airplay on Ireland's ChristmasFM. The song receives much less airplay in Britain in recent times.

Release

Two shaped

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

s were issued on the 12 November 1984 and 1985, the only difference being a plain clear sleeve on the later version. In 1987, the song was included on the UK/Canada version of McCartney's compilation album '' All the Best!'' It also appears on the deluxe edition of his 2016 compilation album '' Pure McCartney''. In October 2020, for the 100th anniversary of the Rupert character, the single was remastered for streaming and a vinyl re-release of the picture disc, alongside a 4K restoration of the accompanying short.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Choirs with Purpose version

In 2017, Choirs with Purpose, a collection of a dozen charity choirs, assembled for a remake of "We All Stand Together". Their recording features Scottish singer Michelle McManus in a bid to top the UK Singles Chart Christmas chart and win the coveted British Christmas number one for 2017; it failed to make the top 100. Profits from the single were split equally between the participating choirs in aid of their own charity work. The choirs that took part in the recording with McManus include: *Anstee Bridge Choir *Cystic Fibrosis Virtual Choir *Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation Choir *Games Maker Choir *Homelink Carers Choir *Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir *Lucy Lintott / MND Scotland Choir *Maggies Cancer Centre (West London) Choir *Missing People Choir *Parrs Wood High School Harmony Group *Pop Up Purpose Choir *UK Hospices Choir

References

{{Authority control 1984 songs Paul McCartney songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Rupert Bear Music published by MPL Music Publishing English children's songs Songs written for films Songs about comics Song recordings produced by George Martin Parlophone singles