Title-page (f. i): 'Friday Afternoons / A Dozen School Songs', with Britten's signature.
Autograph music manuscript. The volume contains the following songs (numbered in red crayon), scored mainly for voice and piano:
I. 'Be-gone dull care!' (f. 1-1v). Words anonymous. Scored in pencil, initialled 'BB' at the beginning and end of the manuscript, and dated 'July 30th 1935'.
II. 'A Tragic Story' (ff. 2-3). Words, William Makepeace Thackeray. Scored in pencil, signed at the beginning and end of the manuscript, and dated 'Nov. 13th 1933'.
III. 'Cuckoo!' (f. 4-4v). Words, Jane Taylor. For 2 voices, ad lib, and piano. Scored in pencil, signed at the beginning and end of the manuscript, and dated 'Nov. 11th 1933'.
IV. 'Ee-Oh' (ff. 5-6v). Words anonymous. Scored in pencil, signed at the beginning and end of the manuscript, and dated 'Dec. 19th-20th 1933'.
V. 'A New Year Carol' (f. 7). Words anonymous. Scored in pencil, signed at the beginning of the manuscript, and dated 'May 15th 1934'.
Folio 7v is an untitled manuscript fragment.
VI. 'I mun be married a Sunday' (f. 8-9v). Words, Nicholas Udall. Scored in pencil, signed at the beginning and end of the manuscript, and dated 'Nov. 2nd 1933'.
VII. 'There was a man of Newington' (f. 10). Words anonymous. Scored in pencil, signed at the head of the manuscript and initialled and dated at the end 'May 11th 1934'.
VIII. 'Angler's Song' (f. 11-11v). Words, Izaak Walton. Scored in pencil, without signature or date.
IX. 'The Useful Plough' (f. 12-12v). Words anonymous. Scored in pencil, signed at the beginning and end of the manuscript, and dated 'May 14th 1934'.
X. 'Jazz-Man' (f. 13-13v). Words, Eleanor Farjeon. Scored in pencil, signed at the beginning of the manuscript, and dated 'Nov. 15th 1933 rewritten [obscure]'.
XI. 'There was a monkey' (ff. 14-15). Words anonymous. Scored in pencil, without signature or date.
XII. 'Old Abram Brown' (ff. 16-18). Words anonymous. Scored in pencil, signed at the beginning and end of the manuscript, and dated 'Nov. 27th 1933'.
Folios 19-32 contain additional scored passages (in pencil, unless indicated) and another song ('Lone Dog'), as follows:
- 'Friday Afternoons No. 1' (ff. 19, 20, 20v).
- 'Friday Afternoons No. 3' (ff. 21-22).
- 'Friday Afternoons No. 8' (f. 22v).
- 'Friday Afternoons No. 3' (f. 23).
- 'Friday Afternoons No. 12' (f. 23v).
- 'Friday Afternoons No. 4' (f. 24).
- 'Friday Afternoons No. 7' (f. 25, upper portion).
- 'Friday Afternoons No. 9' (f. 25, lower portion).
- Passage without title (f. 25v).
- 'Friday Afternoons No. 8' (ff. 26, 27).
- 'Friday Afternoons No. 10 (f. 27v).
- 'Lone Dog (J. R. McLeod)', poem in typescript, with correction in pencil ('Irene') to poet's name (f. 28).
- 'No. 10 "Lone Dog"' (ff. 29-30). Scored in pencil, signed at the beginning and end of the manuscript, and dated 'Nov. 10th 1933'.
- 'Lone Dog' (ff. 31-32). Scored in ink, signed at the start of the manuscript. With correct attribution of text ('I. R. McLeod'). Not dated.
First complete broadcast: 18 May 1949 (BBC Home Service).