Republic of Singapore Navy | The Navy Song “Onwards and Upwards”

The Navy Song encapsulates the spirit of our men and women, and pays tribute to our people’s fighting spirit in overcoming odds and striving on to victory.

First penned in 1974, it has undergone several changes over the years to reflect the sentiment and circumstance of the times.

It was first written as a two-stanza Midshipman song by our first batch of locally-trained midshipmen, capturing their aspirations of our early Navy, reflecting on our Navy’s humble beginnings, and urging us to keep moving onwards and upwards in the service of our nation.

When it was first written, there were not many females serving in the Navy, and there were only three Services in the SAF. A third stanza was added in 1989 by then-COL Teo Chee Hean, who was Chief of Staff – Naval Staff and Director of the Joint Operations and Planning Directorate. He felt that the fledgling navy had arrived at a point where it was writing a new chapter in its history, and the new stanza reflected the growth and maturity in naval operations, which required us to work with and integrate with the Army and the RSAF as an integrated force and to bring to bear, the strengths of the RSAF and the Army in the maritime domain.

Since then, the SAF, and our Navy, have made much progress and undertaken significant strides to ensure inclusivity and equality, while transforming itself to remain relevant today and tomorrow.

Our female service personnel today stand alongside their male counterparts in defending our everyday, and the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) was officially inaugurated as the SAF’s fourth Service in Oct 2022.

On 5th May 2023, the 56th Anniversary of the Navy, we launched this latest version of our Navy Song with refreshed lyrics, which come at a timely and appropriate juncture to ensure that our song continues to embody the ethos and values of Navy.
Today, the Navy Song continues to be a stirring reminder of the Navy’s character, spirit and purpose, and a song that we can all collectively take pride in singing.

This is our Navy, this is our song.