German pupils to sing Weston-super-Mare song
Thousands of German schoolchildren are to sing about Weston-super-Mare as part of their English language course.
A song, which celebrates the "best pier in the land, miles of beach and golden sand", was written by Paul Hobbs in 2011 to promote the Somerset resort.
Two years after it went on YouTube, Mr Hobbs has been contacted by a German publisher wanting to include it in thousands of textbooks and CDs.
Mr Hobbs, said: "It's come out the blue really - I was quite astounded."
The song - It's Summer; Welcome to Weston-super-Mare - is an anthem to the seaside town's Grand Pier, big wheel, beach and donkeys.
'So much to do'
Four minutes long, it was written by the 63-year-old as the seaside resort was emerging from a "bit of a lean period".
"The pier had just opened and all the front and the promenade and I thought it was a good time to make a personal contribution to try and enhance that," he said.
"I just wanted to give the town something in terms of a promotion."
With lyrics such as "Weston offers so much to do - the big wheel is a must for you", it was featured on council websites and a number of tourist information websites.
The song's appearance on YouTube caught the eye of German publisher Cornelsen Schulverlage, which publishes English course books for German schools.
Now the song is to be featured on 5,000 CDs to accompany between 100,000 and 500,000 textbooks, teaching German schoolchildren about the British seaside.
Stefan Hohne, from Cornelsen Schulverlage, said: "We are working on an English textbook for beginners - aged 10 to 11 - set in Plymouth.
"And we wanted a really nice song with easy lyrics to show what a typical British seaside town looks like and feels like.
"My colleague found this song on YouTube - it's lyrics are very nice, it's catchy and happy."
According to Mr Hohne, Cornelsen Schulverlage supplies almost 60% of grammar schools in Germany and when the textbook is published in 2014 it will make Weston-super-Mare famous.
"We featured Bristol in a textbook and we were told that many German schools went to Bristol to explore the locations in the book," he said.
"And the books are used for three to four years so we think Weston-super-Mare will become famous here too."