User:Cresby Brown: Difference between revisions

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Military recruiting song thought to be from the Boer War era.  Collected at the Putley Folk Festival 1992
Military recruiting song thought to be from the Boer War era.  Collected at the Putley Folk Festival 1992


Now old England she needs soldiers & I hope you’ll all reply
 
She needs you in the service for to conquer or to die
verse    Now old England she needs soldiers & I hope you’ll all reply
She needs you in the service for to join the jolly crew
        She needs you in the service for to conquer or to die
& these were the regiments that were present at Waterloo
        She needs you in the service for to join the jolly crew
        & these were the regiments that were present at Waterloo


ch  there were the Light Guards & Cavalry, Mallitia men & volunteers,  
ch  there were the Light Guards & Cavalry, Mallitia men & volunteers,  
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     the Hundred & Ninth Malitia and the Royal Artiliary
     the Hundred & Ninth Malitia and the Royal Artiliary


they sent us out to Egypt in the year of eighty four they
verse    they sent us out to Egypt in the year of eighty four they
sent us out to Egypt where the mighty cannons roar with
        sent us out to Egypt where the mighty cannons roar with
General Gordon we did go when there he met his fate &
        General Gordon we did go when there he met his fate &
these were the regiments arrived there an ace too late
        these were the regiments arrived there an ace too late
 


Other verses referred to uniforms, red gold and black possibly. Though these were not remembered by Joe Latter.
Other verses referred to uniforms, red gold and black possibly. Though these were not remembered by Joe Latter.
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version.  Video of Joe singing this more recently has been obtained.
version.  Video of Joe singing this more recently has been obtained.


In the tradition of Sabine Baring-Gould this song was deemed too good to be so short.  A modern extension can be seen on http://cresby.com. ("Cresby's Songs" page)
In the tradition of Sabine Baring-Gould this song was deemed too good to be so short.  A modern extension can be seen on '''Mr Red's Mid West'''[http://cresby.com] ("Cresby's Songs" page)


Cresby Brown.
Cresby Brown.
text also found on '''Mr Red's Mid West'''[http://cresby.com]

Revision as of 22:41, 9 March 2007

Old England She Needs Soldiers

Military recruiting song thought to be from the Boer War era. Collected at the Putley Folk Festival 1992


verse Now old England she needs soldiers & I hope you’ll all reply

        She needs you in the service for to conquer or to die
        She needs you in the service for to join the jolly crew
        & these were the regiments that were present at Waterloo

ch there were the Light Guards & Cavalry, Mallitia men & volunteers,

   Queens Bays, Scots Greys, some of our Infantry.
   the Royal Marines, the Engineers, the Coldstream Guards, the Fuselliers, 
   the Hundred & Ninth Malitia and the Royal Artiliary

verse they sent us out to Egypt in the year of eighty four they

        sent us out to Egypt where the mighty cannons roar with
        General Gordon we did go when there he met his fate &
        these were the regiments arrived there an ace too late


Other verses referred to uniforms, red gold and black possibly. Though these were not remembered by Joe Latter.

From the singing of Joe Latter at Putley Folk Festival 1992. Joe learned it in 1940 while Joe was evacuated during WW2. Learned from Alice Marsden (then aprox age 50, born in Derbyshire) of West Chiltington, Sussex, The content and chronology led us to believe this is a Boer War recruiting song. Or perhaps a Music Hall satire thereof. When singing this in a club, one man recalled his grandfather, great Uncle and Father used to sing it (in his youth). Sadly he reported "Oh, I only remember the feel of the song and those last two words of the chorus, but it was that song.....".

Roy Palmer felt the tune was a derivative of “the Ball of Kirriemuir”. The Bodleain Library and especially it's music department were unable to help. By Feb 1998 Roy happened across a reference to what was clearly a younger sibling &/or descendant of “Old England...”:

The infantry went over the top, the Fuseliers as well As we engaged the Gerry at the battle of Neuchâtel ............ .............. For there were the RC's, C of E's, Chinese and Japanese Siamese and Portuguese and some of the infantry There were the bombadiers and brigadiers and Mademoiselle from Armentièrs Some of the Irish Rifles and the Royal Artillery.

(from a pre-WWII Territorial; learned from an old Sweat Instructor.)

The tenor and references to various groups makes one think immediately of a later age than Joe Latter's version. Video of Joe singing this more recently has been obtained.

In the tradition of Sabine Baring-Gould this song was deemed too good to be so short. A modern extension can be seen on Mr Red's Mid West[1] ("Cresby's Songs" page)

Cresby Brown.