Frank Harte & Donal Lunny released a CD entitled 'My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte' a year or so ago. One of the songs is entitled;


Eighteenth of June.

All you people who live at home easy
And far from the trials of war
Never knowing the dangers of battle
But are safe with your families secure
Know you the long scythe of destruction
Has been sweeping the nations all round
But it never yet cut with the keenness
That it did on the eighteenth of June

CHORUS: And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of the crown
And to canter from Brussels to Paris
Lamenting the eighteenth of June.

It began about five in the morning
And it lasted till seven at night
All the people stood round in amazement
They had never yet seen such a sight
And the thunder of five hundred cannon
Proclaimed that the battle was on
And the moon in the sky overshone all
Recording the eighteenth of June.

chorus

All you young girls with sweethearts out yonder
That go daily to buy the black gown
It's one thousand to one I will lay you
Your love fell on the eighteenth of June
Sixty thousand stout-hearted brave soldiers
who died made an awful pall tune
And there's many's the one will remember
With sorrow the eighteenth of June.

And what a sad heart had poor Boney
For to take up instead of his crown
And there's many's the girl will remember
With sorrow the eighteenth of June.


In his notes Frank comments that the song was collected in England from Henry Burstow and that Frank himself learned the song from Rod Stradling.

I am interested in variations and alternative or additional verses for this song, The air/tune is similar to the Irish tune/song
'An Cailín Deas Cruite Na mBo'
Regards
Fergus