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Lyr ADD: The Grave of Bonaparte

29 Sep 99 - 03:47 PM (#118985)
Subject: lyr req: the grave of bonaparte
From: stu (inactive)

I am trying to find the lyrics to "The Grave of Bonaparte" off the Norman and Nancy Blake album "While Passing Along This Way."

26 Oct 07 - 09:00 PM (#2180169)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE GRAVE OF BONAPARTE
From: Jim Dixon

Lyrics and chords copied from GuitareTab.com

THE GRAVE OF BONAPARTE
Traditional, Arr. Norman & Nancy Blake
 G                                  C             D
  On a lone, barren isle, where the wild, roaring billows
                                 G            D
  Assail the stern rock and the loud tempest raves,
       G                         C            G
  The hero lies still where the dew drooping willows
        C             G             D          G
  Like fond, weeping mourners, lean over his grave
            D                           G            C
       The lightning may flash and the loud thunder rattle.
                     G                   D    A       D
       He eats not, he hears not, he's free from all pain.
            G                            C               G
       He sleeps his last sleep, he has fought his last battle.
           C          G            D     G
       No sound can awake him to glory again.
                      C            D     G
       No sound can awake him to glory again.
Oh shade of the mighty, where now are the legions
That rushed but to conquer, when thou ledst them on?
Alas, they have perished in far hilly regions,
And all, save the fame, of their triumph is gone.
    The trumpet may sound and the loud cannon rattle.
    They eat not, they hear not, they're free from all pain.
    They sleep their last sleep, they have fought their last battle.
    No sound can awake them to glory again.
    No sound can awake them to glory again.

Yet, spirit immortal, the tomb cannot bind thee.
For like thine own eagle, that soared to the Sun,
Thou springest from bondage, and leavest behind thee,
A name which, before thee, no mortal had won.
    Tho' nations may combat, and war's thunder rattle,
    No more on thy steed wilt thou sweep o'er the plain.
    Thou sleep'st thy last sleep, thou hast fought thy last battle.
    No sound can awake thee to glory again.
    No sound can awake thee to glory again.

18 Jul 23 - 11:10 AM (#4177172)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Grave of Bonaparte
From: GUEST,JimLucas

Leafing through a bound collection of old piano sheet music (how old? one piece is "Princess Victoria's March"), I discovered a piece that had lyrics. It's titled "The Grave of Bonaparte". "A song as performed at the Principal Concerts of the Hutchinson Family. Music by L. Heath. Entered according to Act of Congress A.D. 1843 by Oliver Ditson in the Clerks Office of the District Court of Mass."

I wondered if I might have found something that wasn't yet in Mudcat. A quick search gave me the answer... nope. Interesting!

Then after reading this thread, I looked up the Norman and Nancy Blake recording and noted two things: 1) They sing it with what I think of as traditional Southern Appalachian two-part harmony, while my sheet music is for one voice (the same melody) with a piano accompaniment in quite a different style. 2) My sheet music has only two verses, essentially identical to their first and third, but is missing their middle one.

They also label the song as "traditional", which seems likely to be how they learned it. And so I'm curious as to where they did learn it... and who added the middle verse.

18 Jul 23 - 11:31 AM (#4177177)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Grave of Bonaparte
From: Lighter

All three stanzas appear with music in Helen Hendrik Johnson et. all, "The World's Best Music" (1899), II, pp. 569-571.

A lengthy note observes:

"Henry S. Washburn, who wrote the words of this song, is a native of Plymouth, Mass. He was educated at Brown University, and went into business in Worcester, and afterwards at [sic] East Boston, as a manufacturer of wire. He has been a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and now resides in Boston.

"Lyman Heath, composer of the music, was born in Bow, New Hampshire, August 24, 1804, and was a noted vocalist and composer. He died in Nashua, which had been his home for thirty-five years, June 30, 1870."

Further research reveals that the lyrics appeared anonymously, under the title "Napoleon," in the Philadelphia "Daily Pennsylvanian" in November, 1837.

Napoleon died in exile in 1821.

18 Jul 23 - 01:56 PM (#4177190)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Grave of Bonaparte
From: Lighter

Just to be clear, the 1837 version includes all three stanzas.

21 Jul 23 - 03:31 AM (#4177329)
Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Grave of Bonaparte
From: leeneia

Wikipedia has this to say on how many people died because of Napolean's wars:

"Civilian deaths are impossible to accurately estimate. While military deaths are invariably put at between 2.5 million and 3.5 million, civilian death tolls vary from 750,000 to 3 million. Thus estimates of total dead, both military and civilian, range from 3,250,000 to 6,500,000."

It's a funny thing. If a man kills ten people, he's a perverted serial killer, but if he kills thousands, he's a great leader.

23 Jul 23 - 08:11 AM (#4177497)
Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Grave of Bonaparte
From: MaJoC the Filk

.... or if he kills people by the million, he gets the Nobel Peace Prize.