G'day again, all,

I suppose this bit of "thread Creep" is just an example of my eclectic leanings (or weird sense of the [in]appropriate), but I can't keep looking at all these "Marlborough" references without being reminded that the first song recorded as being performed (well, whistled, anyway) in Australia ... and learned by the Aboriginal natives ... was about Marlborough.

In an encounter with a group of natives, the officer in charge is recorded as having whistled the tune known then as "Malbrooke" (or "Malbrouck" ... the French have always had trouble with the English "...ough" endings) and the natives imitated it readily. I'm sure I have read elsewhere that when the French expedition under La Perouse arrived at Botany Bay - only 6 days after the arrival of the British "First Fleet" - the British and French officers dined together and found that the only song they had in common was "Malbrooke".

That the British officers knew it seems to reflect their Royal Navy antagonism towards the Army, since the French song is not exactly friendly to their old foe. The full title is "Malbrooke S'en Va-T'en Guerre" or (roughly) "Marlborough Has Gone To the Wars".

The tune in question is more or less that used today as "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" or "The Bear Came Over The Mountain" and the words go:

Malbrooke s'en va-t'en guerre - (Marlborough has gone to the wars)
Mironton, mironton, mirontaine! (Miroton = Beef & onion stew ...?)
Malbrooke s'en va-t'en guerre ...
Ne sais quand reviendra! (Don't know when he'll be back!)
Ne sais quand reviendra!
Ne sais quand reviendra!
Malbrooke s'en va-t'en guerre
Ne sais quand reviendra!

Anyway, this has much better documented provenance than "Who'll go A'Soldiering for Marlborough" ... and probably has a claim to be our first Australian (White Fella, anyway) Folk song.

Enjoy!

Bob Bolton