The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #93356   Message #1795456
Posted By: An Buachaill Caol Dubh
28-Jul-06 - 11:00 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Welcome Napoleon to Erin
Subject: RE: 'Erin the Green' & Napoleon Song
Incidentally (2), in one of the "Napoleon" songs already listed in Mudcat, "Napoleon's Dream", there's a line about

"On the fields of Marien, lo!, ....."

which is surely a mis-hearing for

"On the fields of Marengo...."

Marengo being the battle in Northern Italy (1800) which finally settled the Austrians and which gave rise to "Chicken Marengo"
(Boney's cook had to concoct something quickly that evening, and to a chicken which was obviously a particularly scrawny one he added a crayfish and some vegetables. General Bonaparte complimented him, saying "You must feed me thus after every battle". Unfortunately, the cook was rather literal-minded, and for the next decade Napoleon grew increasingly sick of chicken and crayfish....)