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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 28 Aug 09 - 08:31 PM Dick Greenhaus- "By Lake Erie's Banks we stand"- Source? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: dick greenhaus Date: 28 Aug 09 - 08:57 PM Q- Source--Burl Ives Farquhar--ca 1730. Recruiting Seargent was a ballad opera, on the order of Beggar's Opera |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: MGM·Lion Date: 28 Aug 09 - 09:54 PM In interests of accuracy: George Farquhar's play was called The Recruiting OFFICER [not'Sergeant']; it was a straight stage comedy, not a ballad opera; it was first produced in 1706, not 1730. {For additional interest, it is the play·within·the·play being produced by the Australian transports in Timberlake Wertenbaker's distinguished play of 1988, Our Country's Good, based on novel The Playmakers by the Oz novelist Thomas Keneally, later a BookerPrize·winner with Schindler's Ark [Oscar winningly filmed by Spielberg as Schindler's List.]} Versions of Over The Hills occur interpolated into Farquhar's text; At one point e.g the recruits sing "We all shall lead more happy lives By getting rid of brats and wives That scold and brawl both night and day; Over the hills and far away - Over the hills etc"[act ii sc iii]: presumably a creative reworking by Farquhar himself rather than an actual current variant of the song, but it would be hard to be sure of this. It does however I think demonstrate that this was at the time the song concerning the ongoing wars for which the officer in the play was supposedly recruiting, which Farquhar would have expected his audience to recognise as such and respond to. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: MGM·Lion Date: 28 Aug 09 - 09:56 PM ...which would have been [1706] in the reign of Queen Anne, who would therefore have been the one commanding "and we'll obey", rather than any of the Georges. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 28 Aug 09 - 10:04 PM No evidence of any version sung by the colonists. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: dick greenhaus Date: 28 Aug 09 - 10:27 PM Thnx. is there a copy of The Recruiting Officer available anywhere? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 28 Aug 09 - 10:33 PM See post by the late Bruce O. near the beginning of this thread for "The Recruiting Officer" lyrics. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: MGM·Lion Date: 28 Aug 09 - 11:42 PM I think there is an edition in print of Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer in Oxford World's Classics paperback - according to Whitaker's list of Books In Print &c. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: GUEST,Geoff Boxell Date: 14 Sep 14 - 10:45 PM My 14thC version: Over the Hills and Far Away Hark now the drums beat up again For all true archers - yeomen So let us list and march I say N' go over the hills and far away Chorus: O' the hills, and o'er the plane To Flanders, France and now to Spain Prince of Wales commands and we obey Over the hills and far away Chorus: There's forty shillings on the drum For those that volunteer to come 'Tis archers all shall win the day Over the hills and far away Chorus: Come yeomen that do have a mind To serve a King that's good and kind Come list and enter in to pay N' go over the hills and far away Chorus: When duty calls me I must go To stand and face another foe But part of me will always stray Over the hills and far away Chorus: O' the hills, and o'er the plane To Flanders, France and now to Spain Prince of Wales commands and we obey Over the hills and far away If I should fall to raise no more As many others have before Then ask the drums and pipes to play Over the hills and far away Chorus: So fall in lads behind the drum With colours blazing like the sun We'll feather the foe come what may Over the hills and far away Chorus: |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: bubblyrat Date: 15 Sep 14 - 08:49 AM I think it is "oer the PLAIN" , actually. Anyway, I recently (August) watched and listened to Bill McKinnon and my old shipmate George Wilson , performing as "Nine Mile Ride", and they confidently and , indeed,stridently , even with great conviction, sang "Queen Anne Commands " , so that is good enough for me (but then it always was !). Yours Aye ,"Bomber" Mills . |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: Lighter Date: 15 Sep 14 - 09:24 AM Shouldn't that be in Middle English? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: GUEST,SqueezeMe Date: 15 Sep 14 - 11:01 AM I first heard this song almost 50 years ago at a folk club in the West Country. Can't recall the singer (no, not Mr Tams!) What is interesting (or not) is that I can vividly recall the second line of the chorus sung as: "Through Flanders, Portingale and Spain" Presumably, "Portingale" was a corruption of "Portugal". Some years later, I became aware of the song "Fathom the Bowl", sung by a different singer, with the second verse, second line: "Sweet oranges and lemons from Portingale come" Any one else heard the word "Portingale" substituted for Portugal in song, or in any other context? There doesn't seem to be many English folk songs mentioning Portugal, which is perhaps surprising considering it was one of England's major trading partners for many years. Wonder if there are any Portuguese songs mentioning England??? Answers accompanied by a nice bottle of Quinta most welcome.... |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: GUEST,Guest Isle of Wight Date: 20 Dec 15 - 05:06 AM The Isle of Wight Rifles used "Over the Hills and Far Away", with appropriate lyrics, as their marching song but the lyrics have been lost and the regiment was "absorbed" into the Hampshire and IW Rifles following disastrous losses at Suvla Bay and Gaza 100 years ago. Folk here keeps their memory alive and if anyone can help to restore this missing link - heartfelt thanks |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: GUEST Date: 21 Dec 15 - 03:41 AM Reight! I'm goin' t' learn 't bugger. That's t' last time them smart sods ask me to sing "Over the hills and far away!" Any road, the land is flat around these parts f' bloody miles. AND Sean Bean is a Blades fan, so a' waint watch the bugger. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Over the Hills and Far Away From: GUEST,LIGHTER Date: 23 Dec 15 - 06:45 PM Chaucer in the 1300s knew the country as "Portingale." It was the usual English name for centuries. |
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