Lyr Add: The Men They Stand and Stay

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MEN THEY STAND AND STAY
From: GUEST,Scurra
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 04:29 PM

This one appears to be to the tune of "High Germany", with a chorus tune (I'll see if I can create a MIDI file). It appears to have originated in the early 19th century, during the Peninsular Wars, fought by the British (and Irish) against the French in Spain and Portugal. The song describes a girl who decides to follow her love to war, and endures the hardships of soldiering as well as any man.

~          ~          ~

"I'm off to fight in Spain, my dear
So mind you stay at home
Poor timid girl, you've nought to fear
For a maiden should not roam:
'Tis the men who always stand and fight
Their courage wins the day
While the women shake and squeal with fright
And they always run away."


CHORUS
Yes the women run away, my lads
While the men they stand and stay
for to be a soldier is to be a man
And it's always been that way.


As off to Spain my dear one set
I bound up tight my hair
And I donned the boots and jacket
And soldier's clothes did wear
And upon my head my hat I wore
With a rifle in my hand
And I left as my love had done before
To fight in the Spanish lands.


Yes the women run away, my lads
While the men they stand and stay
For to be a soldier is to be a man
And it's always been that way.


Oh, many battles I did see
And man-to-man did fight
While countless men around me
Would turn and run in fright
In a soldier's laugh you'll hear his fear
And you'll see his shaking hands
For the men are not all they appear
When they fight in the Spanish lands.


Do the women run away, my lads
While the men they stand and stay?
Is to be a soldier to be a man
Has it always been that way?


'Twas there in Spain I caught a Frog
And had him by the throat
Then I saw he was my true love
Who'd fled, and turned his coat
I left him there and have not seen
My dearest since that day -
For all his pride and bravery
He could not stand and stay.



Do the women run away, my lads
While the men they stand and stay?
Is to be a soldier to be a man
Has it always been that way?


Now all you men of glory
Afore you talk of pride
Just think upon my story
And the rifle by my side.
For every man who'll stand and fight,
In those lands so far away,
There's a man who'll run back home in fright
And a maid who'll stand and stay.


For some men they run away, my lads
And it's always been that way
For to be a soldier's not to be a man
It's to fight and stand and stay.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Men They Stand and Stay
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 04:40 PM

Hi, Scurra -
If you can come up with a MIDI file, send it to me for posting. Note that I removed the ALLCAPS from the thread title.
-Joe Offer-
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Men They Stand and Stay
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 04:45 PM

OK - can you post sheet music on this site?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Men They Stand and Stay
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Jan 08 - 03:21 AM

If people e-mail MIDI files to me, I can post them on a separate site and link to them here.
By the way, Scurra, where did you find the song?

-Joe Offer-
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Men They Stand and Stay
From: GUEST,PMB
Date: 09 Jan 08 - 09:17 AM

Fascinating- the suggestion is that the "true love" had deserted to the French.

Many people think of the Napoleonic era as the zenith of British patriotism. Yet a significant number of jolly jack tars who fell into French or American hands - for of course we fought the Americans in the 1812 war - cheerfully enlisted under enemy colours, and were hanged by the British if recaptured.

A young Rifle Brigade officer, Harry Smith, found that one of his grimmest tasks when serving with Wellington's army in the Peninsula was to supervise the execution of British deserters found in the French ranks.
(from this Guardian article from 2005)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Men They Stand and Stay
From: GUEST,Scurra
Date: 19 Jan 08 - 11:16 AM

I can send you the music for it, Joe: not sure how to work the MIDI file thingy. As I said, the tune's the smae as High Germany (which is better-known) - but with a unique chorus tune tacked onto it.

I found it from a friend who's involved in re-enactment (primarily music) groups, and this was one I hadn't heard before. I love it!