Origins: Song heard as a child: Free State Army

Subject: Origins: Song heard as a child
From: beachcomber
Date: 26 Mar 19 - 07:47 PM

A song that I heard on an old 78rpm record when I was very young,(C 1940s) came fleetingly to my memory just lately as I watched Pathe Newsreel footage of the Irish Civil War, online. The only words that I can now remember go ......
"I'm in the Free State Army now,
The Volunteer Reserve,
Oh may the saints preserve
the country that we serve "
I wonder if any mudcatters, particularly Irish ones I suppose, rem hearing it or, better still, can furnish the entire song. I remember the tune but, unfortunately, am unable to post any kind of a sound track.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Mar 19 - 02:23 AM

I tried googling this, but all that appeared was a recruitment ad for the U.S. Army.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: BobL
Date: 27 Mar 19 - 03:36 AM

Most armies - in civilised countries at least - are child-free.
Sometimes punctuational pedantry is there for a reason.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: Mrrzy
Date: 27 Mar 19 - 10:37 AM

Maybe it was a jingle.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: Mrrzy
Date: 27 Mar 19 - 10:38 AM

Ooh, a jingoist jingle?

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 27 Mar 19 - 07:04 PM

The "Volunteer Reserve" tag dates it very narrowly to late 1920's - early '30's. Check out. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Reserve_(Ireland)

Have never heard/seen it as a song. Will make enquiries.

Regards

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Mar 19 - 01:52 AM

Aw, Bob, gimme a break. I wanted to add something to the thread title to apply it to the song itself, but I only had so many spaces to work with.
Joe Offer, Mudcat Music Editor-

---

OK, OK, it's the fourth of April now, and I think I've come up with a thread title that may be more acceptable to the wags. Song heard as a child: Free State Army
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 30 Mar 19 - 01:37 PM

"Maybe it was a jingle"
Plenty of them around - and not just jingoistic
An Irish carpenter I was working with once heard me singing and asked me - "Have you heard this one:

"What's the News, what's the news
DeValera's sold his shoes,
To buy ammunition for his men"

Straight from the Irish Civil War probably
Jim

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: beachcomber
Date: 01 Apr 19 - 02:05 PM

Thanks Martin [ and to Joe of course, for an utterly confusing addition to the thread title. :-) ]
It was a record , no "jingle", and had been in the family record collection long before I was born. Unfortunately I cannot recall the name of the Artiste who sang.
The Irish Civil War was from June 1922 to April 1923 officially. I doubt that the record was made much before 1924.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 02 Apr 19 - 11:24 AM

beachcomber

My guess is that it would have been recorded in the late 20's, with the Volunteer Reserve well established and before the first Fianna Fail government came to power. The language, even in the short extract you remember, is rather formal. The alternative is that it was a piss-take but I doubt it.

Your best hope is probably that it was also in print somewhere. I'll try the ITMA (Irish Traditional Music Archive) online database but suspect an ex-army Comrades group might be more productive!

Regars

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: beachcomber
Date: 02 Apr 19 - 01:16 PM

Martin, thanks very much for your help, however,I thought that the Volunteer Reserve was a force that was raised by deValera, to counter the "Blueshirts" C 1936/7 ?
That's why I was attempting to get more information about the song .

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 02 Apr 19 - 03:12 PM

That was certainly not my understanding, based on the Wikipedia link I gave earlier and the references therein. The reserve went through several name changes over that period, which complicates matters.

If I have a chance to call in to ITMA over the next while, I’ll see if they can put a finger on any likely recording of that period. Have you any recollection of even part of the title?

Regards

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child-Free State Army
From: beachcomber
Date: 03 Apr 19 - 12:06 PM

Just so that you know that I'm not merely wasting your precious time Martin, I am revising my book (pub 2013) on the Civil War in Co. Waterford. I was trying to ascertain if that song had any popularity during that era, or in the aftermath. I know that my own father was in the Volunteer Reserve, I have his docs, dated in the 1930s.
I'm afraid that I cannot remember what the title was except to say that it probably was a, slightly, comic song, and I believe that the record may have been issued by the Columbia Label (Purple in colour) ? There was the other side of the disc that might have had a little "sketch" about a character called "Casey" on it. We also had a few other records with sketches about "Casey" all by the same artiste. I don't know if that is any help ? That's all I can remember.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child: Free State Army
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 03 Apr 19 - 01:48 PM

See this wikipedia article on Russell Hunting, who recorded sketches about Michael Casey on Columbia.

Mick

Subject: RE: Origins: Song heard as a child: Free State Army
From: beachcomber
Date: 04 Apr 19 - 12:06 PM

Phew ! ... isn't it a marvellous feeling to have one's childhood memories validated.
My maiden grandaunt gave me her record collection when I was about nine or ten and it is long gone now. However, I do rem the "Casey" sketches (I think one was "Casey in the Court " ?) I'm perfectly sure however that her collection did not include any of Mr Hunting's more questionable material :-)
I would accept that the records that I remember would probably have been by imitators of his work and style.