Lyr Req: Old England She Needs Soldiers

12 Feb 01 - 02:41 PM (#396503)
Subject: Old England She Needs Soldiers
From: GUEST,[e-mail]

collected from a Uk folksinger who learned it in 1940 from a lady in her 50's. Probably a Boer War recruiting song or Music Hall Song. CHORUS - There were the light guard, cavalry, militia men & volunteers, Queens Bays, Scots greys, some of our infantry, The Royal Marine, the Engineers, The Coldstream Guards, the Fusiliers, One Hundred & Ninth Milia and the Royal Artiliary.

The Music room at the Bodlean Library couldn't help. Expert Roy Palmer - author of the book "What a lovely War" eventually came up with a derivative chorus dating from probably the interwar years but hadn't really seen the song. He judged the tune to be a close cousin of the "Ball of Kirremuir". I reckon a distant cousin. Its a crackin song.

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08 Mar 02 - 11:03 PM (#665534)
Subject: Lyr Add: OLD ENGLAND SHE NEEDS SOLDIERS
From: masato sakurai

OLD ENGLAND SHE NEEDS SOLDIERS

Now old England she needs soldiers and I hope you'll all reply
She needs you in the service for to conquer or to die
She needs you in the service for to join the jolly crew
And these were the regiments that were present at Waterloo

CHORUS:
There were the light Guards and Cavalry, Mallitia[sic] men and volunteers
Queens Bays, Scots Greys, some of our Infantry
The Royal Marines, the Engineers, the Coldstream guards, the Fuselliers[sic],
The Hundred & Ninth Malitia and the Royal Artilliary.

They dressed us in uniform of red and gold and black
They dressed us up in uniform, a knapsack on our back.
We marched right off to Africa, and we looked mighty swell
And these were thr regiments from which the soldiers fell: CHORUS

We won the fight, we won the war, we won the bloody lot.
We won the fight, well some of us did, those that didn't get shot.
The lucky ones left standing, they raised the Uniuon Jack
And these were the regiments that almost made back: CHORUS

When we get back to Blighty, still in battle dress,
When we got back to Blighty, we saw the officers mess.
Recruiting seargeant he was there and us he did inspect.
And these were the regiments that almost wrang his neck: CHORUS

CHORUS

SOURCE: HERE (pdf. file; with music).

~Masato

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09 Mar 02 - 02:06 PM (#665815)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old England She Needs Soldiers
From: Mr Red

Now I know how Ewan McColl felt when he was sung a "trad" song, one of his!
masato sakurai
I have to come clean - it is my web site!
This was my first post. I got cookied since
Thanks. All other ideas sought.
For the record the last three verses are mine, it is the chorus & first two verses that I collected.
Is my spelling that bad?

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19 Sep 02 - 06:08 PM (#787770)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Old England She Needs Soldiers
From: Mr Red

Just an update on the situation.
1) I met-up with Joe Latter (my source) and now have a video of him singing the first two verses.
2) whenever I sing in sessions or clubs I ask for information - except one night when a guy came up and told me his father grandfather and greatuncle all used to sing this. "Gimme" says I. "Oh I only reconised the tune the tone and the 'Royal Artillery' in the chorus"!!!
still - that is one more leg on the stool.

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