Lillibullero - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Lillibullero is a march

March (music)

A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...

that sets the words of a satirical ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

generally said to be by Lord Thomas Wharton

Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton

Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton PC was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton and his second wife, Jane Goodwin, only daughter of Colonel Arthur Goodwin of Upper Winchendon, Buckinghamshire, and heiress to the extensive Goodwin estates in...

to music attributed to Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...

. Although Purcell published Lillibullero in his compilation Music's Handmaid of 1689 as "a new Irish tune", it is probable that Purcell hijacked the tune as his own, a common practice in the musical world of the time. According to the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

, its World Service

BBC World Service

The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...

signature tune "started life as a jig with Irish roots, whose first appearance seems to be in a collection published in London in 1661 entitled 'An Antidote Against Melancholy', where it is set to the words 'There was an old man of Waltham Cross

Waltham Cross

Waltham Cross is the most southeasterly town in Hertfordshire, England. It is 12 miles from the City of London and immediately north of the M25 motorway, forming part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt. Part of Waltham Cross is located within Greater London.-Geography:It is...

'." A French version of the tune is known as the Marche du Prince d'Orange
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....

, attributed to Louis XIV's court composers Philidor the Elder and Jean-Baptiste Lully

Jean-Baptiste Lully

Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...

.

The lyrics refer to the Williamite war in Ireland

Williamite war in Ireland

The Williamite War in Ireland—also called the Jacobite War in Ireland, the Williamite-Jacobite War in Ireland and in Irish as Cogadh an Dá Rí —was a conflict between Catholic King James II and Protestant King William of Orange over who would be King of England, Scotland and Ireland...

1689-91, which arose out of the Glorious Revolution

Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...

. In this episode the Catholic King James II

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

, unsure of the loyalty of his army, fled England after an invasion by Dutch forces under the Protestant William III

William III of England

William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

. William was invited by Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

to the throne. James II then tried to reclaim the crown with the assistance of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

and his Catholic supporters in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

led by Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell. His hopes of using Ireland to reconquer England were thwarted at the Battle of the Boyne

Battle of the Boyne

The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...

in July 1690. The song Lillibullero puts words into the mouths of Irish Catholic Jacobites

Jacobitism

Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...

and satirizes their sentiments, pillorying the supporters of the Catholic King James. It was said to have ‘sung James II out of three kingdoms’. The tune seems to have been known at the time of the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

Lyrics

Ho, brother Teague, dost hear the decree?

Lillibullero bullen a la

We are to have a new deputy

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain:

Lero Lero Lillibullero

Lillibullero bullen a la

Lero Lero Lero Lero

Lillibullero bullen a la

Oh by my soul it is a Talbot

Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnel

Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell PC was an Irish royalist and Jacobite soldier.-Life:The youngest of sixteen children of Sir William Talbot, 1st Baronet, of Carton, and his wife, Alison Netterville, he was descended from an old Norman family that had settled in Leinster in the twelfth century...

Lillibullero bullen a la

And he will cut every Englishman's throat

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

Now Tyrconnell is come ashore

Lillibullero bullen a la

And we shall have commissions galore

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

And everyone that won't go to Mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

Lillibullero bullen a la

He will be turned out to look like an ass

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

Now the heretics all go down

Lillibullero bullen a la

By Christ and St Patrick's the nation's our own

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

There was an old prophecy found in a bog

Lillibullero bullen a la

The country'd be ruled by an ass and a dog

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

Now this prophecy is all come to pass

Lillibullero bullen a la

For Talbot

Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnel

's the dog and Tyrconnell's the ass

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

An explanation of the lyrics

The lyrics of the song are very closely related to Irish politics of the 1680s and '90s. "Teague" or Taig

Taig

Taig is a derogatory term for an Irish Catholic. It is mainly used by sectarian loyalists in Northern Ireland and Scotland. It has been used in sectarian slogans such as "Kill All Taigs" , "All Taigs Are Targets" and "Any Taig Will Do"...

was (and is) a derisive term for the Irish Catholics - derived from the Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

first name "Tadhg". The "new Deputy" refers to Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, who was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland

Lord Deputy of Ireland

The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...

by James II

James II of England

in 1687. The first Irishman and Roman Catholic to hold the post in nearly 200 years, he quickly filled the army in Ireland with Catholic officers (hence "we will have commissions galore") and recruits, alarming the Protestant community and raising the hopes of the Irish Catholic community for a restoration of their lands and political power ("by Christ and St Patrick, the nation's our own" - the reference may also be to Dublin's two Cathedrals: Christ Church - more properly Holy Trinity - and St Patrick's). The Catholic resurgence awakened fears amongst Irish Protestants of a massacre, similar to that which had happened in the Irish Rebellion of 1641

Irish Rebellion of 1641

The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...

.

The song parodies the widespread Irish belief in prophecy ("there was an old prophecy found in a bog, that Ireland'd be ruled by an ass and a dog"). Talbot, as well as being a name, is a breed of hound or hunting dog

Talbot (dog)

The talbot was a white hunting dog which is now extinct because of its lack of purpose and need for constant care, but it has been credited with being an ancestor of the modern beagle and bloodhound...

. A common theme of such prophecies was that the foreigners would be driven out of Ireland in some decisive battle. See the Siege of Limerick (1690)

Siege of Limerick (1690)

Limerick, a city in western Ireland, was besieged twice in the Williamite War in Ireland, 1689-1691. On the first of these occasions, in August to September 1690, its Jacobite defenders retreated to the city after their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne...

, for an example of these attitudes. The song's title and the words of the refrain have been interpreted as a garbled version of the Irish

Irish language

words Lile ba léir é, ba linn an lá, "Lilly was clear and ours was the day". The lily may be a reference to the fleur de lis of France, or to a popular interpreter of prophecies named William Lilly

William Lilly

William Lilly , was an English astrologer famed during his time. Lilly was particularly adept at interpreting the astrological charts drawn up for horary questions, as this was his speciality....

, who had prophesied in the late 16th century that a Catholic would come to the throne of England. Alternatively, the lyrics could mean, "Lilly is clear [about this], the day will be ours".
It is also thought that "Lilli" is a familiar form of William, and that bullero comes from the Irish "Buaill Léir ó", which gives: "William defeated all that remained".

The Protestant Boys

Other words have been set to the tune. Of these words, the best-known, is The Protestant Boys, an Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

Protestant

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

folk lyric

Lyrics

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

which is played by flute bands accompanying the Orange Order

Orange Institution

The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...

during Orange or band-only parades, a small minority of which have been made the subject of controversy during the Troubles

The Troubles

The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. These lyrics begin:

The Protestant Boys are loyal and true

Stout hearted in battle and stout-handed too

The Protestant Boys are true to the last

And faithful and peaceful when danger has passed

And Oh! they bear and proudly wear

The colours that floated o'er many a fray

Where cannon were flashing

And sabres were clashing

The Protestant Boys still carried the day.

Overtures from Richmond

Yet another set of lyrics set to the tune at the time of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

is attributed to the ballad scholar Francis J. Child

Francis James Child

Francis James Child was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of folk songs known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry...

, born in Boston in 1825. It is a satire on Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...

and the Confederacy

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

, and perhaps refers to the Hampton Roads Conference

Hampton Roads Conference

The Hampton Roads Conference was an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate an end to the American Civil War. On February 3, 1865, near Fort Monroe in Newport News, Virginia, aboard a ship, the River Queen, President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward, representing the United...

1. "Well, Uncle Sam," says Jefferson D.,

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam,

"You'll have to join my Confed'racy,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam.

"Lero, lero, that don't appear-o,

That don't appear," says old Uncle Sam,

"Lero, lero, filibustero,

That don't appear," says old Uncle Sam.

2. "So, Uncle Sam, just lay down your arms,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam,

"Then you shall hear my reas'nable terms,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam.

"Lero, lero, I'd like to hear-o

I'd like to hear," says old Uncle Sam,

"Lero, lero, filibustero,

I'd like to hear," says old Uncle Sam.

3. "First you must own I've beat you in a fight,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam,

"then that I always have been in the right,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam.

"Lero, lero, rather severe-o,

rather severe," says old Uncle Sam,

"Lero, lero, filibustero,

Rather severe," says old Uncle Sam.

4. "Then you must pay my national debts,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam,

"No questions asked about my assets,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam.

"Lero, lero, that's very dear-o,

That's very dear," says old Uncle Sam,

"Lero, lero, filibustero,

That's very dear," says old Uncle Sam.

5. "Also some few IOUs and bets,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam,

"Mine, and Bob Toombs

Robert Toombs

Robert Augustus Toombs was an American political leader, United States Senator from Georgia, 1st Secretary of State of the Confederacy, and a Confederate general in the Civil War.-Early life:...

', and Sidell

John Slidell

John Slidell was an American politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative and Senator...

's and Rhett

Robert Rhett

Robert Barnwell Rhett, Sr. , was a United States secessionist politician from South Carolina.-Biography:...

's,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam.

"Lero, lero, that leaves me zero,

That leaves me zero," says Uncle Sam,

"Lero, lero, filibustero,

That leaves me zero," says Uncle Sam.

6. "And by the way, one little thing more,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam,

"You're to refund the costs of the war,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam.

"Lero, lero, just what I fear-o,

Just what I fear," says old Uncle Sam,

"Lero, lero, filibustero,

Just what I fear," says old Uncle Sam.

7. "Next you must own our Cavalier blood!"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam,

"And that your Puritans sprang from the mud!"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam.

"Lero, lero, that mud is clear-o,

That mud is clear," says old Uncle Sam,

"Lero, lero, filibustero,

That mud is clear," says old Uncle Sam.

8. "Slavery's, of course, the chief corner-stone

Cornerstone Speech

The Cornerstone Speech was delivered extemporaneously by Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens in Savannah, Georgia on March 21, 1861.The speech explained what the differences were between the constitution of the Confederate Republic and that of the United States, laid out the Confederate...

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam,

"Of our new civilization!"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam.

"Lero, lero, that's quite sincere-o,

That's quite sincere," says old Uncle Sam,

"Lero, lero, filibustero,

That's quite sincere," says old Uncle Sam.

9. "You'll understand, my recreant tool,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam,

"You're to submit, and we are to rule,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam.

"Lero, lero, aren't you a hero!

Aren't you a hero," says Uncle Sam,

"Lero, lero, filibustero,

Aren't you a hero," says Uncle Sam.

10. "If to these terms you fully consent,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam,

"I'll be perpetual King-President,"

Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam.

"Lero, lero, take your sombrero,

Off to your swamps," says old Uncle Sam,

"Lero, lero, filibustero,

Cut, double quick!" says old Uncle Sam.

The BBC and Lillibullero

The tune of Lillibullero was adopted by the British Broadcasting Corporation's World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

programme Into Battle and became the unofficial march of the Commandos

British Commandos

The British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe...

of the British Army. Since its association with the BBC's role in the war, various recordings of Lillibullero have been played by the BBC as an identity signal. These include a marching band

Marching band

Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...

and a symphony orchestra. In the 1970s a rousing recording by the band of HM Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

was replaced by a weaker and quieter version by a brass ensemble, on the grounds that the band record had worn out. The wrath of the world-wide listening audience descended on Bush House, and the Marines version was reinstated, after a producer had luckily found another record in a second-hand shop.
The most recent recording, written by David Arnold and performed by a string orchestra, was until recently played on the BBC World Service

BBC World Service

several times a day. A shortened version is currently sometimes played just before the top of the hour before the news.

A well-regarded argument for the persistence of Lillibullero as a signature tune of the BBC World Service was that its powerful and simple structure was an effective means of identifying the broadcaster. The engineers who selected it were unaware of its origins, though a BBC World Service history states that the choice of interval theme at the time was that of "the transmission engineers who found it particularly audible through short wave mush, and anyway [the BBC] knew it as a tune for the old English song "There was an old woman tossed up in a blanket, 20 times as high as the moon"."

The recently launched BBC Persian TV service makes use of a re-mixed version of Lillibullero as the title theme for its music programmes. Both the music magazine and music documentaries have cuts of the tune with a Persian instrumental twist.

REME

Lillibullero is the (official) Regimental March of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers is a corps of the British Army that has responsibility for the maintenance, servicing and inspection of almost every electrical and mechanical piece of equipment within the British Army from Challenger II main battle tanks and WAH64 Apache...

(abbrev. REME). This Corps was established during the Second World War and so the BBC's official wartime use of Lillibullero described above may well have played a part in its selection by REME, but it seems more likely that the BBC's reliance on REME for its wartime development and coverage led to the BBC adopting the march at around that time as a signature tune (as mentioned previously). This is born by the fact that the melody had long been in use in military music, and that the foundation of REME is inextricably linked to many of those regiments.

Lillibullero in Tristram Shandy

Laurence Sterne

Laurence Sterne was an Irish novelist and an Anglican clergyman. He is best known for his novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy; but he also published many sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in local politics...

's experimental and comic novel Tristram Shandy, published between 1759 and 1767 in nine volumes, hints at the great popularity of Lillibullero. Tristram's uncle, Captain Toby Shandy, a British Army veteran of the fighting in Ireland and the Low Countries during King William's reign, whistles the tune to Lillibullero when he is offered any opinion or argument which would require passionate rebuttal or which he finds embarrassing or upsetting.

There Was An Old Woman

The Victorian nursery rhyme There Was An Old Woman Tossed Up In A Basket, published in the collection Mother Goose

Mother Goose

The familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom...

is sung to the tune of Lillibulero.

External links

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