Lincolnshire Poacher (folk song)
Encyclopedia
"The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional English
folk song
(Roud
# 299) associated with the county of Lincolnshire
, and dealing with the joys of poaching
. It is considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Lincolnshire.
and its successors the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment
, who are known as "the Poachers"; the song is very important to the battalion and can be heard many times being sung at full volume from barrack blocks, messes and parties wherever a "poacher" is based. It is also the authorised march of The Lincoln and Welland Regiment
of the Canadian Forces
. Sir John Graves Simcoe, in the 1790s, named many of the original settlements and rivers in the Niagara district of then Upper Canada after towns and rivers in Lincolnshire, England.
When the Royal Air Force College Cranwell
, the officer training school of the Royal Air Force, was formed in Lincolnshire in 1919, its first Commandant, Air Commodore
C A H Longcroft, sought permission from the then Regimental Colonel of the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to adopt the march as the quick march
of the College.
Radio Lincolnshire used the melody from the end of the song's chorus as the signature tune for its news jingle when it commenced service in 1980,and 1988,commissioned UK jingle
company, Alfasound
to write a package of jingles based on the 18th Century Folk Song.Variations on this theme continued until early 2006,and today,the station still uses a version with a less pronounced melody from the folk song. In 1961, Benjamin Britten
arranged the song as number three in Volume Five of British folk songs. Frank Newman instrumented the song for four hands on piano. In 1978, the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band
issued the Lincolnshire Poacher as its follow-up single to their successful Floral Dance, and it was on the 1978 album The Floral Dance.
The first two bars of the tune were used as an interval signal
on the numbers station
known as Lincolnshire Poacher
.
The melody is used in Harold Baum's "The Glyoxylate Cycle" in The Biochemists' Songbook. mp3
When I was bound apprentice in famous Lincolnshire
Full well I served my master for nigh on seven years
Till I took up to poaching as you shall quickly hear
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.
As me and my companions was setting out a snare
Twas then we spied the gamekeeper, for him we didn't care
For we can wrestle and fight, my boys, and jump from anywhere
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.
As me and my companions was setting four or five
And taking them all up again, we caught a hare alive
We caught a hare alive, my boys, and through the woods did steer
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.
We threw him over my shoulder, boys, and then we trudged home
We took him to a neighbour's house and sold him for a crown
We sold him for a crown, my boys, but I divven't tell you where
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.
Success to every gentleman that lives in Lincolnshire
(Alt. Bad luck to every magistrate)
Success to every poacher that wants to sell a hare
Bad luck to every gamekeeper that will not sell his deer
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
folk song
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
(Roud
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
# 299) associated with the county of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, and dealing with the joys of poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
. It is considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Lincolnshire.
Usage
The Lincolnshire Poacher was the regimental quick march of the 10th Regiment of Foot10th Regiment of Foot
The 10th Regiment of Foot was raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath...
and its successors the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
, who are known as "the Poachers"; the song is very important to the battalion and can be heard many times being sung at full volume from barrack blocks, messes and parties wherever a "poacher" is based. It is also the authorised march of The Lincoln and Welland Regiment
The Lincoln and Welland Regiment
The Lincoln and Welland Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces based in St Catharines and Welland, Ontario.The Regimental Colonel-in-Chief is The Countess of Wessex and...
of the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
. Sir John Graves Simcoe, in the 1790s, named many of the original settlements and rivers in the Niagara district of then Upper Canada after towns and rivers in Lincolnshire, England.
When the Royal Air Force College Cranwell
Royal Air Force College Cranwell
The Royal Air Force College is the Royal Air Force training and education academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to be commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is responsible for all RAF recruiting along with...
, the officer training school of the Royal Air Force, was formed in Lincolnshire in 1919, its first Commandant, Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
C A H Longcroft, sought permission from the then Regimental Colonel of the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to adopt the march as the quick 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...
of the College.
Radio Lincolnshire used the melody from the end of the song's chorus as the signature tune for its news jingle when it commenced service in 1980,and 1988,commissioned UK jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
company, Alfasound
Alfasound
Alfasound was a radio jingle production company based in Manchester from late 1970s to mid 1990s founded by Alan Fawkes and ex-Piccadilly Radio DJ Steve England....
to write a package of jingles based on the 18th Century Folk Song.Variations on this theme continued until early 2006,and today,the station still uses a version with a less pronounced melody from the folk song. In 1961, Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
arranged the song as number three in Volume Five of British folk songs. Frank Newman instrumented the song for four hands on piano. In 1978, the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band
Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band
The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band was formed in 1881. It is based in Brighouse, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.-History:The Brighouse and Rastrick Band is regarded by many as the best and most consistent ‘public subscription band’ in the world...
issued the Lincolnshire Poacher as its follow-up single to their successful Floral Dance, and it was on the 1978 album The Floral Dance.
The first two bars of the tune were used as an interval signal
Interval signal
An interval signal, or tuning signal, is a characteristic sound or musical phrase used in international broadcasting and by some domestic broadcasters...
on the numbers station
Numbers station
A numbers station is a shortwave radio station of uncertain origin. In the 1950s, Time magazine reported that the numbers stations first appeared shortly after World War II and were using a format that had been used to send weather data during that war.Numbers stations generally broadcast...
known as Lincolnshire Poacher
Lincolnshire Poacher (numbers station)
"The Lincolnshire Poacher" was the nickname of a mysterious, powerful shortwave numbers station that used two bars from the English folk song "The Lincolnshire Poacher" as an interval signal. The radio station was believed to be operated by the British Secret Intelligence Service and emanated from...
.
The melody is used in Harold Baum's "The Glyoxylate Cycle" in The Biochemists' Songbook. mp3
Lyrics
The Lincolnshire PoacherWhen I was bound apprentice in famous Lincolnshire
Full well I served my master for nigh on seven years
Till I took up to poaching as you shall quickly hear
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.
As me and my companions was setting out a snare
Twas then we spied the gamekeeper, for him we didn't care
For we can wrestle and fight, my boys, and jump from anywhere
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.
As me and my companions was setting four or five
And taking them all up again, we caught a hare alive
We caught a hare alive, my boys, and through the woods did steer
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.
We threw him over my shoulder, boys, and then we trudged home
We took him to a neighbour's house and sold him for a crown
We sold him for a crown, my boys, but I divven't tell you where
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.
Success to every gentleman that lives in Lincolnshire
(Alt. Bad luck to every magistrate)
Success to every poacher that wants to sell a hare
Bad luck to every gamekeeper that will not sell his deer
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.
External links
Audio clips
- Marching band sample from 2137 Calgary Highlanders Army Cadet Corps website performed by the Lincoln & Welland RegimentThe Lincoln and Welland RegimentThe Lincoln and Welland Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces based in St Catharines and Welland, Ontario.The Regimental Colonel-in-Chief is The Countess of Wessex and...
- Jazz band instrumentation - Ted Heath OrchestraTed Heath (bandleader)Ted Heath, musician and big band leader, led Britain's greatest post-war big band recording more than 100 albums and selling over 20 million records...
arranged by Jon Harpin - Brass band version by the Black Dyke BandBlack Dyke BandThe Black Dyke Band, formerly the Black Dyke Mills Band, is one of the oldest and best-known brass bands in the world. The band has won many prizes and competitions over the years...
- Marching band version by the Band of the Coldstream GuardsColdstream Guards BandThe Band of the Coldstream Guards is one of the oldest and best known bands in the British Army, having been officially formed on 16 May 1785 under the command of Major C F Eley, reflecting the fact that the Coldstream Guards regiment is the oldest of the guards regiments...
- Midi file
- Former 1980s BBC Radio Lincolnshire jingle package by Alfasound based on "The Lincolnshire Poacher"