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"The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional English folk song associated with the county of Lincolnshire, and deals with the joys of poaching. It is considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Lincolnshire. It is catalogued as Roud Folk Song Index No. 299.
The earliest printed version appeared in York about 1776. In 1857 it was written; "This very old ditty has been transformed into the dialects of Somersetshire, Northumberland and Leicestershire, but it properly belongs to Lincolnshire." [1] The song is said to have been a favourite of King George IV. [1]
"The Lincolnshire Poacher" was the regimental quick march of the 10th Regiment of Foot and its successors the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, [2] who are known as "the Poachers". [3] Also, it was the regimental march of the 2nd battalion The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire). It is the principal musical theme of the quick march of the Intelligence Corps. [4] Prior to 1881 this Battalion had been the 81st Regiment of Foot (Loyal Lincoln Volunteers). It is also the authorised march of The Lincoln and Welland Regiment of the Canadian Forces.[ citation needed ]
The tune was used by many New York Regiments during the American Civil War as "The New York Volunteer".
It was also the marching song for the 20th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, during the First World War.
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 Lincolnshire Regiment to adopt the march as the quick march of the College.[ citation needed ]
Anglo-Catholic congregations in the Anglican communion sometimes use the tune as a setting for a hymn sung in procession that begins, "The Happy Birds Te Deum Sing, 'Tis Mary's Month of May." [5]
In 1961, Benjamin Britten arranged the song as no. 3 in Volume Five of British Folk Songs. [6] Frank Newman[ who? ] 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 "The Floral Dance", and it was included 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.
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 in 1988 commissioned UK jingle company Alfasound to write a package of jingles based on the song. [7] Variations on this theme continued until early 2006, and today the station still uses a version with a less pronounced melody[ clarification needed ] from the folk song.
The melody is used in Harold Baum's "The Glyoxylate Cycle" in The Biochemists' Songbook, and in the 1950 novelty song "The Thing", sung by Phil Harris, which was #1 in US charts in 1950. [8]
The melody was sung in the 1940 film Tom Brown's School Days by the Rugby students and is the theme song of the movie. It was also sung during a hall assembly in the 1951 version.
The melody is used, often with more Irish-themed instrumentation and singing, to create the off-colour folk song "The Chandler's Wife".
As is usual with folk songs, the lyrics differ slightly between sources, but the following are typical: [1] [2]
When I was bound apprentice in famous Lincolnshire,
I serv'd my master truly, for nearly seven odd year,
Till I took up to poaching, as you shall quickly hear.
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shining night, in the season of the year.
As me and my companions were setting up a snare,
The gamekeeper was watching us –for him we did not care,
For we can wrestle and fight, my boys, and jump o'er anywhere.
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shining night, in the season of the year.
As me and my companions were setting four or five,
And taking on 'em up again, we took a hare alive,
We plopped her into my bag, my boys, and through the woods did steer.
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shining night, in the season of the year.
We threw him over our shoulders, and wandered through the town,
We called into a neighbour's house, and sold her for a crown,
We sold her for a crown, my boys, but I did not tell you where.
Oh, 'tis my delight on a shining night, in the season of the year.
Success to every gentleman that lives in Lincolnshire (Or: 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 shining night, in the season of the year.
The "Londonderry Air" is an Irish air that originated in County Londonderry, first recorded in the nineteenth century. The tune is played as the victory sporting anthem of Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games. The song "Danny Boy" written by English lawyer Fred Weatherly uses the tune, with a set of lyrics written in the early 20th century.
"John Brown's Body" is a United States marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The song arose out of the folk hymn tradition of the American camp meeting movement of the late 18th and early 19th century. According to an 1889 account, the original John Brown lyrics were a collective effort by a group of Union soldiers who were referring both to the famous John Brown and also, humorously, to a Sergeant John Brown of their own battalion. Various other authors have published additional verses or claimed credit for originating the John Brown lyrics and tune.
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Bonnie Dundee is the title of a poem and a song written by Walter Scott in 1825 in honour of John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse, who was created 1st Viscount Dundee in November 1688, then in 1689 led a Jacobite rising in which he died, becoming a Jacobite hero.
BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lincolnshire.
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The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating in the British Army, and can trace its history back to 1685. The regiment was the first of the large infantry regiments and is one of the three regiments of the Queen's Division.
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"When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as simply "The Saints", is a traditional black spiritual. It originated as a Christian hymn, but is often played by jazz bands. One of the most famous jazz recordings of "The Saints" was made on May 13, 1938, by Louis Armstrong and his orchestra.
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"Sussex by the Sea" is a song written in 1907 by William Ward-Higgs, often considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Sussex. It became well known throughout Sussex and is regularly sung at celebrations throughout the county. It can be heard during many sporting events in the county, during the Sussex bonfire celebrations and it is played by marching bands and Morris dancers across Sussex. It is the adopted song of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, Sussex Division Royal Naval Reserve, Sussex Association of Naval Officers and Sussex County Cricket Club.
"Early One Morning" is an English folk song with lyrics first found in publications as far back as 1787. A broadside ballad sheet in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, dated between 1828 and 1829 has the title "The Lamenting Maid" and refers to the lover leaving to become a sailor.
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"The Farmer's Boy" is a traditional English folk song or ballad, listed as number 408 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It has been arranged as a military march.
