"Arthur McBride" (also called "The Recruiting Sergeant" or "Arthur McBride and the Sergeant") is a
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
(
Roud
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...
2355) probably of Irish origin, also found in England, Scotland, Australia, and North America. Describing a violent altercation with a
recruiting sergeant
A recruiting sergeant is a British or American soldier of the rank of sergeant who is tasked to enlist recruits. The term originated in the British army of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The playwright George Farquhar served as an in ...
, it can be narrowly categorized as an "anti-recruiting" song, a specific form of
anti-war song, and more broadly as a
protest song
A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for protest and social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.
...
.
A. L. Lloyd
Albert Lancaster Lloyd (29 February 1908 – 29 September 1982),Eder, Bruce. (29 September 1982A. L. Lloyd – Music Biography, Credits and Discography AllMusic. Retrieved on 2013-02-24. usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English ...
described it as "that most good-natured, mettlesome, and un-pacifistic of anti-militarist songs".
Content
The song's narrator recounts how he and his cousin or friend, Arthur McBride, were strolling by the sea when approached by three
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
soldiers: a recruiting sergeant, a
corporal
Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
, and a little
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums.
Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...
. The sergeant tries to entice the pair to
volunteer
Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...
with a
recruitment bounty and
smart uniform, but they refuse the prospect of being sent to fight and die in France. The sergeant takes offence at the uncivil tone and threatens to use his sword, but before he can draw it the pair beat the soldiers with
shillelaghs, and throw their swords and drum in the sea.
Some singers omit the song's more violent details. Sometimes the name is "Arthur le Bride".
The sergeant is usually named "Napper" or "Napier", the corporal "Vamp" or "Cramp". Many versions are set on
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
morning. A Scottish version is on a "summer's morning", and Arthur McBride is the name of the recruiting sergeant rather than the narrator's ally.
History
The reference to France is often taken to set the song
during the Napoleonic Wars, but may mean some earlier
Anglo-French war.
Broadside ballad
A broadside (also known as a broadsheet) is a single sheet of inexpensive paper printed on one side, often with a ballad, rhyme, news and sometimes with woodcut illustrations. They were one of the most common forms of printed material between the ...
s with the lyrics include one printed c. 1815–1822 in Glasgow,
[
] and another with different
metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
headed "Arthur Macbride. A new song". A song in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
marking the 1821
coronation of George IV
The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George IV as king of the United Kingdom took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 19 July 1821. Originally scheduled for 1 August of the previous year, the ceremony had been postponed due t ...
specifies its tune as "Arthur McBride". "The Bold Tenant Farmer" has a similar tune which is sometimes used.
Thomas Ainge Devyr (1805–1887), an Irish
Chartist who emigrated to America in 1840, in his 1882 memoir recalled the song from his youth in
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
. In 1892 collected "Arthur le Bride" from a mason named Sam Fone, who learned it from his father in
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers .
The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...
in the 1830s.
A melody called "Art Mac Bride" collected in Donegal by
George Petrie (1790–1866) was published in 1902 by
Charles Villiers Stanford
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...
.
Patrick Weston Joyce
Patrick Weston "P. W." Joyce (1827 – 7 January 1914) was an Irish historian, writer and music collector, known particularly for his research in Irish etymology and local place names of Ireland.
Biography
He was born in Ballyorgan in the B ...
(1827–1914) published words and a different air in 1909.
He said he had learned it in his
County Limerick
County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...
boyhood "from hearing the people all round me sing it", but suspected it originated in Donegal.
The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection has four versions gathered in northeast Scotland between 1902 and 1914.
Ethnomusicological
Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...
recordings include a
field recording
Field recording is the production of audio recordings outside recording studios, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It can also include the recording of electromagnetic fields or vibrations using diff ...
of a farmworker named Alex Campbell from
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...
singing a snatch of "Erther Mac Bride" (beginning "You Needna Be Bragging About Your Braw Claes") collected by
James Madison Carpenter
James Madison Carpenter, born in 1888 in Blacklands, Mississippi, near Booneville, in Prentiss County, was a Methodist minister and scholar of American and British folklore. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the ...
between 1929 and 1935,
and one made by for the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in
Walberswick
Walberswick is a village and civil parish on the Suffolk coast in England. It is at the mouth of the River Blyth on the south side of the river. The town of Southwold lies to the north of the river and is the nearest town to Walberswick, aroun ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
in 1939.
Gould Academy
Gould Academy is a private, co-ed, college preparatory boarding school, boarding and day school, day school founded in 1836 and located in the small town of Bethel, Maine, United States.
History
In 1835 citizens of Bethel, Maine, formed an organi ...
c. 1955 published ''A Heritage of Songs'' by
Carrie Grover (née Spinney, 1879–1959) from
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
, including a version of "Arthur McBride" she had learned from her father.
Campbell and Grover's recordings are available on the internet.
Commercial recordings
"Arthur McBride" was recorded during the
British folk revival
The British folk revival incorporates a number of movements for the collection, preservation and performance of folk music in the United Kingdom and related territories and countries, which had origins as early as the 18th century. It is particu ...
by The Exiles (Enoch Kent, Bobby Campbell, and Gordon McCulloch) on their 1966 album ''Freedom, Come All Ye''; and by
Martin Carthy
Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in English folk music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, as well as later ar ...
and
Dave Swarbrick
David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English traditional folk musician and songwriter and one of the greatest fiddlers in the world. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second Bri ...
on their 1969 album ''Prince Heathen''.
Planxty
Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, gu ...
recorded Joyce's version on their 1973
self-titled debut album. Later recordings include
Paddy Reilly
Patrick Reilly (born 18 October 1939) is an Irish folk singer and guitarist. Born in Rathcoole, County Dublin, he is one of Ireland's most famous balladeers and is best known for his renditions of " The Fields of Athenry", " Rose of Allendale" ...
(''The Town I Loved So Well'', 1975);
John Kirkpatrick and
Sue Harris
Sue Harris is an English musician classically trained as an oboeist, but best known for her folk music performances with the hammered dulcimer.
Biography
Harris is fluent in reading and writing music and switched from her original instrument, ...
(''Stolen Ground'', 1989);
Chris Foster (''Traces'', 1999);
Ewan McLennan
Ewan McLennan is a Scottish folk musician and singer-songwriter. Although born in London, McLennan grew up in Edinburgh, and studied classical music on the piano. Later, he took up the guitar and as he had developed a strong interest in folk m ...
(''Rags & Robes'', 2010).
Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age.
Initially popular for playing ...
adapted a long version from Grover's ''A Heritage of Songs'', which he had found while touring America with
The Johnstons
The Johnstons were an Irish close-harmony folk band, founded in Slane, County Meath, Ireland, consisting of siblings Adrienne, Luci and Michael Johnston.
Career
The Johnstons began performing in the early 1960s in Slane. They signed to Pye Re ...
in 1972–3. When Brady joined Planxty they switched to playing his version, and he recorded it as "Arthur McBride and the Sergeant" on the 1976 album ''
Andy Irvine/Paul Brady''. (
Andy Irvine did not feature on the track.) Brady's
acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
has
open G tuning
Among alternative tunings for the guitar, an open G tuning is an open tuning that features the G-major chord; its open notes are selected from the notes of a G-major chord, such as the G-major triad (G,B,D). For example, a popular open-G tunin ...
and he combines
Irish traditional style with some
ornaments
An ornament is something used for decoration.
Ornament may also refer to:
Decoration
*Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts
*Ornamental turning
*Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals tha ...
, "interplay
ngbetween solo melodic moments and brief
chordal sections"; it is widely considered the song's definitive version.
John Leventhal
John Leventhal (born December 18, 1952) is an American musician, producer, songwriter, and recording engineer who has produced albums for William Bell, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Michelle Branch, Rosanne Cash, Marc Cohn, Shawn Colvin, Sarah ...
included it on a
mixtape
In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
for
Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash.
Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...
, which she said persuaded her to marry him. Many later versions derive from Brady's, including those of
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
(''
Good as I Been to You'', 1992),
Mipso (a 2020 Christmas
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
), and Australian
Paul Kelly (''
Paul Kelly's Christmas Train'', 2021). The 1978
short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
''Christmas Morning'' is a
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
enactment of Brady's recording, starring Paul Bennett as Arthur McBride and
Godfrey Quigley
Godfrey Quigley (4 May 1923 – 7 September 1994) was an Irish film, television and stage actor. He appeared in Stanley Kubrick's films ''A Clockwork Orange'' and ''Barry Lyndon''.
Biography
Quigley was born in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, ...
as the recruiting sergeant.
Sources
*
*
Citations
External links
Arthur McBride— ''The Ballad Index'', Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle,
Fresno State University
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
Arthur McBride- "The Ballad Index" (updated link - the Ballad Index is no longer hosted by Fresno State)
— ''Digital Tradition'' Mirror
— ''Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music''
{{Authority control
Irish folk songs
Anti-war songs
Ballads
Songs about soldiers
Songs about the military
Irish Christmas songs
British Army recruitment