Trad Tuesday: Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy performed by Mick McAuley and Winifred Horan

Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy is one of the best-known songs from the repertoire of the Copper Family. It was published in the first issue of the Journal of the Folk Song Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, in 1899, and is printed in The Copper Family Song Book and in Bob Copper's book, A Song for Every Season. Bob and John Copper sang it on their 4 LP box set of 1971, A Song for Every Season, that accompanied the book and Jill and Jon Copper sang it on the first Coppersongs LP.


Lyrics:

Adieu sweet lovely Nancy
Ten thousand times adieu
I am bound to cross the ocean
To seek for soemthing new
Come change your ring with me dear girl
Come change your ring with me
That it might be a token of true love
When I am on the sea

And now that I am on the sea
I know not where I am
Kind letters I will write to you
From every foreign land
The secrets of my mind fine girl
The best of all goodwill
So let your body be where it is
My heart will be with you still

There's a heavy storm arising
See how it gathers round
While wepoor souls on the ocean wide
Are fighting for the crown
Our officer commands us
And it's him we must obey
Expecting every moment
For to get washed away

There are tinkers tailors shoemakers
Lie snoring asleep
While we poor souls on the ocean wide
Are ploughing through the deep
There's no-one to defend us love
And keep us from the cold
On the ocean wide where we must bide
Like jolly sailors all

And now the wars are over
They'll be peace on every shore
We'll drink to our wives and our children
And the girls that we adore
We'll call for liquor merrily
And spend our money free
And when our money is all gone
We'll boldly go to sea

Trad Tuesday: The King's Shilling sung by Mick McAuley, Winifred Horan, and Colm O'Caoimh

This is in the traditional mode though written by Ian Sinclair in the 1970s. It has been performed by many people; I featured a version sung by Karan Casey and James Taylor previously.

Ian has taken a traditional folk theme of the young man beguiled by the recruiting officers into joining the army and sealing the deal by his acceptance of money, the King’s Shilling.

According to the BBC website, History Factfiles, War and Conflict: “For many years, the private soldier's daily pay was one shilling, although money was deducted from this to pay for such things as rations, some items of uniform, medical treatment, breakages and barrack damages. It was not until 1847 that it was ordered that all soldiers had to receive at least a penny a day regardless of deductions. One shilling was given to young men who agreed to enlist in the army, and a variety of subterfuges were used by recruiting sergeants to persuade a young man to accept the money.

Often a potential recruit was made dead drunk and the shilling was slipped into his pocket: sometimes a sergeant might give a young man a shilling to run an errand for him, and then declare that he had volunteered. Once a recruit had been attested before a magistrate he received a more substantial bounty, but usually found that this was swiftly consumed in drinks for the recruiting party, ribbons for the sergeant's wife, and items of uniform that had to be purchased.”

Oh, my love has left me wi bairnies twa
An that's the last o him I ever saw
He joined the army and he mairched tae war
He took the shilling, he took the shilling,
An he mairched tae war

Come laddies, come
Hear the cannon roar,
Tak the King's Shilling,
An we're aff tae war

Oh, he stood sae proud an sae gallant then
Wi his kilt and sporran and his musket gun
The ladies kissed them as they mairched
awa
And they sailed awa by, they sailed awa
by the Broomielaw

The pipes did play as they marched along
And the soldiers sang out their battle song
"March on, march on," cried the captain gay
For king and country, for king and country
we will fight this day

Well, the battle raged to the sound of guns
And the bayonets flashed in the morning sun
The drums did beat and the cannon roared
And the shilling didn't seem, oh the shilling didn't seem much worth no more

The men they fought and the men did fall
Cut down by bayonet and musket ball
and many of these brave young men
Would never fight for, would never fight for their king again

Come laddies, come
Hear the cannon roar,
Tak the King's Shilling,
An you’ll die in war

Words:
Broomielaw: the dockside in Glasgow where soldiers took ship to go to war
King’s Shilling: offered to likely young men by recruiting officers. Its acceptance was regarded as a binding agreement to join up.

lyrics and info from http://sangstories.webs.com/kingsshilling.htm