Over the Hills and Far Away (traditional song)

Over the Hills and Far Away is a traditional folk song from England or Scotland, the origins of which are unknown. It was published in 1719 by the English playwright Thomas d'Urfey in his collection of songs Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy , entitled Jockey's Lamentation and The Recruiting Officer, or: The Merry Volunteers . The song also appeared in one version in the comedy The Recruiting Officer by the Irish playwright George Farquhar (1706). With again different text, the melody was used in a duet by John Gay in The Beggar's Opera in 1728 . In the 1990s, the song was rewritten for the television series The Snipers by John Tams .

background

It is believed that the traditional English song from the early 17th century is based on even earlier Scottish Aires , such as Jockey's Lamentation or The Wind Has Blawn My Plaid Away (sometimes written as The Wind Has Blown My Plaid Away ). The lyrics associated with the melody are partly romantic, as in Thomas d'Urfey's Jockey's Lamentation or in John Gay's Beggar's Opera . While George Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer and d'Urfey's The Recruiting Officer, or: The Merry Volunteers are about recruiting new soldiers for the British Army. Farquhar's version became a popular song among British troops during the fighting with Spain and France in the Napoleonic War. It came with the troops from Europe to the British colonies in North America.

Text versions (selection)

Thomas d'Urfey	George Farquhar	Queen Anne	John Tams
Jockey met with Jenny fair Aft by the dawning of the day; But Jockey now is fu 'of care Since Jenny staw his heart away. Altho 'she promis'd to be true She proven has, alake! unkind Which gars poor Jockey aften rue That e'er he loo'd a fickle mind. Tis o'er the hills and far away Tis o'er the hills and far away Tis o'er the hills and far away The wind has blawn my plaid away … Since that she will nae pity take I maun gae wander for her sake And, in ilk wood and gloomy grove I'll, sighing, sing, Adieu to love. Since she is fause whom I adore I'll never trust a woman more; Frae a their charms I'll flee away And on my pipes I'll sweetly play, O'er hills and dales and far away O'er hills and dales and far away O'er hills and dales and far away The wind has blawn my plaid away.	Our 'prentice Tom may now refuse To wipe his scoundrel Master's Shoes, For now he's free to sing and play Over the Hills and far away. Refrain: Over the Hills and O'er the Main, To Flanders, Portugal and Spain, The queen commands and we'll obey Over the Hills and far away. We all shall lead more happy lives By getting rid of brats and wives That scold and bawl both night and day - Over the Hills and far away. Refrain: Courage, boys, 'tis one to ten, But we return all gentlemen All gentlemen as well as they, Over the hills and far away. Refrain:	Hark now the drums beat up again For all true soldier gentlemen So let us list and march I say And go over the hills and far away Refrain: Over the hills, and o'er the Main To Flanders, Portugal and Spain Queen Anne commands and we'll obey And go over the hills and far away. Come gentlemen that have a mind To serve a queen that's good and kind Come list and enter in to pay And go over the hills and far away. Refrain: No more from sound of drum retreat When Marlborough and Galway beat The French and Spaniards every day Over the hills and far away. Refrain:	Here's forty shillings on the drum For those who volunteer to come, To 'list and fight the foe today Over the Hills and far away Refrain: O'er the hills and o'er the Main Through Flanders, Portugal and Spain King George commands and we obey Over the hills and far away When duty calls me I must go To stand and face another foe But part of me will always stray Over the hills and far away Refrain: If I should fall to rise no more As many comrades did before Then ask the fifes and drums to play Over the hills and far away Refrain: Then fall in lads behind the drum With colors blazing like the sun Along the road to come what may Over the hills and far away

reception

The melody is also known as setting the nursery rhyme Tom, the piper's son (1808). A text variation is also found in the Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang and L. Leslie Brooke from 1897, which refers to Tom, the piper's son , who plays this song on his flute.

There was a wind, it came to me
Over the south and over the sea,
And it has blown my corn and hay
Over the hills and far away.

But though it left me bare indeed,
And blew my bonnet off my head,
There's something hid in Highland brae,
It has not blown my sword away.

Then o'er the hills and over the dales,
Over all England, and thro 'Wales,
The broadsword yet shall bear the sway,
Over the hills and far away!

In the collection Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy ( something like : "Joke and cheerfulness, or pills to get rid of melancholy") from the year 1719 there is already talk of this Tom, the piper's son , who created this melancholy Melody played.

In the years 1754 to 1763 a war was fought on North American soil between Great Britain and France for supremacy in this area. Among the officers was the young Lieutenant Colonel George Washington . His troops sang Over the Hills and Far Away with their own lyrics, for example when they marched through Philadelphia to make a good impression on the population. Washington's commitment to American independence made the song a triumphant song for early Americans.

Interpretations (selection)

• The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards: Over the Hills and Far Away In: Spirit Of The Glen. Orchestral version instrumental.
• John Tams: Over the Hills and Far Away from the album Over the Hills and Far Away: The Music of Sharpe.
• Martin Carthy : Over the hills and Far away Version from the album Landfall 1971.

literature

• Henry Playford, Thomas D'Urfey: Wit and mirth; or pills to purge melancholy being a collection of the best merry ballads and songs, old and new. ... having each their proper tune. W. Pearson, for J. Tonson, London 1719, OCLC 731565233 .
• James Hogg: Over the Hills an Far Away . In: The Jacobite Relics of Scotland. Being the Songs, Airs, and Legends of the Adherents to the House of Stuart . William Blackwood, London 1821, p. 462 ( books.google.de ).
• Alexander Whitelaw: Jocky met with Jenny . In: The Book of Scottish Song . Blackie and Son, Glasgow / London 1844, p. 145-146 ( books.google.de ).
• The Beggar's 'Children': How John Gay Changed The Course Of England's Musical Theater . Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-1-4438-0278-9 , pp. 29-30 ( books.google.de ).

Web links

• Over The Hills And Far Away (The Music Of Sharpe). Discogs, accessed April 12, 2017 . 

Scores (selection)

• Over the Hills and Far Away Traditional Melody on 8notes.com
• Over the Hills and Far Away (John Gay) on 8notes.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jockey's Lamentation. and The Recruiting Officer, or The Merry Volunteers. In: Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy  - Internet Archive pp. 316–321.
2. ^ The Recruiting Officer - review . In: The Guardian . February 14, 2012 ( theguardian.com ).
3. ↑ Over The Hills And Far Away (The Beggar's Opera). In: youtube.com. August 24, 2014, accessed April 12, 2017 . 
4. ^ Act I. John Gay. 1922. The Beggar's Opera. bartleby.com, accessed on April 12, 2017 (section: AIR XVI. - Over the Hills and far away. ). 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Over the Hills and Far Away . In: The Weekly amusement: or, The universal magazine . 1735, p. 707 ( books.google.de ).
6. ↑ “Deep Play”. John Gay and the Invention of Modernity . University of Delaware Press, Newark / London 2001, ISBN 0-87413-731-4 , pp. 179 ( books.google.de ).
7. ^ ^{A b} Harry M. Ward: Over the Hills and Far Away . In: George Washington's Enforcers: Policing the Continental Army . SIU Press, Carbondale 2006, ISBN 0-8093-2688-4 , pp. 169 ( books.google.de ).
8. ↑ Over The Hills And Far Away (Traditional). In: youtube.com. November 29, 2011, accessed on April 12, 2017 (adapted for the time of the War of the Spanish Succession [1701–1714].). 
9. ^ Tom, The Piper's Son  - Internet Archive
10. ^ Andrew Lang, L. Leslie Brooke: The Nursery Rhyme Book . Frederick Warne and Co., London 1897.
11. ↑ Over The Hills and Far Away. americanstrings.blogspot.de, July 15, 2011, accessed April 13, 2017 . 
12. ↑ Over the Hills and Far Away - Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. youtube.com, May 30, 2014, accessed April 13, 2017 . 
13. ↑ “Over the Hills and Far Away” - English Trad. Folk Tune - Arr. and performed by John Tams. youtube.com, November 5, 2011, accessed April 13, 2017 . 
14. ↑ Over the hills and Far away / O'er the Hills by Martin Carthy. youtube.com, August 22, 2013, accessed April 13, 2017 .