FAR, FAR FAR FROM YPRES SCRIPT
Second Half
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But there's one rose that dies not in Picardy,
'Tis the rose that I keep in my heart
And the years fly on forever
Till the shadows veil their sighs
But he loves to hold her little hand
And look in her sea blue eyes.
And he sees the rose by the poplars
Where they met in the bygone years
For the first little song of the roses
Is the last little song she hears
Roses are shining in Picardy,
In the hush of the silver dew,
Roses are flow'ring in Picardy,
But there's never a rose like you!
And the roses will die with the summertime,
And our roads may be far apart,
But there's one rose that dies not in Picardy,
'Tis the rose that I keep in my heart
Narrator
The next song, "The Devonshire Carol" has an elegant message; forgive…..but never forget. It's Christmas 1917 and the Christmas truce of 1914, when soldiers on both sides put down their weapons, exchanged presents and played football….. is well in the past. Yet to some who still believed, to some ….peace walks upon this blessed land……
The Devonshire Carol
The lambkin in the manger the light upon the lea
The moorland yields to glory the shepherds bend the knee
And all are wrapped in grace and all are gifted mirth
Peace walks upon this blessed land
Peace walks upon this blessed land
Peace walks upon this blessed land
Goodwill upon all Earth
The ploughboy and his traces, the line upon the land
All's gift by Nature's graces her bounty to command
And all are wrapped in grace and all are gifted mirth
Peace walks upon this blessed land
Peace walks upon this blessed land
Peace walks upon this blessed land
Goodwill upon all Earth
Tommy in the meadow,Tommy in the byre
Tommy on the firestep,Tommy on the wire
And those who walked in war and those who walked in peace
And those who walked this blessed land
And those who walked this blessed land
And those who walked this blessed land
Their souls shall never cease.
Stand to, me bonny lads, stand to and make you ready
Stand to, me bonny lads, hold the line right steady.
Let pride burn through the flame, this day….. shall…. bear…. your…. name
Stand to, me bonny lads, hold the line right steady
And those who walked in war and those who cherished peace
And those who walked this blessed land
And those who walked this bless….ed……. land
And those who walked this blessed land
Their souls shall never cease.
Narrator
As the war reached the closing exchanges in the winter of 1918, young Jimmy MacDonald was exhausted…and he was bitter. The flag-waving and expectations of victory from home did nothing to dispel his hatred of those who had sent him to war. He also had a firm conviction that those who had missed the conflict, had been dealt the better hand
I Wore a Tunic E (2D)
I wore a tunic, a dirty khaki tunic
And you wore your civvy clothes.
We fought and bled at Loos
While you were on the booze
The booze that no-one here knows
Oh you were with the wenches
While we were in the trenches
Facing an angry foe.
Oh you were a-slacking
While we were attacking
The Germans on the Menin Road
TOM WITH CONCERTINA INTO C
Far Far From Wipers C
Far, far from Wipers, I long to be.
Where German snipers can't get at me,
Damp is my dug-out, cold are my feet.
Waiting for whizz-bangs to send me to sleep.
When this bloody war is over
No more soldiering for me
When I get my civvy clothes on
Oh how happy I will be
No more Church parades on Sunday
No more asking for a pass
I will tell the sergeant major
To stick his passes up his arse
All unison
When this bloody war is over
No more soldiering for me
When I get my civvy clothes on
Oh how happy I will be
I will sound my own reveille
I will make my own tattoo
No more NCOs to curse me
No more bleedin’ army stew
All harmony
When this bloody war is over
No more soldiering for me
When I get my civvy clothes on
Oh how happy I will be
When this bloody war is over
No more soldiering for me
When I get my civvy clothes on
Oh how happy I will be
Concertina plays on and fades
Narrator
The war had just ended and yet one of Scotland's cruellest tragedies happened in the early hours of January 1st, 1919. His Majesty's yacht, Iolaire, foundered on rocks, in sight of the Stornoway harbour lights, and 174 Lewismen and 7 Harrismen, who had fought bravely in the war for four years, were drowned within a mile of safety.
In the war, the Western Isles casualty rate per head of population was the highest in the British Army. Dòmhnall Ruadh was a Gaelic poet, born on North Uist in 1887. In the autumn of 1916, he was in the 7th Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders and was badly wounded on the Somme. An Eala Bhàn is a love song composed during that battle and it is addressed to Mhagaidh Nic Leòid, his sweetheart at the time.
An Eala Bhan
Gur duilich leam mar tha mi
'S mo chridhe 'n sas aig bron
Bhon an uair a dh'fhag mi
Beanntan ard a' cheo
Gleanntannan a'mhanrain
Nan loch, nam bagh 's nan srom
'S an eala bhan tha tamh ann
Gach la air 'm bheil mi 'n toir.
Air m' uilinn anns na truinnsichean
Tha m' inntinn ort, a ghraidh;
Nam chadal bidh mi a' bruadar ort
Cha dualach dhomh bhith slan;
Tha m' aigne air a lionadh
Le cianalas cho lan
'S a'ghruag a dh'fhas cho ruadh orm
A nis air thuar bhith ban
Oidhche mhath leat fhein, a ruin
Nad leabaidh chubhraidh bhlath;
Cadal samhach air a chul
Do dhusgadh sunndach slan
Tha mise 'n seo 's an truinnsidh fhuar
'S nam chluasan fuaim bhais
Gun duil ri faighinn as le buaidh -
Tha 'n cuan cho buan ri shnamh.
Narrator
So why was there so much poetry in the 1st World War? Was it just boredom or was the act of committing memories to paper some kind of necessary therapy. One thing is certain, the soldiers who returned from the Great War found it difficult to tell the stories from these obscene times. The songs and poems tell us much about how the soldiers and families dealt with the pressures of that time but, many were still left with their awful memories
Why Old Men Cry
I walked from Ypres to Passchendale