Annotation:Bonny Light Horseman (The)

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X:1 T:Retreat, A T:Bonnie Light Horseman, The M:3/4 L:1/8 R:Retreat March S:The Buttery Manuscript (c. 1784-1820, No. 11, p. 2) N:John Buttery (1784-1854) joined the 34th Regiment in Lincoln, N:Lincolnshire, England, in 1797 and served as a fifer until discharged in N:1814. His large ms. contains marches, duty calls, dance tunes and airs. N:EASMES identifies this as the Fife MS. and suggests a date of 1780, see N: https://www.cdss.org/elibrary/Easmes/Index.htm Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G Bd|e2 efgf|e2 d2 cB|c2 cded|c2 B2 Bd| e2 efgf|ed B2 GB|AG E2E2| E4:| |:BA|G2G2 GA/B/|A2 G2 AB|c2 cded|c2B2 Bd| e2 efgf|ed B2 GB|AG E2E2|E4:|]

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BONNY LIGHT HORSEMAN, THE. Irish, Air (3/4 time). Ireland, County Wexford. F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Words (via Terry Moylan) set to the air stem from the Napoleonic era, the pinnacle of the dash, glory and uniformed appearance of mounted light troops. They begin:

Troopers of the 1st Dragoon Guards, 7th Hussars, and Royal Horse Guards, circa 1812.

When Bonaparte he commanded his troops for to stand,
And he planted his cannons all over the land;
He has levelled his cannons the whole victory to gain,
And he's killed my light horseman, returning from Spain.

Broken-hearted I'll wander, for the loss of my lover,
He's my bonny light horseman, in the wars he was slain.

Sure if I was a blackbird and had wings to fly,
I would fly to the spot where my true love does lie;
And with my little fluttering wings, his wounds I would heal,
And it's all the long night on his breast I'd remain.

The melody is contained in the music copybook [1] of John Buttery (1784-1854), a fifer with British army's 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot (so designated in the army reorganization of 1782), who served from 1797-1814. Later in life Buttery emigrated to Canada, where he died. In his manuscript Buttery identifies the tune as "A Retreat", which in military use represents the musical announcement of the end of the day's activities and a time for rest. The operant condition for a retreat was a specific drum roll, over which a melody--any melody--could be played, and it was the drum roll (not the tune) that was the musical signal for a retreat. The Buttery manuscript, as well as other period military manuscripts, often include a variety tunes that are labelled 'Retreats', which were selections the musician employed for the duty. Buttery's manuscript collection has also been identified as belonging to John Fife , with a suggested date of 1780. Fife was a family name, like Buttery, identified with the manuscript. It seems a bit odd that a fifer in an infantry regiment like the 37th Foot would play something that glorifies the cavalry, but he may have simply liked the melody (not to mention, the 'light horseman' is slain in the song).