13th Annual Indoor Scottish Festival in Nashua

The 13th Annual Indoor Scottish Festival will be held on Saturday, April 13th in Nashua.  Click the link for more info. 

It's not too often that we get a competition so close to some of us so it may be worth checking out.  If you go to http://www.scottisharts.org/ there's also info on the various competitions that will be held that day.  Drumming and piping competitions will be held, so it's definitely worth checking out. 

The Inniskilling Dragoon Tune

The Royal Dragoon Guards adopted "Fare Thee Well Inniskilling " from the 5th Royal Inniskilling Guards as their new Regimental quick march.

When Mr E Adams became Bandmaster of the 6th Inniskillings in 1908, he heard the men singing an old ballad, 'The Inniskilling Dragoon', written in the 18th century by Charles Lever. Recognising its popularity, Mr Adams took down the tune and made it into a march, which became an immediate success. The first and last verses are:

A beautiful damsel, of fame and renown,
A gentleman's daughter near Monaghan town;
As she rode by the barracks, this beautiful maid,
She stood in her coach to see Dragoons on parade.

Fare thee well, Inniskilling! fare thee well for a while
To all your fair waters and every green isle!
And when the war is over we'll return again soon,
And they'll all welcome home the Inniskilling Dragoon.

The march was lengthened by adding an arrangement of 'Far Far Away', a song said to have been composed by Mr Adams himself. In 1931 it was presented to the Regiment as 'Fare Ye Well Inniskilling'; and in 1952 Bandmaster Norman Richardson re-arranged it and it was adopted as the Regimental quick march.



A beautiful damsel of fame and renown,
A gentleman's daughter of fame and renown,
As she rode by the barracks this beautiful maid,
She stood in her coach to see the dragoons parade.

They were all dressed out like gentlemen's sons,
With their bright shining swords and carbine guns.
With their silver mounted pistols she observed them full soon
Because that she loved her Enniskillen dragoon.

You bright son of Mars who stand on the right,
Whose armor doth shine like the bright star of night,
Saying Willie, dearest Willie, you've listed full soon,
For to serve as a royal Enniskillen dragoon.

O! Flora, dearest Flora, your pardon I crave,
It's now and forever I must be a slave,
Your parents they insulted me, both morning and noon,
For fear that you'd wed an Enniskillen dragoon.

O! mind, dearest Willie, O! mind what you say,
For children are bound their parents to obey;
For when we're leaving Ireland they will all change their tune,
Saying the Lord may be with you, Enniskillen dragoon.

Fare you well, Enniskillen, fare you well for a while.
And all around the borders of Erin's green Isle,
And when the war is over we'll return in full bloom,
And they'll all welcome home the Enniskillen dragoon.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 5th/6th Dragoons (later the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, then finally the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards) in 1922.

The 'Skins' (as they were known) are one of the four ancestor regiments of the Royal Dragoon Guards.

The regiment was first raised as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons in 1689, by the regimenting of various independent troops, and ranked as the 6th Dragoons. It later took the nickname of the "Black Dragoons", and in 1751 was formally titled as the 6th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Dragoons, later simply the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons.

Arguably one of the most famous cavalry regiments of all time. One of their most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. They also fought with distinction at the Battle of Waterloo in the Charge of the Union Brigade and again during the Crimean War as part of the successful Charge of the Heavy Brigade against superior numbers at the Battle of Balaklava.

World War I sounded the death knell for mounted cavalry as it became apparent that technology had moved forward with greater destructive power and made horsed cavalry redundant on the modern battlefield. The British Army reorganised and reduced its cavalry corps by disbanding or amalgamating many of its famous cavalry regiments in 1922 as part of the Geddes Reforms. The Inniskillings was one of those affected.

I was playing my small pipes yesterday now that I can feel my lips after the last weekend and one of the tunes that I like to play was "Garry Owen." This got me to thinking about the tune. Every time I here it I seem to think about John Wane riding from over a hill out west with a column of troopers behind him to the rescue of some body. Hollywood did make it well known.

So with a little time using the the internet and a book or two I have on my  selves . This is what I came up with. Hope you find it of some interest.

"Garryowen" is an old Irish quick-step that can be traced back to the early 1860's.  In 1867, "Garryowen" was adopted by the 7th Cavalry Regiment as the official Air (tune) of the Regiment, and the historical nickname given to the 7th Cavalry Regiment and Troopers.  It became the Official tune of the 1st Cavalry Division in 1981.  "Garryowen" has become undoubtedly the most famous of all the regimental marches in the Army.

The word garryowen is derived from Irish, the proper name Eóghan ("born of the yew tree") and the word for garden garrai - thus "Eóghan's Garden". The term refers to an area of the town of Limerick, Ireland.

"Garryowen" is known to have been used by Irish regiments as a drinking song.  As the story goes, one of the Irish "melting pot" Troopers of the 7th Cavalry, under the influence of "spirits", was singing the song.  By chance Custer heard the melody, liked the cadence, and soon began to hum the tune to himself.  The tune has a lively beat, that accentuates the cadence of marching horses, and for that reason was adopted as the regimental song soon after Custer arrived at Fort Riley, Kansas to take over command of the 7th Cavalry Regiment.  It was the last song played for Custer's men as they left General Terry's column at the Powder River and rode into history.

The tune became the official "Air" of the Regiment in 1867 and actually became the official tune of the entire 1st Cavalry Division in 1981.

The significance of the tune in the Regiment's history led to it being incorporated into the Regimental crest, along with the raised saber.

When Soldiers salute an officer, they also traditionally give the "greeting of the day" or the regimental motto. So when any soldier, anywhere, in the 7th Cav salutes, they sound off with "Garry Owen, Sir!"

Original Version:

Let Bacchus' sons be not dismayed
But join with me, each jovial blade
Come, drink and sing and lend your aid
To help me with the chorus:

Chorus
Instead of spa, we'll drink brown ale
And pay the reckoning on the nail;
No man for debt shall go to jail
From Garryowen in glory.

We'll beat the bailiffs out of fun,
We'll make the mayor and sheriffs run
We are the boys no man dares dun
If he regards a whole skin.(Chorus)

Our hearts so stout have got no fame
For soon 'tis known from whence we came
Where'er we go they fear the name
Of Garryowen in glory. (Chorus)

We'll beat the bailiffs out of fun,
we'll make the mayor and sheriffs run,
we are the boys no man dare dun,
if he regards a whole skin. (Chorus)

Our hearts so stout have got us fame,
for soon 'tis known from whence we came,
where're we go they dread the name,
of Garry Owen in glory. (Chorus)

7TH Cavalry Version

We are the pride of the army,
And a regiment of great renown,
Our name's on the pages of history,
From sixty six on down.
If you think we stop or falter,
While into the fray we're goin'
Just watch the step with our heads erect
When our band plays "Garry Owen."

Chorus:
In the Fighting Seventh's the place for me.
It's the cream of all the cavalry;
No other regiment ever can claim
It's pride, honor, glory, and undying fame.

We know no fear when stern duty
Calls us far away from home,
Our country's flag shall sagely o'er us wave,
No matter where we roam.
T'is the gallant Seventh Cavalry,
It matters not where we're goin'
such you'll surely say as we march away,
When our band plays "Garry Owen."
(Chorus)

Then hurrah for our brave commanders!
Who lead us into the fight.
We'll do or die in our country's cause.
And battle for the right.
And when the war is o'er
And to our home we're goin'
Just watch the step, with our head erect,
When our band plays, "Garry Owen."


Well, that it for now. This tune had a lot of documentation which made it somewhat easy. Others I have look at not so much. However I think that its more interesting if we know a little bit about the tunes we play.

Live well and play the music often.

Bob Stock

Some Pics From the Pub Crawl

Well, as Bob said about the pub crawl, "...we made it through a long weekend with a lot of playing and I hope a lot of fun for every one went through it. By the end of it all we gave eleven performances, played for a benefit for type 1 diabetes (previously known as juvenile diabetes) at UNO's in Dover. Had a great Irish breakfast at one pub, appetizers at another, another great corn beef and cabbage meal at the Dover American Legion and for some of us a few beers here and there.

Thanks to every one who made this happen and I hope that Monday morning wasn't too bad."

Thought I'd attach some photos from the weekend.  If anybody else has any and would want to share, pass them along.  It was a good, long day/weekend for us all!  My lips were shot, and my pipes soaked!  But I can't wait until the next one!  Here are the pics, courtesy of Alyssa McCartney, a young lass who just joined the band as a student.

Don't forget that this weekend is the Manchester St. Patrick's Parade.  Should be another fun round of drinkin....er, playing!  Anyways, see you all on Sunday! And if anyone is up for it, on Sunday before the parade Dorothy and I wanted to invite everyone for (Irish) Coffee and Donuts!  Just let us know by responding to Bob's email.

Keep Calm and Pipe On!

Piper makes music with her donor's lungs

 From the San Francisco Chronicle.  A really inspiring story about a fellow Piper and her DOUBLE LUNG transplant!

"When Isabel Stenzel wails away on her bagpipes, playing "The Wearing of the Green" and marching in Saturday's St. Patrick's Day parade in San Francisco, she'll be relying on her own fingers, her own legs and someone else's lungs.
The 41-year-old social worker from Redwood City emerged from a double-lung transplant operation in 2004 able to breathe normally - and, with some practice, huff heartily into a bagpipe - after a lifetime with cystic fibrosis. The genetic, chronic disease builds up heavy mucus in lungs and makes breathing almost impossible.
"I was so sick before," Stenzel said. "I couldn't even walk without being short of breath. At the end, I couldn't even brush my teeth without being short of breath. And here I am marching, da-da-da, playing 'Scotland the Brave' in full uniform. I'm like, 'What?' It's more than a dream."



Here's the link:
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Piper-makes-music-with-her-donor-s-lungs-4359366.php#src=fb

Our 'Beers and Cheers' Set in Boston

The Beers and Cheers Event.

We did an amazing job at the competition set, I believe. The Drummers Call went smooth... and the pipes did well also. It was very good to have Brian, one of our snare drummers, with us for the first time in a while. He is the one closest the the camera. We had Gabby, who is on the far end, with us for the first time ever. She did fabulous! I really think the light-up sticks looked great in the dark like that.
      It was a great night, I think. Besides the little swap-up with the drums; the person shall not be named (Claire), and the bus getting hit-and-run-ed. I hope we go back to Boston next year and do this again.

-K