Lillibullero
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Lillibullero is a march that sets the words of a satirical ballad generally said to be by Lord Thomas Wharton to music attributed to Henry Purcell. Although the latter published Lillibullero in his compilation Music's Handmaid of 1689 as "a new Irish tune", it is probable that Purcell hijacked the tune as his own, a common practice in the musical world of the time.
The lyrics refer to the effects in Ireland of the Glorious Revolution, an episode in the history of the United Kingdom in which King James II abdicated and fled, and William III was invited by Parliament to the throne. James II then tried to reclaim the crown with the assistance of France; his invasion of Ireland was thwarted at the Battle of the Boyne. The song, put into the mouth of Irish nationalist rebels and satirizing their sentiments, pilloried the supporters of the Catholic King James. It was said to have ‘sung James II out of three kingdoms’. The tune seems to have been known at the time of the English Civil War. Lilliburlero is an accepted alternate spelling of the word, which is probably meaningless.
Contents |
The Lyrics
- Ho, brother Teague, dost hear the decree?
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- We are to have a new deputy
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- Refrain:
- Lero Lero Lillibullero
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- Lero Lero Lero Lero
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- Oh by my soul it is a Talbot
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- And he will cut every Englishman's throat
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- Refrain
- Now Tyrconnell is come ashore
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- And we shall have commissions galore
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- Refrain
- And everyone that won't go to Mass
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- He will be turned out to look like an ass
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- Refrain
- Now the heretics all go down
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- By Christ and St Patrick's the nation's our own
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- Refrain
- There was an old prophecy found in a bog
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- The country'd be ruled by an ass and a dog
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- Refrain
- Now this prophesy is all come to pass
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- For Talbot's the dog and Tyrconnell's the ass
- Lillibullero bullen a la
- Refrain
An explanation of the lyrics
The lyrics of the song are very closely related to Irish politics of the 1680s and '90s. "Teague" or Taig was (and is) an abusive term for the native Irish Catholics -derived from the Irish first name "Tadhg". The "new Deputy" refers to Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, who was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland by James II in 1688. The first Irishman and Roman Catholic to hold the post in nearly 200 years, he quickly filled the army in Ireland with Catholic officers (hence "we will have commissions galore") and recruits, alarming the Protestant community (mainly composed of English and Scottish settlers) and raising the hopes of the Irish Catholic community for a restoration of their lands and political power ("by Christ and St Patrick, the nation's our own"). The Catholic resurgence awakened Protestant fears of a massacre of all British and Protestant inhabitants of Ireland, which they believed had been attempted in the Irish Rebellion of 1641 ("he will cut every Englishman's throat").
The song parodies the widespread Irish belief in prophecy ("there was an old prophecy found in a bog, that Ireland'd be ruled by an ass and a dog"). Talbot as well as being a name is a breed of hunting dog. A common theme of such prophecies was the foreigners would be driven out of Ireland in some decisive battle. See the Siege of Limerick 1690, for an example of these attitudes. The song's title and the words of the refrain have been interpreted as a garbled version of the Irish words (an) lile ba léir é, ba linn an lá, "(the) lily was clear and ours was the day". The lily may be a reference to the fleur de lis of France, or to a popular interpreter of prophecies named William Lilly, who had prophesied in the late 16th century that a Catholic would come to the throne of England. Alternatively, the lyrics could mean, "Lilly is clear [about this], the day will be ours".
The Protestant Boys
Other words have been set to the tune. Of these words, the most well known, or notorious, is The Protestant Boys, an Ulster Protestant folk lyric which is sung and played by the Orange Order during its parades, which have been made the subject of controversy during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. These lyrics begin:
- The Protestant Boys are loyal and true
- Stout hearted in battle and stout-handed too
- The Protestant Boys are true to the last
- And faithful and peaceful when danger has passed
- And Oh! they bear and proudly wear
- The colours that floated o'er many a fray
- Where cannons were flashing
- And sabers were clashing
- The Protestant Boys still carried the day.
The BBC and Lillibullero
The tune of Lillibullero was adopted by the British Broadcasting Corporation's World War II programme Into Battle and became the unofficial march of the Commando Regiment of the British Army. Since its association with the BBC's role in the war, various recordings of Lillibullero have been played by the BBC as an identity signal. These include a marching band and a symphony orchestra. The most recent recording, performed by a string orchestra, was until recently played on the BBC World Service several times a day. The first few bars still precede the 3AM news bulletin.
REME
Lillibullero is the (official) Regimental March of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. This Corps was established during the Second World War and so the wartime use by the BBC desccribed above may well have played a part in its selection.
Lillibullero in Tristram Shandy
Lawrence Sterne's experimental and comic novel Tristram Shandy, published between 1759 and 1767 in nine volumes, hints at the great popularity of Lillibullero. One character, Captain Toby Shandy, a British Army veteran of the fighting in Ireland and the Low Countries during King William's reign, whistles the tune to Lillibullero obsessively.