| 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.
Click here to listen to the Regimental Slow March and learn a little
about its history.
|
