I had a first cousin called Arthur McBride
He and I took a stroll down by the by the sea side
A seeking good fortune and what might be tide
'Twas just as the day was a dawning
After resting we both took a tramp
We met Sergeant Harper and Corporal Cramp
Besides the wee drummer who beat up for camp
With his rowdy dow dow in the morning
Says he me young fellows if you will enlist
A guinea you quickly have in your fist
Likewise the crown for to kick the dust
And drink the king's health in the morning
From a soldier he leads a very fine life
He always is blessed with a charming young wife
And he pays all his debts without sorrow or strife
And always lives happy and charming
Ah now me bold sergeant we are not for sale
We'll make no such bargain, your bribe won't avail
We're not tried of our country we don't care to sail
Although that your offer is charming
And if we were such fools as to take the advance
This right bloody slander would be our poor chance
For the Queen wouldn't scruple to send us to France
Where we would be shot with out warning
He says me young fellows if I hear but one word
I instantly now will out with my sword
And into your body as strength will afford
So now my gay devils take warning
But Arthur and I we took in the odds
We gave them no chance for to launch out their swords
Our whacking shillelaghs came over their heads
And paid them right smart in the morning
As for the wee drummer we rifled his pouch
And we made a foot- ball of his rowdy dow dow
And into the ocean to rock and to roll
And bade it a tedious returning
As for the old rapier that hung by his side
We flung it as far as we could in tide
To devil I pitch you sez Arthur McBride
To temper your steel in the morning
He and I took a stroll down by the by the sea side
A seeking good fortune and what might be tide
'Twas just as the day was a dawning
After resting we both took a tramp
We met Sergeant Harper and Corporal Cramp
Besides the wee drummer who beat up for camp
With his rowdy dow dow in the morning
Says he me young fellows if you will enlist
A guinea you quickly have in your fist
Likewise the crown for to kick the dust
And drink the king's health in the morning
From a soldier he leads a very fine life
He always is blessed with a charming young wife
And he pays all his debts without sorrow or strife
And always lives happy and charming
Ah now me bold sergeant we are not for sale
We'll make no such bargain, your bribe won't avail
We're not tried of our country we don't care to sail
Although that your offer is charming
And if we were such fools as to take the advance
This right bloody slander would be our poor chance
For the Queen wouldn't scruple to send us to France
Where we would be shot with out warning
He says me young fellows if I hear but one word
I instantly now will out with my sword
And into your body as strength will afford
So now my gay devils take warning
But Arthur and I we took in the odds
We gave them no chance for to launch out their swords
Our whacking shillelaghs came over their heads
And paid them right smart in the morning
As for the wee drummer we rifled his pouch
And we made a foot- ball of his rowdy dow dow
And into the ocean to rock and to roll
And bade it a tedious returning
As for the old rapier that hung by his side
We flung it as far as we could in tide
To devil I pitch you sez Arthur McBride
To temper your steel in the morning
song info:
Verified yes
LanguageEnglish
Genre−
Rank−
Duration00:02:52
Charts
Copyright ©Sony/ATV Music Publishing
WriterAndy Irvine, Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Liam O'flynn
Lyrics licensed byLyricFind
AddedNovember 15th, 2013
Last updatedMarch 7th, 2022
AboutWhether Arthur comes from Ireland, as seems likely, England (specifically, East Anglia), as some people think, or anywhere else, three things appear to be certain:
1) The earliest printed versions of Arthur McBride date from the mid-nineteenth century.
2) The background to the song is recruitment into the British army.
3) It's a terrific song.
Let's assume that Arthur and his cousin were poor. The sergeant who appears in the song appears to be a recruiting sergeant, whose job it was, by hook or by crook, to enlist new conscripts into the army. He might do this with the offer of money (the Guinea that will soon be in their fists), by plying them with alcohol or, possibly, by using force - in the song, it seems that Sergeant Napper tries all three approaches. Once recruited, soldiers faced a life that was arguably hard, and possible death on the battlefield. Yet to many poor young men, whether English, Irish, Welsh or Scottish, this may have seemed a better option than the poverty in which they found themselves. Arthur and his cousin, however, refuse to be bribed, drunk or forced into the army, and fight the sergeant and his cohorts rather than submit to enlistment.
Reputedly the favourite song of the folklorist A.L. Lloyd, Arthur McBride has been recorded by Bob Dylan, John Kirkpatrick, Martin Carthy and, perhaps most notably, by Paul Brady, whose version you will find in the You Tube vide.
There are many different versions of the lyrics. Here is one and here is another, both courtesy of Mudcat.
The Blue Cockade, by the way, is another traditional song about enlistment, albeit with a different outcome, and told from a very different perspective.
1) The earliest printed versions of Arthur McBride date from the mid-nineteenth century.
2) The background to the song is recruitment into the British army.
3) It's a terrific song.
Let's assume that Arthur and his cousin were poor. The sergeant who appears in the song appears to be a recruiting sergeant, whose job it was, by hook or by crook, to enlist new conscripts into the army. He might do this with the offer of money (the Guinea that will soon be in their fists), by plying them with alcohol or, possibly, by using force - in the song, it seems that Sergeant Napper tries all three approaches. Once recruited, soldiers faced a life that was arguably hard, and possible death on the battlefield. Yet to many poor young men, whether English, Irish, Welsh or Scottish, this may have seemed a better option than the poverty in which they found themselves. Arthur and his cousin, however, refuse to be bribed, drunk or forced into the army, and fight the sergeant and his cohorts rather than submit to enlistment.
Reputedly the favourite song of the folklorist A.L. Lloyd, Arthur McBride has been recorded by Bob Dylan, John Kirkpatrick, Martin Carthy and, perhaps most notably, by Paul Brady, whose version you will find in the You Tube vide.
There are many different versions of the lyrics. Here is one and here is another, both courtesy of Mudcat.
The Blue Cockade, by the way, is another traditional song about enlistment, albeit with a different outcome, and told from a very different perspective.