Does anyone know this song?

Does anyone know this song? I downloaded Brigadier's modification for music and this was one of the tunes. Any help will be appreciated.

Originally Posted by CarradiceFrench

Does anyone know this song? I downloaded Brigadier's modification for music and this was one of the tunes. Any help will be appreciated.

Its called The Girl I Left Behind me. Its a British March. It is also known as Brighton Camp.
It was picked up by the US Army. He is the song with the words, though sung during the American Civil War. (Words are the same for both the US and UK Armies)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I remember it from a old movie ...

Oh God I nearly forgot about how catchy and absolutely nice it is. I hear this song and it's like an instant time machine.

Originally Posted by Shrod

I remember it from a old movie ...

Its been used in several old war movies and TV shows, such as 'She wore a yellow ribbon' (with John Wayne) and the Hornblower TV episode 'Frogs and Lobsters' so its pretty likely to have been heard by most people interested in the 19th century period.

Yes, it's a good song. I just wish I could find the song in such good quality and rawness as the one I linked to.

I had this tune as a pre-saved song on my little synthesizer some 20 years ago.

Brighton Camp 'Frog's and Lobsters'


Waxies Dargle [The original Irish folk tune]

Classic military music.Though somewhat overused.

Most military music of the period was based upon folk tunes and drinking songs. The concept of classical military music did not arise until much later with the rise of characters like Phillip Sousa. For example: even 'The Star Spangled Banner' is the product of marrying a poem with a British drinking song.

The old tradition of military music is enjoying a bit of a revival in some countries. In Sweden for instance their army can frequently be seen marching to Abba tunes, which is about the closest modern equivalent to the old tradition.

I've been lookin for the girl I left behind me, in that pre-Civil War British form. I only found Civil War versions on youtube.

Originally Posted by ♠ Marshal Beale ♠

I've been lookin for the girl I left behind me, in that pre-Civil War British form. I only found Civil War versions on youtube.

Well thats what we've just been discussing 'The Girl I left behind me' was a modern adaption of another song 'Brighton Camp', which in turn was probably sung to the tune of an Irish Folk song. The lyric's were amended over time to reflect the current purpose and context in which it was being sung.

So, for example Waxies Dargle is a Irish drinking song in which two men in a pub are talking about their wives, who work as candle-makers, which at the time was considered a suitable occupation for women. The "waxies' dargle" was their annual company outing to a pub in the seaside town of Bray. Monto town was the red light district, where it would not be difficult for women to get free drinks. In the 19th century, during the Summer, the gentry of Dublin would travel out to Bray and Enniskerry with their entourages and have picnics on the banks of the River Dargle. The Dargle was a popular holiday resort, and the name in Dublin slang became synonymous with "holiday resort". So, the lyric's suggest this version probably dates from after the Napoleonic Wars, but there were probably earlier versions with different lyric's but the same tune.

Brighton Camp which was a major venue for reviews of the British Army and militia in the late 18th, early 19th Century spawned its own version of the lyric's based on the same tune, and the tune is used by English Morris Dancers as a dance. The lyric's of Brighton Camp were mainly concerned with the war against France and her allies on the continent, and were probably influenced by the need to persuade men to volunteer for foriegn service.

Extract of the lyric's to Brighton Camp.
All the dames of France are fond and free
And Flemish lips are really willing
Very soft the maids of Italy
And Spanish eyes are so thrilling
Still, although I bask beneath their smile,
Their charms will fail to bind me
And my heart falls back to Erin's isle
To the girl I left behind me.

However, the marrying of the tune with the song title 'Blyth Camp' or 'The Girl I left behind me' was not recorded until 1812, and the marrying with the title 'Brighton Camp' not until 1816.

There was a march entitled the 'Brighton Camp Quick March' dated from 1792, but it actually has a completely different tune.

Music historian's are split about the origins of the tune. The earliest written annotation dates from 1810 and was published in Dublin as part of 'Himes' Pocket Book for the German Flute'. However, it may have existed as a traditional folk tune for far longer.

It is also possible that the tune may have been used by John Gay the composer as early as 1720, and it seems to be linked to his play 'All in the downs' possibly with the title 'Black Eyed Susan'. Though I've been unable to find a sound recording so far to confirm that the tune is the same and the title has been used so often since its difficult to filiter out the more recent dross. It also doesn't help that both the song and the play have been parodied since by other playwright such as Gilbert and Sullivan, so one is constantly left wondering if you are reading about the original version or one of its late copies and adaptions. The only copy of the lyric's I've found certainly don't seem to work with the tune of 'The Girl I left Behind me.'

So, as with a lot of marches and music of this period, including marches, hymns and 'The Star Spangled Banner', the result we hear today and consider a reasonably fixed in tune and lyric's were produced by process of evolution of decades if not centuries.