The Wild Rover
Encyclopedia
The Wild Rover is a popular folk song whose origins are contested.
According to Professor T. M. Devine in his book The Scottish Nation 1700 - 2000 (Penguin, 2001) the song was written as a temperance
song. The song is found printed in a book, The American Songster, printed in the USA by W.A. Leary in 1845, and spread from Scotland to America from the Temperance movement. There is another USA printed version in the "Forget-Me-Not Songster" (c 1850), published by Locke. An alternative history of the song is suggested by the fact that a collection of ballads, dated between 1813 and 1838, is held in the Bodleian Library
. The printer, Catnach, was based in the "7 Dials" area of Covent Garden, London. The Bodleian bundle contains "The Wild Rover". The Greig-Duncan collection contains no less than six versions of the song. It was compiled by Gavin Greig
1848–1917.
It is often considered to be a drinking song
rather than a Temperance song. The song is a staple for artists performing live music in Irish pubs
.
Raymond Daly and Derek Warfield
describe how the fans of Celtic Football Club in Scotland sing The Wild Rover at away matches. The chorus is well known throughout most Irish, Irish-American and British cultures, even among people who have no knowledge of the rest of the song.
As with Celtic Football Club, the chorus is sung by football fans throughout England, usually with the words adapted to suit the team in question.
Many companies have also taken advantage of the tune's popularity and used it to advertise their products. Dairy Crest
adapted the chorus to advertise their Clover margarine in the UK.
According to Professor T. M. Devine in his book The Scottish Nation 1700 - 2000 (Penguin, 2001) the song was written as a temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
song. The song is found printed in a book, The American Songster, printed in the USA by W.A. Leary in 1845, and spread from Scotland to America from the Temperance movement. There is another USA printed version in the "Forget-Me-Not Songster" (c 1850), published by Locke. An alternative history of the song is suggested by the fact that a collection of ballads, dated between 1813 and 1838, is held in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
. The printer, Catnach, was based in the "7 Dials" area of Covent Garden, London. The Bodleian bundle contains "The Wild Rover". The Greig-Duncan collection contains no less than six versions of the song. It was compiled by Gavin Greig
Gavin Greig
Gavin Greig was a folksong collector, playwright and teacher.He edited James Scott Skinner's biggest collection of music, The Harp & Claymore Collection, providing harmonies for Skinner's compositions, and he was jointly responsible for compiling The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, with the Rev...
1848–1917.
It is often considered to be a drinking song
Drinking song
A drinking song is a song sung while drinking alcohol. Most drinking songs are folk songs, and may be varied from person to person and region to region, in both the lyrics and in the music...
rather than a Temperance song. The song is a staple for artists performing live music in Irish pubs
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
.
Raymond Daly and Derek Warfield
Derek Warfield
Derek Warfield is an Irish singer, songwriter, historian, and a founding member of the musical group Wolfe Tones.-Personal life:Warfield was born the eldest of four in Inchicore, Dublin in 1943 and he was educated at Synge Street CBS. He was apprenticed as a tailor until becoming a folk musician....
describe how the fans of Celtic Football Club in Scotland sing The Wild Rover at away matches. The chorus is well known throughout most Irish, Irish-American and British cultures, even among people who have no knowledge of the rest of the song.
As with Celtic Football Club, the chorus is sung by football fans throughout England, usually with the words adapted to suit the team in question.
Many companies have also taken advantage of the tune's popularity and used it to advertise their products. Dairy Crest
Dairy Crest
Dairy Crest Group plc is a major dairy products company in the United Kingdom. Its brands include Cathedral City Cheddar cheese, Utterly Butterly, Vitalite, Clover, St Ivel and Frijj. The company delivers milk to around 1.1 million households via their milkmen...
adapted the chorus to advertise their Clover margarine in the UK.
Recordings
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- Bizardunak, in a version sung in Basque called Nafarroa, gure aberria
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, on One for the Road in 2008 - Cutthroat Shamrock
- Doble Fuerza
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- The DublinersThe DublinersThe Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
on The Dubliners in 1964 - Foster and Allen
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- The High KingsThe High KingsThe High Kings are an Irish ballad group. They were formed on Carick on Suir by Fibarr Clancy and Martin Furey.Brian Dunphy , and Broadway/pop/country singer Darren Holden were later recruited having wowed the world with their own solo careers on broadway in musical reviews, such as Riverdance...
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on Ten Thousand Miles Away and others - The Irish McGees
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- The MahonesThe Mahones-Biography:The Mahones are an Irish-born, Canadian Celtic punk band, influenced by the Celtic Rock revival of the late 1980's, pioneered by such bands as the Pogues and the Waterboys....
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on Johnny Logan and Friends - Marc GunnMarc GunnMarc Gunn is a musician and podcaster. As the autoharp-playing half of the Brobdingnagian Bards, Gunn and partner Andrew McKee developed a following with weekly performances on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. This led to gigs at renaissance faires, science fiction conventions, and...
- Morning Call
- MudmenMudmenMudmen are a Canadian rock band that formed in Toronto, Ontario in 2000. Initially comprising vocalist Zoy Nicoles, guitarist Lonny Knapp, bassist Tommy Skilton, drummer Ryan McCaffrey and bagpipe-playing brothers Robby and Sandy Campbell...
on their album "Another Day" released in 2010. The MudmenMudmenMudmen are a Canadian rock band that formed in Toronto, Ontario in 2000. Initially comprising vocalist Zoy Nicoles, guitarist Lonny Knapp, bassist Tommy Skilton, drummer Ryan McCaffrey and bagpipe-playing brothers Robby and Sandy Campbell...
feature bagpipers Rob and Sandy Campbell who perform on the Hockey Night In Canada theme song on CBC television. - Off KilterOff KilterOff Kilter is a Celtic-rock band. Off Kilter was formed in 1997, and has been performing regularly at Epcot ever since. Their first album, Off Kilter included some traditional songs like "Dirty Old Town" and "Fields of Athenry" as well as covers of popular rock songs generally from Canadian artists...
- Orthodox CeltsOrthodox CeltsOrthodox Celts is a Serbian band which plays Irish folk music combined with rock elements. Despite their unusual sound the band is one of the top acts of the Serbian rock scene and has influenced several younger bands, most notably Tir na n'Og and Irish Stew of Sindidun.The band started their...
on their debut album in 1994 - The PoguesThe PoguesThe Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
, on the 2004 remaster of their debut album, Red Roses For MeRed Roses for MeRed Roses for Me was the first full length album by the London-based band The Pogues and was released in 1984. It is filled with traditional Irish music performed with punk influences. Traditional songs and ballads mixed with Shane MacGowan's "gutter hymns" about drinking, fighting and sex was... - RapaljeRapaljeRapalje is a Dutch Celtic folk band which performs Irish, Scottish and Dutch folk music and sings in Dutch as well as in English.- Recordings :The band recorded 8 CD's, of which 3 were later compiled into 1 album, and 1 DVD.* 1998: Into Folk...
- Rolf HarrisRolf HarrisRolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
- The SeekersThe SeekersThe Seekers are an Australian folk-influenced pop music group which were originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States...
- Soldat LouisSoldat LouisSoldat Louis are a French rock group originally from Lorient, who mix the traditional music of Brittany with typical rock music instruments - electric and acoustic guitar, drum kit, etc - as well as the traditional bagpipes and bombard...
- Stiff Little FingersStiff Little FingersStiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star , doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. They split up after six years and four albums, although they...
on their live album which was later repackaged as the third disc of their Anthology - The Town PantsThe Town PantsThe Town Pants is a Celtic rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, formed from the remnants of The Van Demons by brothers Dave and Duane Keogh...
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on their 2003 album Eric the RedEric the Red (album)Eric the Red is the second full-length album by the Faroese Viking folk metal band Týr. It was released on June 27, 2003 by Tutl.The album is trilingual with Faroese and English as the predominant languages... - Prydein
- Wolfe TonesWolfe TonesThe Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band who incorporate elements of Irish traditional music in their songs. They are named after the Irish rebel and patriot Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double entendre that a wolf tone is a spurious sound...
- Woods Tea Company
External links
- Performance by The High Kings on NPR, 2008-09-14
- http://www.irishmusicforever.com/wild-rover