U.S. Military band, West Point, N.Y.
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection, LC-D4-500708 DLC (b&w glass neg.)
| Origins of the Song |
| Music historians are
divided
about the origins of The Girl I Left Behind Me. It dates to
at least
the 17th century, when it was known in England as Brighton
Camp. Some
argue that it has even older roots in Ireland. It has been
played
around the world as a military march and is often used in movies and
television, such as The Girl I Left Behind Me, a 1915 silent film about
Custer, and the John Ford - John Wayne movie She Wore a Yellow
Ribbon.
In modern America, The Girl I Left Behind Me is the regimental march of
the 7th Infantry and is played at West Point, at the last parade before
graduation. Being a folk song, and being very old, there are many variations. All the different lyrics I used in The Reenactment are historically correct. |
| Lyrics |
| I'm lonesome since I
crossed the hill, And o'er the moor and valley, Such heavy thoughts my heart do fill, Since parting with my Sally. I'll seek no more the fine and gay, For each but does remind me, How swift the hours did pass away, With the Girl I left behind me. |
The bee shall honey taste
no more, The dove become a ranger, The dashing waves shall cease to roar, Ere she's to me a stranger. The vows we've registered above, Shall ever cheer and bind me, In constancy to her I love, The girl I left behind me. |
Oh, ne'er shall I forget the night, The stars were bright above me, And gently lent their silv'ry light When first she vowed she loved me. But now I'm bound for Brighton camp, Kind Heav'n may favour find me, And send me safely back again, To the Girl I left behind me. |
|
The strangest verse of the song I've come across is this one, from Forget Me Not Songster, published in Boston between 1820 and 1840:
I'm
lonesome since I crossed the hills And
o'er the moor that's sedgy, With
heavy thought my mind is filled Since
I patted Naegy. "Patted"
almost has to be a typo. "Passed" perhaps? Or
"parted", being a poetic shortening of "departed"? But what
on Earth is "Naegy"?!? I've tried Googling it, to no
avail. If anyone has an explanation for this stanza, I would
love to hear it! |
There are many recordings of The Girl I Left Behind Me available online. The best I've come across is a version played by The Peg Twisters, a lovely, North Carolina-based folk band. You can visit their website here, or go here to listen to this and other songs and download free mp3s. On the version of this page with music playing, it is The Peg Twisters that you are listening to.
For more information about The Girl I Left Behind Me, including other versions of the lryics, visit these sites:
Cottonbalers - The homepage of the Seventh Infantry.
Wikipedia also has an article on the song's history.
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