"Sgt. MacKenzie" is a lament written and sung by Joseph Kilna MacKenzie (1955-2009),[1] in memory of his great-grandfather who was killed in combat during World War I. It has been used in the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers and the ending scene of the 2012 film End of Watch.
Joseph MacKenzie wrote the haunting lament after the death of his wife, Christine, and in memory of his great-grandfather, Charles Stuart MacKenzie, a sergeant in the Seaforth Highlanders, who along with hundreds of his brothers-in-arms from the Elgin-Rothes area in Moray, Scotland went to fight in World War I. Sergeant MacKenzie was bayoneted to death at age 33, while defending one of his badly injured fellow soldiers during hand-to-hand trench warfare.[2] His grave stone states that he died on 9 April 1917.
The track was then included in his band Clann An Drumma's album Tried and True (2001). While working on the film We Were Soldiers (2002), director Randall Wallace received a CD of the album and was haunted by the emotion and spirit of reverence captured in "Sgt. MacKenzie". He arranged for Joe and his bandmate Donnie MacNeil, who played the pipes, to re-record "Sgt. MacKenzie" with the backing of an 80-piece orchestra and the United States Military Academy Choir at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. The lament was introduced into the film during key scenes, with MacKenzie singing on his own, and on the last track of the film with the orchestra and choir. It is mistakenly believed the original version was in Scottish (Gaelic), but it was in Scots.
The original pipe score was written and played by Seoras Wallace, when Joe MacKenzie read his poem to him and Tu-Bardh Wilson in a house in Govan many years ago. The original recording is on the ClanWallace live album, and it was this recording that inspired Randall Wallace and Mel Gibson to contact Seoras about using the track on the film We Were Soldiers (2002).
Sgt. Charles Stuart MacKenzie
Sgt. Charles Stuart MacKenzie went to fight in France during World War I and was shot in the shoulder. The military sent him home to Scotland for treatment, where the surgeon wanted to amputate his arm. Sgt. MacKenzie refused, stating that he had to go back to his men. While recuperating in the hospital, he was asked what it was like to kill "the Hun" (as the Germans were called then). He replied, "what a waste of a fine body of men". His last picture, with him in uniform, was taken on the steps of the hospital. This picture hung in his home above the fireplace. Upon his return to the front, he and his men were engaged in fixed bayonet combat. The composer says,
To the best of my knowledge, and taken from reports of the returning soldiers, one of his close friends fell, badly wounded. Charles stood his ground and fought until he was overcome and died from bayonet wounds. On that day, my great grandmother and my grandmother were sitting at the fire when the picture fell from the wall. My great grandmother looked, and said to my grandmother "Oh, my bonnie Charlie's dead". Sure enough a few days passed, and the local policeman brought the news - that Sgt. Charles Stuart MacKenzie had been killed in action. This same picture now hangs above my fireplace. A few years back my wife Christine died of cancer, and in my grief I looked at his picture to ask what gave him the strength to go on. It was then, in my mind, that I saw him lying on the field and wondered what his final thoughts were. The words and music just appeared into my head. I believe the men and women like yourself who are prepared to stand their ground for their family - for their friends - and for their country; deserve to be remembered, respected and honoured. "Sgt. MacKenzie", is my very small tribute to them. After "Sgt. MacKenzie" was first released on our Tried and True CD album in 2000, a copy of the song made its way to the hands of Hollywood director, Randall Wallace and actor Mel Gibson. Immediately they both agreed that "Sgt. MacKenzie" should feature prominently in their upcoming movie We Were Soldiers.
Child actor Atticus Shaffer was interested in the story of the actual soldier, so he dressed up as MacKenzie on Halloween.[4] This was incorporated into his character, Brick, on The Middle, who does the same in a Halloween episode, then writes a hip-hop musical in a later episode based on MacKenzie's life and inspired by the hit Broadway musical Hamilton.
Beside the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers, the original song was also played during a scene in the film End of Watch (2012), starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña. Song also used in episode 1 season 2 military drama SIX.
References
^Younie, Willie. . The Rothsian. Archived from the original on 23 January 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2007.
^Hughes, Peter (30 May 2015). Visiting the Fallen: Arras: North. ISBN9781473861053.
^"Serjeant Charles Stewart Mackenzie". Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
^Barnes, Brooks (6 May 2010). "Everybody Loves the Weird Kid". The New York Times.
External links
Sgt. MacKenzie on Clan An Drumma's website (Album: Tribal Heart, track 8: Sgt. MacKenzie's March - vocal edit)
Sgt. Charles Stewart MacKenzie (6th Bn. Seaforth Highlanders) in the CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) Online "Find War Dead" Records Database
January 26, 2023
mackenzie, lament, written, sung, joseph, kilna, mackenzie, 1955, 2009, memory, great, grandfather, killed, combat, during, world, been, used, 2002, movie, were, soldiers, ending, scene, 2012, film, watch, contents, history, charles, stuart, mackenzie, later, . Sgt MacKenzie is a lament written and sung by Joseph Kilna MacKenzie 1955 2009 1 in memory of his great grandfather who was killed in combat during World War I It has been used in the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers and the ending scene of the 2012 film End of Watch Contents 1 History 2 Sgt Charles Stuart MacKenzie 3 In later works 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditJoseph MacKenzie wrote the haunting lament after the death of his wife Christine and in memory of his great grandfather Charles Stuart MacKenzie a sergeant in the Seaforth Highlanders who along with hundreds of his brothers in arms from the Elgin Rothes area in Moray Scotland went to fight in World War I Sergeant MacKenzie was bayoneted to death at age 33 while defending one of his badly injured fellow soldiers during hand to hand trench warfare 2 His grave stone states that he died on 9 April 1917 The track was then included in his band Clann An Drumma s album Tried and True 2001 While working on the film We Were Soldiers 2002 director Randall Wallace received a CD of the album and was haunted by the emotion and spirit of reverence captured in Sgt MacKenzie He arranged for Joe and his bandmate Donnie MacNeil who played the pipes to re record Sgt MacKenzie with the backing of an 80 piece orchestra and the United States Military Academy Choir at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London The lament was introduced into the film during key scenes with MacKenzie singing on his own and on the last track of the film with the orchestra and choir It is mistakenly believed the original version was in Scottish Gaelic but it was in Scots The original pipe score was written and played by Seoras Wallace when Joe MacKenzie read his poem to him and Tu Bardh Wilson in a house in Govan many years ago The original recording is on the ClanWallace live album and it was this recording that inspired Randall Wallace and Mel Gibson to contact Seoras about using the track on the film We Were Soldiers 2002 Sgt Charles Stuart MacKenzie EditSgt Charles Stuart MacKenzie went to fight in France during World War I and was shot in the shoulder The military sent him home to Scotland for treatment where the surgeon wanted to amputate his arm Sgt MacKenzie refused stating that he had to go back to his men While recuperating in the hospital he was asked what it was like to kill the Hun as the Germans were called then He replied what a waste of a fine body of men His last picture with him in uniform was taken on the steps of the hospital This picture hung in his home above the fireplace Upon his return to the front he and his men were engaged in fixed bayonet combat The composer says To the best of my knowledge and taken from reports of the returning soldiers one of his close friends fell badly wounded Charles stood his ground and fought until he was overcome and died from bayonet wounds On that day my great grandmother and my grandmother were sitting at the fire when the picture fell from the wall My great grandmother looked and said to my grandmother Oh my bonnie Charlie s dead Sure enough a few days passed and the local policeman brought the news that Sgt Charles Stuart MacKenzie had been killed in action This same picture now hangs above my fireplace A few years back my wife Christine died of cancer and in my grief I looked at his picture to ask what gave him the strength to go on It was then in my mind that I saw him lying on the field and wondered what his final thoughts were The words and music just appeared into my head I believe the men and women like yourself who are prepared to stand their ground for their family for their friends and for their country deserve to be remembered respected and honoured Sgt MacKenzie is my very small tribute to them After Sgt MacKenzie was first released on our Tried and True CD album in 2000 a copy of the song made its way to the hands of Hollywood director Randall Wallace and actor Mel Gibson Immediately they both agreed that Sgt MacKenzie should feature prominently in their upcoming movie We Were Soldiers Joseph Kilna MacKenzie MacKenzie was killed on 9 April 1917 during the Battle of Arras 3 He is buried in Highland Cemetery Roclincourt in Pas de Calais alongside other men from the 51st Highland Division In later works EditChild actor Atticus Shaffer was interested in the story of the actual soldier so he dressed up as MacKenzie on Halloween 4 This was incorporated into his character Brick on The Middle who does the same in a Halloween episode then writes a hip hop musical in a later episode based on MacKenzie s life and inspired by the hit Broadway musical Hamilton Beside the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers the original song was also played during a scene in the film End of Watch 2012 starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena Song also used in episode 1 season 2 military drama SIX References Edit Younie Willie SGT MACKENZIE The Rothsian Archived from the original on 23 January 2007 Retrieved 9 May 2007 Hughes Peter 30 May 2015 Visiting the Fallen Arras North ISBN 9781473861053 Serjeant Charles Stewart Mackenzie Commonwealth War Graves Commission Barnes Brooks 6 May 2010 Everybody Loves the Weird Kid The New York Times External links EditSgt MacKenzie on Clan An Drumma s website Album Tribal Heart track 8 Sgt MacKenzie s March vocal edit Sgt Charles Stewart MacKenzie 6th Bn Seaforth Highlanders in the CWGC Commonwealth War Graves Commission Online Find War Dead Records Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sgt MacKenzie amp oldid 1129117923, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
