"The Grand Old Duke of York" (also sung as The Noble Duke of York) is an English children's nursery rhyme, often performed as an action song. The eponymous duke has been argued to be a number of the bearers of that title, particularly Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1763–1827), and its lyrics (where the duke marches ten thousand soldiers up and down a hill for no apparent reason) have become proverbial for futile action. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 742.
Statue of Frederick, Duke of York, in Waterloo Place, Westminster, London
A modern version is:
Oh, the grand old Duke of York, He had ten thousand men; He marched them up to the top of the hill, And he marched them down again.
When they were up, they were up, And when they were down, they were down, And when they were only halfway up, They were neither up nor down.[2]
Originsedit
Richard Tarlton in the 1580s with his pipe and tabor
Like many popular nursery rhymes the origins of the song have been much debated and remain unclear. Unusually the rhyme clearly refers to a historical person and debates have tended to circulate around identifying which Duke is being referred to in the lyrics.[2] The lyrics were not printed in their modern form until relatively recently, in Arthur Rackham's Mother Goose in 1913.[3] Prior to that a number of alternatives have been found including a note that in Warwickshire in 1892 the song was sung of both the Duke of York and the King of France; from 1894 that it was sung of Napoleon.[2] The oldest version of the song that survives is from 1642, under the title 'Old Tarlton's song', attributed to the stage clown Richard Tarlton (1530–1588) with the lyrics:
The King of France with forty thousand men, Came up a hill and so came downe againe.[4]
As a result, the argument has been made that it may have been a common satirical verse that was adapted as appropriate and, because it was recorded in roughly the modern form, has become fixed on the Duke of York.[2] Candidates for the duke in question include:
Richard, Duke of York (1411–1460), who was defeated at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460. Richard's army, some 8,000 strong, was awaiting reinforcements at Sandal Castle in Wakefield (the castle was built on top of a Normanmotte). He was surrounded by Lancastrian forces some three times that number, but chose to sally forth to fight. Richard died in a pitched battle at Wakefield Green, together with between one third and one half of his army.[5]
James II (1633–1701), formerly Duke of York, who in 1688 marched his troops to Salisbury Plain to resist the invasion from his son-in-law William of Orange, only to retreat and disperse them as his support began to evaporate.[6]
The most common attribution is to Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1763–1827), the second son of King George III and Commander-in-Chief of the British Army during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.[2] His most significant field command was during the Flanders Campaign of 1793–94. Despite the British troops having some success against the French, in the summer of 1794 the Duke was obliged to retreat into the Netherlands and he was subsequently recalled to England.[7] Flanders having something of a reputation for being flat, the specific location of the "hill" in the nursery rhyme has been suggested to be the town of Cassel which is built on a hill which rises 176 metres (about 570 feet) above the flat lands of French Flanders in northern France.[2]
Apart from the ducal title in the song and the events of their lives there is no external evidence to link the rhyme to any of these candidates.
A Dutch adaptation of the song replaces the Duke of York with Maurice, Prince of Orange (1567–1625), whose practice of training mercenaries (completely new and mocked at first) became famous after his success in war. It is not known when the British song crossed the North Sea, but it is now well-known within the Dutch scouting movement.[8]
De held prins Maurits kwam met honderdduizend man daar ging hij mee de heuvel op en ook weer naar benee en was 'ie bovenan dan was 'ie niet benee en was 'ie halverwege was 'ie boven noch benee
The hero Prince Maurice came with a hundred thousand men with them he went up the hill and also down again and when he was up then he wasn't down and when he was half-way he was neither up nor down
^ abcdefI. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 442–443.
^E. Knowles, Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1941, 6th edn., 2004).
^J. Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps and Henry Chettle, eds, Tarlton's Jests: And News Out of Purgatory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1844), p. xxix.
^J. Swinnerton, The History of Britain Companion (Robson, 2005), p. 149.
^C. Roberts, Heavy words lightly thrown: the reason behind the rhyme (Granta, 2004), p. 44.
^J. Black, Britain as a military power, 1688–1815 (London: Routledge, 1999), p. 195.
^"De held prins Maurits". Scouting Marca Appoldro. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
^ abMerrifield, Ryan; Meehan, Abbie (20 February 2022). "Prince Andrew 'ridiculed by aides with nursery rhyme' after £12 million court settlement". Edinburgh Live.
^ abMurray, Robin (10 May 2022). "The Kunts Announce New Single 'Prince Andrew Is A Sweaty Nonce'". Clash Music. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
^Malt, Andy (10 May 2022). "The Kunts hoping for Jubilee hit single". Complete Music Update. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
January 19, 2024
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The Grand Old Duke of York also sung as The Noble Duke of York is an English children s nursery rhyme often performed as an action song The eponymous duke has been argued to be a number of the bearers of that title particularly Prince Frederick Duke of York and Albany 1763 1827 and its lyrics where the duke marches ten thousand soldiers up and down a hill for no apparent reason have become proverbial for futile action It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 742 The Grand Old Duke of York Nursery rhymePublished1642Songwriter s unknown The Grand Old Duke of York is also sung to the tune of A Hunting We Will Go 1 Contents 1 Words 2 Origins 3 Dutch version 4 In popular culture 5 ReferencesWords edit nbsp Statue of Frederick Duke of York in Waterloo Place Westminster LondonA modern version is Oh the grand old Duke of York He had ten thousand men He marched them up to the top of the hill And he marched them down again When they were up they were up And when they were down they were down And when they were only halfway up They were neither up nor down 2 Origins edit nbsp Richard Tarlton in the 1580s with his pipe and taborLike many popular nursery rhymes the origins of the song have been much debated and remain unclear Unusually the rhyme clearly refers to a historical person and debates have tended to circulate around identifying which Duke is being referred to in the lyrics 2 The lyrics were not printed in their modern form until relatively recently in Arthur Rackham s Mother Goose in 1913 3 Prior to that a number of alternatives have been found including a note that in Warwickshire in 1892 the song was sung of both the Duke of York and the King of France from 1894 that it was sung of Napoleon 2 The oldest version of the song that survives is from 1642 under the title Old Tarlton s song attributed to the stage clown Richard Tarlton 1530 1588 with the lyrics The King of France with forty thousand men Came up a hill and so came downe againe 4 As a result the argument has been made that it may have been a common satirical verse that was adapted as appropriate and because it was recorded in roughly the modern form has become fixed on the Duke of York 2 Candidates for the duke in question include Richard Duke of York 1411 1460 who was defeated at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460 Richard s army some 8 000 strong was awaiting reinforcements at Sandal Castle in Wakefield the castle was built on top of a Norman motte He was surrounded by Lancastrian forces some three times that number but chose to sally forth to fight Richard died in a pitched battle at Wakefield Green together with between one third and one half of his army 5 James II 1633 1701 formerly Duke of York who in 1688 marched his troops to Salisbury Plain to resist the invasion from his son in law William of Orange only to retreat and disperse them as his support began to evaporate 6 The most common attribution is to Prince Frederick Duke of York and Albany 1763 1827 the second son of King George III and Commander in Chief of the British Army during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars 2 His most significant field command was during the Flanders Campaign of 1793 94 Despite the British troops having some success against the French in the summer of 1794 the Duke was obliged to retreat into the Netherlands and he was subsequently recalled to England 7 Flanders having something of a reputation for being flat the specific location of the hill in the nursery rhyme has been suggested to be the town of Cassel which is built on a hill which rises 176 metres about 570 feet above the flat lands of French Flanders in northern France 2 Apart from the ducal title in the song and the events of their lives there is no external evidence to link the rhyme to any of these candidates Dutch version edit nbsp Maurice Prince of OrangeA Dutch adaptation of the song replaces the Duke of York with Maurice Prince of Orange 1567 1625 whose practice of training mercenaries completely new and mocked at first became famous after his success in war It is not known when the British song crossed the North Sea but it is now well known within the Dutch scouting movement 8 De held prins Maurits kwam met honderdduizend man daar ging hij mee de heuvel op en ook weer naar benee en was ie bovenan dan was ie niet benee en was ie halverwege was ie boven noch benee The hero Prince Maurice came with a hundred thousand men with them he went up the hill and also down again and when he was up then he wasn t down and when he was half way he was neither up nor downIn popular culture editIn February 2022 parodies of the nursery rhyme referencing Prince Andrew Duke of York s reported 12 million out of court settlement with Virginia Giuffre had entered circulation 9 A version reported in the media contained the lyrics 9 The grand old Duke of York he had twelve million quid He gave it to someone he never met for something he never did Later in May the black comedy musician Kunt and the Gang released the satirical single Prince Andrew Is a Sweaty Nonce about the controversy surrounding his 2019 interview with Emily Maitlis on Newsnight 10 11 The single s verses directly interpolate the nursery rhyme 10 References edit Cub Scout Songbook Boy Scouts of America 1955 a b c d e f I Opie and P Opie The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes Oxford University Press 1951 2nd edn 1997 pp 442 443 E Knowles Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Oxford Oxford University Press 1941 6th edn 2004 J Orchard Halliwell Phillipps and Henry Chettle eds Tarlton s Jests And News Out of Purgatory Oxford Oxford University Press 1844 p xxix J Swinnerton The History of Britain Companion Robson 2005 p 149 C Roberts Heavy words lightly thrown the reason behind the rhyme Granta 2004 p 44 J Black Britain as a military power 1688 1815 London Routledge 1999 p 195 De held prins Maurits Scouting Marca Appoldro Retrieved 1 September 2016 a b Merrifield Ryan Meehan Abbie 20 February 2022 Prince Andrew ridiculed by aides with nursery rhyme after 12 million court settlement Edinburgh Live a b Murray Robin 10 May 2022 The Kunts Announce New Single Prince Andrew Is A Sweaty Nonce Clash Music Retrieved 28 May 2022 Malt Andy 10 May 2022 The Kunts hoping for Jubilee hit single Complete Music Update Retrieved 28 May 2022 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Grand Old Duke of York amp oldid 1175179981, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
