Drink Old England Dry - the song rolls on.

Описание: “Drink Old England Dry” is one of those rare folk songs that never stood still. It first appeared in the early 19th century, when Britain was bracing itself against Napoleon and the threat of invasion. The version sung here was collected in Portsmouth in 1903, and it imagines none other than the Duke of Wellington rallying the troops against the French in 1815.

But the life of the song didn’t end there. Like a living tradition, it kept changing to fit the times. In the Crimean War, the Russians were named as the enemy. During the South African (Boer) War, it was Lord Roberts who took the place of Wellington. In the Second World War, Winston Churchill strode into the verses. Even during the Cold War, new versions turned the spotlight back onto Russia. The chorus never changed — “Drink old England dry” — but the foe and the hero shifted with every generation.

This performance gives the song a folk-club treatment, with a new, rousing chorus added for good measure. The images cut back and forth between the noisy warmth of The Dolphin pub in Portsmouth and scenes of Wellington’s campaigns, blending a bravado drinking song with moments of history.

And just a note: this isn’t about waving flags or jingoism. It’s shared here as a piece of history, to show how folk music has always been shaped by the times, carrying old voices forward into new ones.



#FolkSong #TraditionalMusic #NapoleonicWars #Wellington #Portsmouth #HistoryInSong #DrinkOldEnglandDry #FolkClub #HistoricBallads

Lyrics

Come drink, my brave boys, and never give o’er.
Come drink, my brave boys, as I’ve told you oft before.
For the Frenchmen they are coming to find a fresh supply.
And swear they will drink old England dry.

Drink old England dry.
Drink old England dry.
The French they are coming
to drink old England dry.

Then up spoke bold Lord Wellington, of courage and renown.
He SWORE he would prove loyal to his COUNTRY and the Crown.
“Our BIG guns all will rattle and our BULLETS quickly fly,
beFORE the French shall come, and drink old England dry.

Drink old England dry.
Drink old England dry.
The French they are coming
to drink old England dry.

Suppose that we should meet the French or Dutch by the way,
we all will hang together – and show them British play.
We all will hang together – and fight until we die,
before the French shall come and drink old England dry.

Drink old England dry.
Drink old England dry.
The French they are coming
to drink old England dry.

And if we should meet with their ships out on the seas,
I’ll warrant you my bully boys, we’ll give them little ease.
We’ll take them all, or sink them, or cause them all to fly,
before the French shall come and drink old England dry.

Drink old England dry.
Drink old England dry.
The French they are coming
to drink old England dry.

The French are all for landing, in Engerland we think.
But the Devil he shall take them all before they get a drink.
King George, and all his subjects here, shll fight until they die,
before the French shall come and drink old England dry.

Drink old England dry.
Drink old England dry.
The French they are coming
to drink old England dry.