![Piper and Drummer of the 92nd Gordon Highlanders, Edinburgh Castle 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Piper_and_Drummer_of_the_92nd_Gordon_Highlanders%2C_Edinburgh_Castle_2.jpg)
Cock o'the North is a 6/8
military march,
bagpipe
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...
tune and
jig
The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts of ...
. The title comes from the
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
of
Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon
Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, KT (18 June 1743 – 17 June 1827), styled Marquess of Huntly until 1752, was a Scottish nobleman, described by Kaimes as the "greatest subject in Britain", and was also known as the Cock o' the North, the tr ...
, who in 1794 raised the
92nd Regiment of Foot
The 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1794. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gordon Highlanders in 1881.
History
Forma ...
, which later became the
Gordon Highlanders
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gordon, ...
.
History
The composer is unknown, but it first appeared in print in 1816 as a
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
tune. It was later published in a collection of bagpipe music by Donald MacDonald in 1822, with the title of ''Gairm n’an Coileach'' (
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
: "The Cock’s Crow").
[Jack Kopstein, ''World Book Of Military Music and Musicians'', Marches: B-D](_blank)
Some writers have noted a similarity to the 17th century English tune "Joan's
Placket
A placket (also spelled placquet) is an opening in the upper part of trousers or skirts, or at the neck or sleeve of a garment. Plackets are almost always used to allow clothing to be put on or removed easily but are sometimes used purely as a d ...
is Torn", which was mentioned by
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
and is in
John Playford
John Playford (1623–1686/7) was a London bookseller, publisher, minor composer, and member of the Stationers' Company, who published books on music theory, instruction books for several instruments, and psalters with tunes for singing in churche ...
's work, ''
The Dancing Master
''The Dancing Master'' (first edition: ''The English Dancing Master'') is a dancing manual containing the music and instructions for English country dances. It was first published in 1651 by John Playford.
History
It was published in several ...
''. A version of the tune as a
reel
A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the en ...
, from the island of
Whalsay
Whalsay ( sco, Whalsa; non, Hvalsey or ''Hvals-øy'', meaning 'Whale Island') is the sixth largest of the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland.
Geography
Whalsay, also known as "The Bonnie Isle", is a peat-covered island in the Shetland I ...
goes by the name ''Jumping John''.
Military Use
The tune has always been a march used by the Gordon Highlanders, although it did not become the official
regimental march
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
until 1933, when it replaced
Hielan' Laddie
"Highland Laddie", also known as "Hielan' Laddie", is the name of a Scottish popular folk tune "If Thou'lt Play Me Fair Play", but as with many old melodies various sets of words can be sung to it, of which Robert Burns's poem "Highland Laddie" ...
.
Although strongly associated with the Gordons, it was used by other Highland regiments, too.
At the
Siege of Lucknow
The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief att ...
, during the
Indian Mutiny of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
, 12-year-old
Drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
Ross of the
93rd Highlanders
The 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Line Infantry Regiment of the British Army, raised in 1799. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Su ...
signalled the arrival of his regiment to the besieged garrison, by climbing the spire of the Shah Najaf Mosque and playing "Cock o' the North" on his bugle, while under heavy fire from the rebel forces.
In 1897, during an attack by the Gordon Highlanders on the
Dargai Heights
Dargai ( ps, درگئی; ur, ) is one of the tehsils of Malakand District (the other being Batkhela) in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It located on the main highway from Peshawar to Swat, Dir and Chitral.
The town of ...
, which were held by
Afridi
The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...
tribesmen during the
Tirah
The Tirah also spelled Terah ( ps, تیراہ) also called the Tirah Valley (), is a mountainous tract located in the Khyber district, lying between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan.
Society
Lying close to the Pak-Afghan bord ...
campaign, Piper
George Findlater won the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
for continuing to play a regimental march while wounded in both feet. The official statement did not give the name of the tune he played; some accounts state that it was "
Haughs of Cromdale" which was the Regimental Charge-tune, others claim it was "Cock of the North". Finlater's own account says that he did not hear an order to play "Cock of the North", and played "Cromdale" on his own initiative.
Besides the Gordons, the tune is, or has been, an official march for the following units:
*
48th Highlanders of Canada
*
85th Nova Scotia Highlanders
*
King's Own Scottish Borderers
The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...
*
Royal Canadian Regiment
The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment consists of four battalions, three in the Regular Force and one in the primary reserve. The RCR is ranked 1st in the order of precedence amongst Canadian A ...
.
*
41st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment
The 41st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment, (41 RNSWR), is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. An Army Reserve unit, it is one of four battalions of the Royal New South Wales Regiment and is attached to the 5th Brigade, 2nd D ...
*
7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
*
5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment
The 5th/6th Battalion ("5/6 RVR") is one of two battalions of the Royal Victoria Regiment, and is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. The battalion traces its lineage back to many units that existed prior to Federation, as well as units ...
*
Gonnema Regiment
The Cape Town Highlanders is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regime ...
*
32 Service Battalion
32 Service Battalion (32 Svc Bn) is a reserve combat service support (CSS) unit within the Canadian Army. The unit is formed under command of 32 Canadian Brigade Group in the 4th Canadian Division. The Service Battalion is composed of soldiers f ...
''Aunty Mary''
A well known
drinking
Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among o ...
or
bawdy song
Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy".
Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...
using the ''Cock of the North'' tune is known as ''Aunty Mary''. There are a great number of versions of varying degrees of obscenity. They nearly all share the same first two lines. One of the milder versions runs:
:''Auntie Mary had a canary''
:''Up the leg of her drawers;''
:''She was sleeping, it was creeping,
:''Up the leg of her drawers.''
Traditional Tune Archive - Cock of the North (1)
/ref>
The song features in the surrealist BBC film '' The End of Arthur's Marriage''. Note that the word ''cross'' has the same vowel as ''drawers'' in Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
pronunciation.
:''Auntie Mary had a canary''
:''Up the leg of her drawers;''
:''It whistled for hours among the flowers''
:''And won the Victoria Cross''
:''Aunty Judy's budgy went broody''
:''August Bank Holiday''
:''It laid her an egg the size of her head''
:''And frightened the cockerells away''
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Compositions for bagpipe
British military marches