"The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

folk song associated with the county of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, and deals with the joys of

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

. It is considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Lincolnshire. It is catalogued as Roud Folk Song Index No. 299.

History

The earliest printed version appeared in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

about 1776. In 1857 it was written; "This very old ditty has been transformed into the dialects of

Somersetshire ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

and Leicestershire, but it properly belongs to Lincolnshire." The song is said to have been a favourite of

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten ye ...

Usage

"The Lincolnshire Poacher" was the regimental quick march of the

10th Regiment of Foot 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

and its successors the

Royal Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

and the 2nd Battalion

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

, who are known as "the Poachers". Also, it was the regimental march of the 2nd battalion

The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire R ...

. It is the principal musical theme of the quick march of the Intelligence Corps. Prior to 1881 this Battalion had been the

81st Regiment of Foot (Loyal Lincoln Volunteers) The 81st Regiment of Foot (Loyal Lincoln Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot to form the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment in ...

. It is also the authorised march of

The Lincoln and Welland Regiment , colors = , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol_4 = , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation , march = "The Lincolnshi ...

of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

. The tune was used by many New York Regiments during the American Civil War as The New York Volunteer. The Lincolnshire Poacher was also the marching song for the 20th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, during the First World War. When the

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

, the officer training school of the Royal Air Force, was formed in Lincolnshire in 1919, its first Commandant, Air Commodore C. A. H. Longcroft, sought permission from the then Regimental Colonel of the

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

to adopt the march as the quick

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

of the College. Anglo-Catholic congregations in the Anglican communion sometimes use the tune as a setting for a hymn sung in procession that begins, "The Happy Birds ''Te Deum'' Sing, 'Tis Mary's Month of May." In 1961,

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

arranged the song as no. 3 in Volume Five of ''British Folk Songs''. Frank Newman instrumented the song for four hands on piano. In 1978, the

Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band is a British brass band formed in 1881. The band is based in Brighouse, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. The band is known across the world, and is regarded by many as the best and most consistent "p ...

issued "The Lincolnshire Poacher" as its follow-up single to their successful " The Floral Dance", and it was included on the 1978 album ''The Floral Dance''. The first two bars of the tune were used as an

interval signal An interval signal, or tuning signal, is a characteristic sound or musical phrase used in international broadcasting, numbers stations, and by some domestic broadcasters, played before commencement or during breaks in transmission, but most co ...

on the

numbers station A numbers station is a shortwave radio station characterized by broadcasts of formatted numbers, which are believed to be addressed to intelligence officers operating in foreign countries. Most identified stations use speech synthesis to vocal ...

known as Lincolnshire Poacher.

Radio Lincolnshire BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lincolnshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios near Newport Arch in Lincoln. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly aud ...

used the melody from the end of the song's chorus as the signature tune for its news jingle when it commenced service in 1980 and in 1988 commissioned UK

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

company

Alfasound Alfasound was a radio jingle production company based in Manchester from late 1970s to mid-1990s founded by Alan Fawkes and ex-Piccadilly Radio DJ Steve England. Alfasound was responsible for some of the most memorable radio jingles in the 80 ...

to write a package of jingles based on the song. Variations on this theme continued until early 2006, and today the station still uses a version with a less pronounced melody from the folk song. The melody is used in Harold Baum's "The Glyoxylate Cycle" in ''The Biochemists' Songbook'', and in the 1950 novelty song " The Thing", sung by

Phil Harris Wonga Philip Harris (June 24, 1904 – August 11, 1995) was an American actor, comedian, musician and songwriter. He was an orchestra leader and a pioneer in radio situation comedy, first with ''The Jack Benny Program'', then in '' The Phil Harr ...

, which was #1 in US charts in 1950. The melody was sung in the 1940 film ''

Tom Brown's School Days ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...

'' by the Rugby students and is the theme song of the movie. It was also sung during a hall assembly in the 1951 version. The melody is used, often with more Irish-themed instrumentation and singing, to create the off-colour folk song "The Chandler's Wife".

Lyrics

As is usual with folk songs, the lyrics differ slightly between sources; but the following are typical: When I was bound apprentice in famous Lincolnshire, I serv'd my master truly, for nearly seven odd year, Till I took up to poaching, as you shall quickly hear. Oh, 'tis my delight on a shining night, in the season of the year. As me and my companions were setting up a snare, The gamekeeper was watching usfor him we did not care, For we can wrestle and fight, my boys, and jump o'er anywhere. Oh, 'tis my delight on a shining night, in the season of the year. As me and my companions were setting four or five, And taking on 'em up again, we took a hare alive, We plopped her into my bag, my boys, and through the woods did steer. Oh, 'tis my delight on a shining night, in the season of the year. We threw him over our shoulders, and wandered through the town, We called into a neighbour's house, and sold her for a crown, We sold her for a crown, my boys, but I did not tell you where. Oh, 'tis my delight on a shining night, in the season of the year. Success to every gentleman that lives in Lincolnshire (Or: Bad luck to every magistrate) Success to every poacher that wants to sell a hare, Bad luck to every gamekeeper that will not sell his deer. Oh, 'tis my delight on a shining night, in the season of the year.

References

External links

Audio clips

Marching band sample from 2137 Calgary Highlanders Army Cadet Corps website
performed by the Lincoln & Welland Regiment
As sung by Peter Adamson

Jazz band instrumentation
– Ted Heath Orchestra arranged by Jon Harpin
Midi file
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincolnshire Poacher English folk songs Music in Lincolnshire British military marches Canadian military marches Royal Anglian Regiment Regional songs British anthems Year of song unknown 18th-century songs 1770s songs