"The Minstrel Boy" is an Irish patriotic song written by Thomas Moore (1779–1852) who set it to the melody of The Moreen, an old Irish air. It is widely believed that Moore composed the song in remembrance of a number of his friends, whom he met while studying at Trinity College, Dublin and who had participated in (and were killed during) the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
The song gained widespread popularity and became a favourite of many Irishmen who fought during the American Civil War and gained even more popularity after World War I. The song is notably associated with organisations that historically had a heavy representation of Irish-Americans, in particular the police and fire departments of New York, Boston and Chicago and those of various other major US metropolitan areas, even after those organisations have ceased to have a substantial over-representation of personnel of Irish ancestry. The melody is frequently played, typically on bagpipes, at funerals of members and/or officers of such organisations who have died or been killed in service. Unsurprisingly, given its lyrics, it is also associated with the Irish Army and with traditionally Irish regiments in the armies of the United Kingdom and the United States as well as other armies of the world.
The original lyrics are as follows:
A concentrated, single verse version exists:
During the American Civil War a third verse was written by an unknown author, and is sometimes included in renditions of the song:
The song's popularity was substantially enhanced in the early 20th century by performances and recordings by John McCormack (1884–1945) a world-famous Irish tenor in the fields of opera and popular music – who performed successfully in many major live venues in the United States and Europe. McCormack was occasionally referred to as the "Minstrel Boy", (or alternately the Irish Minstrel) and this title has been applied to collections of his recordings.
It has also been widely recorded by many non-Irish performers, ranging from Paul Robeson to The Holy Modal Rounders.
The tune is played annually at the National Service of Remembrance on Remembrance Sunday, at The Cenotaph, Whitehall, in London.
It features heavily in the soundtrack of the 1975 film The Man Who Would Be King, adapted from the Rudyard Kipling novella of the same title with masonic themes, but the lyrics are those of Reginald Heber's "The Son of God Goes Forth to War" from the Lutheran Songbook [1].
The song is heard during the end credits of the film Black Hawk Down, performed by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. An 18-minute version of the song is featured as the final track on their album Global a Go-Go.
Elements of the song are used in the final verse of Pretty Girl Why by the Buffalo Springfield on their final album Last Time Around.
The song is performed by the Canadian band Enter the Haggis on their 2004 album, Casualties of Retail.
Don Partridge recorded the song with acoustic guitar and solo vocals on the album "The Kerbside Entertainers" released 1971.
The song is performed by The Clancy Brothers (sung by Liam Clancy) on their 1959 album, The Rising of the Moon.
The song is covered by Shane MacGowan & The Popes on their album The Rare Oul' Stuff.
An instrumental version of the song was recorded by The Corrs on their album Forgiven, Not Forgotten.
Parts of the chorus are used in various songs, such as John McCutcheon's "Christmas in the Trenches" and in the World War I song, "I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier".
A short but very lushly orchestrated version (the first four bars) was used by Wally Stott (Angela Morley) in several of the link scores for The Goon Show
A solo guitar arrangement of the tune, paired with The Ash Grove was recorded by Norman Blake on Whiskey Before Breakfast (1976).
The tune is used in the Black 47 song "Downtown Baghdad Blues" on their album Elvis Murphy's Green Suede Shoes.
The first verse is heard played by a solo trumpet as the opening to the track The Lion's Roar on the Trans-Siberian Orchestra album Night Castle.
At the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in London on April 9, 2002, the Pipes and Drums of the Irish and Scottish Regiments played The Minstrel Boy during the procession from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey. The Queen Mother had a long association with the men of the Irish Regiment, and presented them with a shamrock every year on St Patrick's Day.
The tune is a standard of the Fort Henry Guard Drums, arranged for fife and drum in three part harmony by Drum Major Thompson, FHG 1997. This particular arrangement has been very well received, and continues to regularly appear in the Drums' performances.
The song was played at the grand opening of the World Trade Center Memorial on 11 September 2011; the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Noted singer/songwriter Pierce Pettis began prefacing live performances of his song "A Mountaineer is Always Free" with the two original verses of "The Minstrel Boy"
The song was performed by Paul Kaye and Trond Fausa Aurvåg in the sixth episode of the third season of the TV-series Lilyhammer.
