McNamara's Band

DESCRIPTION: "My name is Macnamara, I'm the leader of a band, And though we're small in number, We're the best in all the land." Even General Grand said, "I've never seen the likes of Macnamara's Band." Members of the band may be described
AUTHOR: original -- Words: John J. Stamford / Music: Shamus O'Connor / American revision: Red Latham, Wamp Carlson and Guy Bonham (source: mudcat.org thread "
Origins: McNamara's Band? / MacNamara's Band")
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (original copyright)
KEYWORDS: music humorous nonballad campsong
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 286, 315, "McNamara's Band" (notes only)
Zander/Klusmann-CampSongsNThings, p. 41, "McNamara's Band" (1 text, 1 tune)
Zander/Klusmann-CampSongsPopularEdition, p. 6, "My Name is McNmara" (1 text)
DT, MCNMRA
Roud #19014
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Macnamara's Band" ("My name is Macnamara, I'm the leader of the band" line)
cf. "My Name is McNamara" ("My name is Macnamara" line)
SAME TUNE:
No. 5. Squadron Song (File: Hopk041)
NOTES [178 words]: I am honestly not sure whether Roud #19014 is this song (the original) or the children's song here indexed as "Macnamara's Band"; they are clearly from the same original, but equally clearly they have gone separate ways. The Roud entries for this and "My name is McNamara" are, however, confusing. This is identified by the fact that it refers to an actual band, which is small in number, and the fact that it's not a game song.
I don't know if the line about General Grant is a deliberate joke, but it might be -- Grant was tone deaf and could not understand music, so all he would be able to perceive about the band was its appearance.
Apparently the correct original title is "MacNamara's Band." Although published before 1920, the song had its greatest vogue three decades later. Edward Foote Gardner, Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century: Volume I -- Chart Detail & Encyclopedia 1900-1949, Paragon House, 2000, p. 483, estimates that this was the sixteenth most popular song in America in March 1946, probably on the basis of a recording by Bing Crosby. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.5
File: ACSF286M

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