Regular Army-O, The

DESCRIPTION: The volunteer joined the army three years ago, and has been suffering every since under "Sergeant John McCafferty and Corporal Donahue" as well as "forty miles a day on beans and hay." Captured by Indians, the soldiers at last escape army life
AUTHOR: Words: Edward Harrigan / Music: (adapted and arranged by?) David Braham
EARLIEST DATE: 1874 (sheet music published by Wm. A. Pond & Co, New York
KEYWORDS: soldier army warning abuse
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Finson-Edward-Harrigan-David-Braham, vol. I, #3, pp. 11-14, "The Regular Army O!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean-FlyingCloud, p. 67, "The Regular Army, Oh" (1 text)
Lomax-FolkSongsOfNorthAmerica 177, "The Regular Army-O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lingenfelter/Dwyer/Cohen-SongsOfAmericanWest, pp. 279-281, "The Regular Army, O!" (1 text ago)
Emerson-StephenFosterAndCo, pp. 124-126, "The Regular Army O!" (1 text)
DT, REGARMY*
ST LoF177 (Partial)
Roud #4747
RECORDINGS:
Mick Moloney, "The Regular Army O" (on HarriganBrahamMaloney)
NOTES [309 words]: For background on Harrigan, Hart, and Braham, see the notes to "The Babies on Our Block."
According to Moody, pp. 52, 261, this was introduced in the sketch "The Regular Army O!" on October 19, 1874.It "introduced the high-stepping Skidmores, the blackfaced guard that was to march and sing through the Mulligan series." That is, the Skidmores were the rival marching company that contended against the Mulligan Guard that was the subject of most of Edward Harrigan's most-loved plays.
The tune of this, at least as sung by Mick Moloney, is very close to the one I know for "Let Mr. McGuire Sit Down." Which perhaps makes it interesting that the music of this is not listed as written by David Braham but just "adapted and arranged" by Braham. According to Kahn, p. 153, this was "an enormously popular tune that spoofed contemporary recruiting methods and was alleged by one Regular Army officer, Captain Charles King, a novelist as well as a soldier, to have grievously curtailed enlistments; but actually the composers had merely appropriated and revised an old soldier song that troops sniping at the Indians had been chanting for quite some time previous."
I have a very curious sheet music copy of this, on green paper, which appears to be a modified facsimile of the original, with the original printing copied but extra space added between the staves to insert an additional verse about the Indian Wars. A small blurb added to the cover "(This song was to the Indian Wars what 'Hinkey Dinky, Parlez Vous?' and 'Sound Off!' were to World Wars I and II." The bottom space on the remaining pages attempts to explain the text of the song, especially the added verse 5. It took a lot of hunting, but I finally noticed a footnote saying "1962 edition, with additions and glossary, copyright by Don Rickey, Jr." -- but it doesn't list a publisher.- RBW
Bibliography

Kahn: E. J. Kahn, Jr., The Merry Partners: The Age and Stage of Harrigan and Hart, Random House, 1955
Moody: Richard Moody, Ned Harrigan: From Corlear's Hook to Herald Square, Nelson Hall, 1980

Last updated in version 6.6
File: LoF177

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