Duke of Marlborough, The

DESCRIPTION: Marlborough calls "generals and champions bold" to his deathbed. He fought in Flanders for Queen Anne and in France for Charles II. He recalls his last battle. He admonishes officers: "take no bribes, stand true to your men, and fight with courage bold"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1826 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 25(1141))
KEYWORDS: war death France nonballad
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1650-1722 - Life of John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough
1701-1714 - War of the Spanish Succession, pitting France and Spain against Britain, Austria, and many smaller nations. Marlborough made a reputation by winning the battles of Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), and Oudenarde (1708) (he fought a draw at Malplaquet in 1709)
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond,South))
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH, THE"
Williams-FolkSongsOfTheUpperThames, pp. 161-162, "The Duke of Marlborough" (1 text) (also Williams-Wiltshire-WSRO Wt 442)
Purslow-TheConstantLovers, pp. 25-26, "The Duke of Marlborough" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Broadwood-EnglishTraditionalSongsAndCarols, pp. 22-25, "The Duke of Marlborough" (1 text, 1 tune)
Palmer-SongsOfTheMidlands, p. 89, "Lord Marlborough" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dallas-TheCruelWars-100SoldiersSongs, pp. 118-119, "The Duke of Marlborough" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #233
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(1141), "Lord Marlborough" ("You generals all and champions bold who take delight in fields"), Angus (Newcastle), 1774-1825; also Harding B 11(2207), Harding B 28(263), Firth c.14(7), Harding B 28(180), Harding B 11(2206), Harding B 11(1169), 2806 c.18(191), Harding B 28(243), "Lord Marlborough"; 2806 c.17(261), "Marlborough"; Harding B 28(263), Harding B 11(3411), "The Duke of Marlbro'"; Harding B 11(1021), Harding B 11(1272), "Duke of Marlbrough"; Firth c.14(9), Harding B 11(1020), Harding B 11(796), Harding B 11(803), Johnson Ballads 606[some words illegible], Harding B 11(830), Harding B 15(90b), Harding B 15(91a), "The Duke of Marlborough"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. Malbrouck (subject: The Duke of Marlborough)
NOTES [186 words]: Williams-FolkSongsOfTheUpperThames: "The Duke of Marlborough died in 1722. The age of the song may easily be conjectured."
"Some of Burns's songs, and many songs commemorating the wars of England, were great favourites with them. Passing by a [Lancashire] country alehouse, one would often hear a rude ditty like the following, sounding loud and clear from the inside:-- 'You generals all, and champions bold, Who take delight I'th field; Who knock down palaces and castle walls, And never like to yield; I am an Englishman by birth, And Marlbro' is my name, In Devonshire I first drew breath; That place of noble fame'" (source: Edwin Waugh, Sketches of Lancashire Life and Localities, (London, 1857 (second edition, "Digitized by Google"), p. 100).
The following verse is not included in some broadside texts: "It's good queen Anne did send us abroad, to Flanders we must go, To leave the banks of Newfoundland to face our daring foe; We climb'd those lofty hills so high and Grunstone Brook likewise, Till all the famous towns we took, to all the world's surprise" Does this fit with the rest of the ballad? - BS
Last updated in version 6.8
File: WT161

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