It's a Long Way to Tipperary

"It's A Long Way To Tipperary" is a music hall and marching song written by Jack Judge and Harry {Henry James} Williams in 1912. The well known chorus is:

Related Topics:
Music hall - Song - Jack Judge - 1912

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:It's a long way to Tipperary,

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:It's a long way to go.

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:It's a long way to Tipperary

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:To the sweetest girl I know!

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:Goodbye Piccadilly,

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:Farewell Leicester Square!

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:It's a long long way to Tipperary,

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:But my heart's right there.

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It was popularised by the Connaught Rangers as they marched through Boulogne on 13 August 1914, witnessed by Daily Mail correspondent George Curnock, and reported on 18 August 1914. It was then picked up by other soldiers in the British Army.

Related Topics:
Connaught Rangers - Boulogne - 13 August - 1914 - Daily Mail - 18 August - British Army

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It was featured as one of the songs in the musical Oh! What a Lovely War. It was also sung by the crew of U-96 in the movie Das Boot. Particular arrangement played in the movie was performed by the Red Army Chorus. It is also the second part (the other two being "Has Anyone Seen the Colonel?" and "Mademoiselle from Armentières") of the regimental march of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Related Topics:
Oh! What a Lovely War - U-96 - Das Boot - Has Anyone Seen the Colonel - Mademoiselle from Armentières - Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

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It is not to be confused with a popular song from 1907 simply titled "Tipperary". Both were sung at different times by early recording star Billy Murray.

Related Topics:
1907 - Tipperary - Billy Murray

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The History of the World?s Most Famous Marching Song

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Harry Williams was born in Erdington in the district of Aston, Birmingham on September 23rd 1873 and was baptised Henry James Williams. He was the first born of Mary Ann and Henry Sketchley Williams.

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His father was a publican and the family moved from one pub to another during his childhood. Whilst in Aston, Harry fell down the steps of the cellar, breaking both legs. For the rest of his life he was severely disabled.

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From an early age he showed a talent for writing. This developed into song-writing. During his adolescence he spent most of his time studying music and poetry, eventually becoming an accomplished pianist and mandolin player.

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From The Malt Shovel, Oldbury Harry and his parents moved around 1900 to The Plough Inn, Meer End near Balsall Common in Warwickshire. His brother, Benjamin, had meanwhile become the licensee of The Malt Shovel, where Harry returned periodically to entertain the customers playing his original compositions for piano and mandolin.

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The partners meet

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During one of these visits to The Malt Shovel, Harry first met Jack Judge with whom he was to begin collaborating on a series of songs. It was a partnership which was to result in the most famous marching song of the First World War.

Related Topics:
Jack Judge - First World War

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There has always been some controversy over the authorship of the song. From 1900 to 1910 was a crucial writing period for the two men, when they produced many songs, although nothing that quite made it to the top All the songs of this creative period were written by the two men. They are the product of two men of very different characters, one introvert, and one extrovert. Harry was an accomplished pianist and composer. Jack Judge was a performer. He had a singing voice made for the Music Hall.

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Harry spent hours teaching Jack {by ear} the tunes he had composed. Together they penned dozens of music hall songs. Like Gilbert and Sullivan or Rodgers and Hart, ?written and composed by Jack Judge and Harry Williams? was to become one of the immortal partnerships.

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To support his growing family Jack was beginning to explore possibilities other than selling fish. His debut as an entertainer with John Bull?s Cold was performed at a variety concert in Birmingham. He was a success and ? Jack sang the songs at the main music halls and distributed the sheet music to retail outlets.. He was 38. Harry was 36

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Connemara?s near miss

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Jack?s first big singing success was How Are Yer? in 1912. Other popular lyrics included The Way The Wind Blows and When The Band Begins To Play. Ironically, the elusive hit had already been written. Since 1909 a work entitled It?s A Long Way to Connemara had been languishing unpublished

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Jack?s family came from County Mayo. Many emigrants were missing their homeland. It?s A Long Way to Connemara was Jack and Harry?s attempt to profit from the popularity of sentimental Irish ballads.

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Jack switches horses

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Three years after it was composed, Jack was appearing at the Grand Theatre, Staleybridge, near Manchester. A fellow artiste bet Jack he couldn?t write and perform a new song within 24 hours. Jack Judge never one to lose a bet, pulled out their unpublished work. Connemara had originally been chosen after much discussion. To comply with the bet Jack switched the title to Tipperary. Harry was furious not to have been consulted. However, the gathering clouds of war were to make this one of the most important last minute changes in the history of music publishing.

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When the partners sent their ?new? work to Bert Feldman, he made two vital suggestions. Out went the sentimental ballad in favour of a marching song. And in came a repetition of the word long in the chorus It?s a long, long way to Tipperary.

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The first recording

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The new version was published in 1912. Its reputation began to spread. In 1913 Florrie Ford, the famous music hall artiste, chose to perform the song on her tour of the Isle of Man. However, the first ever recording was by John McCormack in 1914. The scene was set for the First World War.

Related Topics:
Florrie Ford - John McCormack

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The Great War and worldwide fame

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So much of Tipperary?s fame was due to the strangest coincidence. On the 13th August, 1914 a Daily Mail reporter, George Curnock of the Daily Mail, was on holiday in Boulogne. He watched the British Expeditionary Force landing in France and reported to his paper the initial story of Tipperary.

Related Topics:
George Curnock - Daily Mail - Boulogne - British Expeditionary Force

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George Curnock, "with a heart full of pride and envy," watched the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish soldiers march to the camp on the hill above Boulogne. "Every man," he wrote that day, ?in the prime of life, not a youth or a stripling among them, roaring the slogan of Englishmen.? Are we downhearted? No-o-o-o-o-o-o-!' 'Shall we win? Ye-e-e-e-e-e-s-s.' Their shirts are open at the front, and as they shout you can see the working of the muscles of their throats, their wide open mouths and rows of dazzling teeth."

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Then he recorded the strange manner in which Tipperary as a war song was born. He stood on the steps of a Boulogne hotel. The passing battalions sang Soldiers of the Queen, Dolly Grey" and then came a song of another kind altogether, a song that was new and strange to me ? rich Irish voices . . .? As the Connaught Rangers passed he was asked: ?What is it they are singing?? Curnock answered, ?I don't know, it is possibly a new song of our music-halls.? ?But the words, m?sieu?? ?Madame,? he replied, as a second company of Connaught Rangers passed, ?they sing 'It's a long u~ay to Tipperary it's a long uay to go'?

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Curnock's despatch to the Mail with this story was cabled to all parts of the world and people everywhere took the song to their hearts. When, twenty years later Curnock met Captain Dryden, he was told the earlier history of the song. ?I heard ?Tipperary? first,? Captain Dryden said ?played on an accordion by an itinerant musician in the main street of Galway. That must have been early in 1913, when Florrie Forde was singing it in the music-hall. Our battalion, which was quartered in Tipperary for three years, picked up the chorus and sang it often on route marches in Ireland

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?When war was declared we took it to Aldershot and by the time we left for France it was most popular with the men; so that it is not surprising that they sang it on landing and during that march up to the camp.

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The men were still singing it when we joined the camp at Menivret, near Guise, but we went into action at Mons on August 23rd and were engaged slightly again the next day, and, what with marching and trench-digging, we had little time for singing. It was a great surprise to us when we found the new army singing it as they did so often after.

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?It was curious that it should have fallen to the Connaught Rangers to introduce ?Tipperary,? because, as a matter of fact, Irish regiments did not as a rule sing on the march.?

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Harry Williams rapidly became a wealthy man. The Coventry Evening Telegraph described Harry?s pilgrimage from his home to Greyfriar?s Green in Coventry to make a donation to the Tank Appeal - the 1914-18 Great War Injured Beneficiary Fund. From the station Harry was pushed in his chair through the crowds who were singing ?It?s A Long Way To Tipperary.? The sum of £1,000 was enormous in those days from a single donor.

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He used part of the royalties to purchase the Plough Inn with a cottage and land for his parents. Today the inn has been re-named The Tipperary Inn. It stands on Meer End Road, A4177, Honiley, Kenilworth, south-west of Coventry.

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Death of Harry Williams

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Harry died at the age of 50 on February 21st 1924. He is buried in a family plot at Temple Balsall. The inscription reads

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AUTHOR OF IT?S A LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY

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GIVE ME THE MAKING OF THE SONGS

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OF A NATION

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AND LET WHO WILL

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MAKE ITS LAWS

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