Follow the Colours
"Follow the Colours" is a song written by the English composer Edward Elgar, with words by Capt. William de Courcy Stretton. The song is for male voice solo with an optional chorus of male voices.
The song was written as the result of a commission from the Worshipful Company of Musicians in 1907. It is said that Alfred Henry Littleton (chairman of Novello’s music publishers) had to plead with Elgar to go ahead, as there was much Elgar disliked about the idea. Its original title was "Marching Song", and it was first performed by a four-part choir (S.A.T.B.) at the Empire Day concert in the Royal Albert Hall on 24 May 1908. It 1914 it was adapted by the composer for solo and optional male chorus, orchestrated and republished as "Follow the Colours". It was performed at the Royal Albert Hall on 10 October 1914.
The mood is at best cheerful optimism, at worst bombastic: but this was before the real horrors of the war which Elgar later recalled more sensitively a year later with For the Fallen.
The chorus generally reinforces the solo singer in the second and fourth lines of each verse, and joins in the refrain.
The accompaniment is for full orchestra, and is an example of brilliant but sensitive writing for the large percussion section, which consists of three timpani, side drum, triangle, bass drum and cymbals.
Lyrics
FOLLOW THE COLOURS
1.
- Thousands, thousands of marching feet,
- All through the land, all through the land ;
- Gunners and Sappers, Horse and Foot,
- A mighty band, a mighty band.
Refrain:
- Follow the Colours, follow on,
- Where’er they go, where’er they go ;
- Loyal the hearts that guard them well,
- ’Twas ever so, ‘twas ever so.
- March, march, march !
- ’Twas ever so, ‘twas ever so.
- Roll the drums, and blow the fifes,
- And make the bagpipes drone ;
- Glory for some and a chance for all,
- Till we come again to our own.
2.
- England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales
- Send forth their sons, send forth their sons ;
- Children of Empire seas beyond
- Stand to their guns, stand to their guns.
- Refrain:
3.*
- [What's in the wind now, what's toward ?
- Who cares a bit, who cares a bit ?
- Marching orders, we're on the way
- To settle it, to settle it.]
4.
- Some will return, and some remain,
- We heed it not, we heed it not ;
- Something’s wrong, to put it right’s
- The Soldier’s lot, the Soldier’s lot.
- Refrain
Verse three and its refrain is omitted from the arrangement.*
Recordings
- "The Unknown Elgar" includes "Follow the Colours" performed by Stephen Holloway (bass), with Barry Collett (piano), and male voice chorus.
- John Ireland - Orchestral Songs and Miniatures With a collection of the music of Ireland, two songs by Elgar are included: Follow the Colours and A War Song, performed by Roderick Williams (baritone), BBC Concert Orchestra/Martin Yates
References
- Kennedy, Michael, Portrait of Elgar (Oxford University Press, 1968) ISBN 0-19-315414-5
- Moore, Jerrold N. “Edward Elgar: a creative life” (Oxford University Press, 1984) ISBN 0-19-315447-1
- Young, Percy, Elgar O.M., A Study of a Musician, London, Collins, 1955
