Comrades

First Published 1887
Writer/composer Felix McGlennon Roud RN1494

Music Hall Performers Tom Costello
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Turple, Jack; Canada : Nova Scotia : 1952
Hart, Bob; England : Suffolk : Snape 1969
Ramsden, David V.W.; England : Yorkshire : 1972
Brennan, Caroline (Mrs.), Canada : Newfoundland : 1978 

We from childhood played together
My dear comrade Jack and I
We would fight each other's battles
To each other's aid we'd fly
And in boyish scrapes and troubles
You would find us everywhere
Where one went the other followed
Naught would part us for we were

Comrades, comrades, ever since we were boys
Sharing each other's sorrows
Sharing each other's joys
Comrades when manhood was dawning
Faithful what e'er may betide
When danger threatened,
My darling old comrade was there by my side

When just budding into manhood
I yearned for a soldier's life
Night and day I dreamed of glory
Longing for the battle's strife
I said “Jack I'll be a soldier
‘Neath the red, the white, and blue
Good bye Jack” said he “No never
If you go, then, I'll go too” We were

I enlisted, Jack came with me
And ups and downs we shared
For a time our lives were peaceful
But at length, war was declared
England's flag had been insulted
We were ordered to the front
And the regiment we belonged to
Had to bear the battle's brunt. We were


In the night the foe came over
And we went for them like hell
It was rifle butt and bayonet
And we drove them back pell-mell
There was one chap got me cornered
I was helpless, wounded sore
It was jack that sprang between us
And my pal was mine no more. We were

The second half of the 19th century saw Britain fighting a series of brutal wars to defend its empire. The army was professional rather than conscripted and enlistment was often a way of escaping poverty at home. Many working and lower-middle-class families would be familiar with the experience of a loved one fighting and dying far away, and this in part explains the popularity of this type of sentimental song, both in the Halls and respectable middle-class parlours.

Tom Costello heard Comrades whilst visiting the US and first sang it on the British stage in 1890. He continued to sing it on stage right up until the 1930s when he toured with his show Veteran Stars of Variety.

Comrades was written by Felix McGlennon, it was widely published in both official and unofficial publications on both sides of the Atlantic. It was collected from traditional singers in the second half of the 20th century.

Costello sings it:

Sources: