{"id":27847,"date":"2025-07-15T14:26:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T14:26:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=27847"},"modified":"2025-07-15T14:51:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T14:51:45","slug":"scotch-brigade-the-aka-the-banks-of-the-clyde","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/scotch-brigade-the-aka-the-banks-of-the-clyde\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotch Brigade, The [aka The Banks of the Clyde]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>Her lad in the Scotch Brigade
On the bank’s of the Clyde
The soldier’s farewell
The Scottish soldier
The burning hills of Egypt
The burning plains of Egypt
A lad and his lassie<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1884<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Writer\/composer<\/td>JF Mitchell<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN1784<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Marie Le Blanc<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Wildman, Alf ; England : Bedfordshire : 1960s
Armstrong, Mike Ireland : Co. Wexford : 1907
McD., A ;USA : Massachusetts : 1921
Tanner, Ada ; England : Oxfordshire : 1926
Curtis, Thomas (John Morris Wellington) USA : Michigan : 1949
Galusha, John ; USA : New York : 1940-1950
Livingstone, Dan ; Canada : Nova Scotia : 1951
Campsall, Sam ; Canada : Ontario : 1958
Hare, Mrs. Perley ; Canada : New Brunswick : 1958
Murphy, Tom ; Ireland : Co. Kerry : 1958
Rash, Billy ; England : Cambridgeshire : 1959
Attrill, George ; England : Sussex ; 1959
Odell, Ned ; Canada : Labrador ; 1960
Wildman, Alf ; England : Bedfordshire ; 1965
Hutchings, Mrs. Martha ; Canada : Newfoundland ; 1966
Finlay, T. ; Canada : Newfoundland ; 1968
Kendall, Gordon ; Canada : Newfoundland ; 1968
Ling, Geoff ; England : Suffolk ; 1970
Wheat, Maurice ; England : Derbyshire ; 1970
Wildman, Alf ; England : Bedfordshire ; 1970
Hinchliffe, Frank ; England : Yorkshire ; 1970
Belton, George ; England : West Sussex ; 1971
Scuffins, Tom England : Suffolk : Framlingham 1974
Curtis, W.H.; England : Lincolnshire ; 1974
Walker, W. ; England : Lincolnshire ; 1975
May, Reginald; England : Lincolnshire ; 1975
Hussey, Moll ; Canada : Newfoundland ; 1976
Adams, Harry ; England : Somerset ; 1976
Webb, Percy ; England : Suffolk ; 1975-1976
Stockwell, Fred ; England : Hampshire ; 1977
Glavine, Bridget Mary ; Canada : Newfoundland ; 1978
Thomas, Amby ; Canada : Nova Scotia : 1978
Howell, Margaret ; England : Suffolk : 1975-1978
Dowdy, Douglas ; England : Hampshire ; 1982
McManus, Rose ; N. Ireland : Co. Fermanagh ; 1983
Jones, Frank ; England : Birmingham ; 1984
Rowe, Cliff ; England : Somerset ; 1984
Pardon, Walter ; England : Norfolk ; 1985
Kelly, John ; Ireland : Co. Mayo ; 1995
Legg, Viv ; England : Cornwall :; c2006
Aldous, Manny England : Suffolk ; no date
Wildman, A. ; England : Bedfordshire
Scrobbie, Alexander ; USA : Illinois : no date
Raven, Mrs. ; England : Essex : no date
Swain, Jack ; Canada : Newfoundland ; no date
Mrs. Maggie ; Canada : Newfoundland ; no date
Wildman, A. England : Bedfordshire ; no date<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
The Scotch Brigade <\/strong>
Words and Music JF Mitchell<\/em>

On the Banks of the Clyde stood a lad with his lassie;
The lad's name was Geordie, the Lassie's was Jean 
She flung her arms around him and cried  \"Do not leave me!\"
For Geordie was going to fight for the Queen.
She gave him a lock of her bright auburn tresses 
She kissed him and pressed him once more to her heart 
Till his eyes spoke the love which his heart could not utter
But the last word is spoken, they kiss and they part 

Over the burning plains of Egypt, under a scorching sun!
He thought of the stories he'd have to tell
His love when the fight was won! 
He treasured with care 
That dear lock of hair,
For his own darling Jeanie he prayed 
But his prayer was in vain, for she'll ne'er see again
Her lad in the Scotch brigade. <\/em>

Tho' an ocean divided the lad front his lassie, 
Tho' Geordie was forc'd far away o'er the foam,
His roof was the sky, and his bed was the desert,
But his heart with his Jeannie was always at home.
The morning that dawn'd on the famed day of battle
Found Geordie enacting a true hero's part ;
Till an enemy's bullet brought with it its billet, 
And buried that dear lock of hair in his heart.
 
On the banks of the Clyde dwells a heart-broken mother ; 
They told her of how the great victory was won
But the glory of England to her brought no comfort, 
For glory to her meant the loss of her son.
But Jeannie is with her to comfort and shield her, 
Together they weep and together they pray ;
And Jeannie her daughter will be while she lives, 
For the sake of that laddie who died far away.

<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
There are several traditional songs with the title The Banks of the Clyde,<\/em> this one originated in the music halls and was originally called The Scotch Brigade<\/em>. It and was written for Marie Le Blanc (whose brief biography appears below), by her husband JF Mitchell<\/a> and was her signature song for many years.  Le Blanc and her representatives, notably agent Hugh Didcot and the notorious self-proclaimed copyright lawyer, Harry Wall, fiercely defended her sole right to sing it in the Halls. That said, a deal was done in 1888 to allow the Moore and Burgess Minstrels to sing it too, but only in the concert halls – not the Music Halls where le Blanc maintained sole rights ..<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The Era –  19 July 1884<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n
Marie Le Blanc (c1853-1924) was a successful female serio-comic performer of the 1880s and 90s. Her earliest performance recorded in The Era<\/em> was in 1877 and she retired at the turn of the century. She was married to her main song-writer, JF Mitchell until his early death aged 35 in 1888. Le Blanc toured extensively throughout Britain and Ireland, visiting America in 1898 where she headlined at Tony Pastor’s Theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She died whilst undergoing an operation for cancer, aged 71, in 1924.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Returning to the song itself, it was published as sheet music by Charles Sheard in 1884, and republished by\u00a0Felix McGlennon<\/a> in 1903. The 1884 sheet music does not appear in the catalogues of either the British Library or the Bodleian, but luckily Sheard published an arrangement for banjo in Sheard’s Vocal and Instrumental Banjo Album Book 1<\/a> (c1892) and I have used that as my source of the lyrics and melody (for now).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song is probably referring to The Scots (or Scotch) Brigade, the 94th Regiment of Foot, an army regiment with a complex history. In 1882 members of the Brigade were involved in military action in support of the Khedive (or viceroy) of Egypt. Their success meant that Egypt effectively became part of the British Empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song appeared regularly in print until at least the 1920s, both in unofficial publications like songsters and song sheets and in more official collections like: <\/p>\n\n\n\n