Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine

hornpipe

Key signature: Adorian

Submitted on May 17th 2001 by Jeremy.

This tune has been added to 249 tunebooks.

Also known as The Battle Of Waterloo, Bonaparte's March, County Down, Hot Asphalt, Listowell, Shermans Maech.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

As I Carelessly Did Stray... by Harry Bradley
Bümpliz Süd by An Lar
Clare Concertinas by Bernard O'Sullivan And Tommy McMahon
Double-Barrelled by Kieran O'Hare And John Skelton
Father And Son Of Scotland by Jimmy Shand Jnr
Finnegan Wakes by The Dubliners
Heart And Home by Lucy Farr
Inveroran by Stuart Liddell
Ireland's Finest by The Dubliners
John Daly by John Daly
Keep It Up by Keep It Up
Late Breakfast by The Cobblestones
Micheal O Suilleabhain by Micheal O Suilleabhain
Raise The Rafters by Molly's Revenge
The Black Rose by Jesse Autumn With Barry Phillips
The Civil War Collection by Jim Taylor
The Clear Stream - Guitar Music From Scotland And Beyond by Various Artists
The Ladies From Hell by The Black Watch
There's A Buzz by Battlefield Band
Toss The Feathers by Mountain Dew
True...Never Been Known To Lie by Knot Fibb'n
Unheard by Eddie Clarke
Valiant by The Sevens

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

I like to ornament this tune with plenty of triplets, especially on the A notes. This gives it almost the feel of of a Strathspey. This is one of those tunes that sounds good with a "Scottish snap".

# Posted on May 26th 2001 by Jeremy

This is usually played in Edor on the other side of the pond

# Posted on February 14th 2002 by Brad Maloney

I've actually tried a c# in the second measure of the Bpart. It gives an unexpected surprise. though perhaps many might see it as not belonging, I have seen and heard such inflections used quite often.
has any one tried this on the pipes? I haven't yet.

# Posted on August 10th 2002 by Murray

Star of the County Down (sung version, with lyrics)

Here it is known as a nice driving fiddle/bar tune under the name of "Star of the County Down", played as a waltz. It has a beautiful quality as a waltz and works great on the low-d whistle too.

Here's my (untested) ABC for it, including guitar chords. This version may be sung too(lyrics below):

EG | "Am" A4 AB | "F" A3 G A2 | "C" c3 d ec | "G" d4 cd | "Am" e3 d c2 |1 "Am" A3 G E2 | "G" G6 | "Em" G4 cB :|2 "G" A4 G2 | "Am" A6-|-A4 e2 | "C" g4 e2 | e3 d c2 | "G" d4 e2 | "Em" d4 cd | "Am" e3 d c2 | A3 G E2 | "Em" G6-|-G2 c2 B2 | "Am" A4 AB | "F" A3 G A2 | "C" c3 d ec | "G" d4 cd | "Am" e3 c d2 | "G" A4 G2 | "Am" A6 | A6

Here are the lyrics:
In Banbridge Town in the County Down
One morning last July,
From a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet fronn her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair.
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
For to see I was really there.

Chorus:
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Down.

As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head,
And I looked with a feelin' rare,
And I say's, say's I, to a passer-by,
Whose the maid with the nut brown hair?
He smiled at me and he says's, say's he,
That's the gem of Ireland's crown.
It's Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She's the star of the County Down.

Chorus:
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Ouay and
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Down.

At the Harvest Fair she'll be surely there
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes,
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked
Right for a smile from my nut brown rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Till my plough turns rust coloured brown.
Till a smiling bride, by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down.

Chorus / Repeat

# Posted on August 18th 2004 by sifudave54

Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine

Is this tune really related to "The Star of the County Down"?

# Posted on August 28th 2004 by slainte

I think it really rather has to be, don't you?

# Posted on August 28th 2004 by Zina Lee

Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine

"Star" and this tune do share a passing similarity, owning to the same rythym, mode and some similar melodic outlines, but there's another song that I think bears a much closer relation to it; " Mick Maquire", The Clancy Brother did it a number of years ago.

The tune for "Star of the County Down"has gotten around and is sung to a number of different sets of lyrics, notably the "Lily of the West" and has even been used a hymn tune by the Catholic church in the U.S. A very similar tune was even used but English composer Ralph Vaughn Williams in a set of variations for strings.

# Posted on February 13th 2005 by ceadach

Boneparte Crossing the Rhine

This is much closer to the tune of a song I heard as "The Hot Asphalt", whih is irish, but it is also a close relation to the tune of an english song "The Cuckoo's Nest".
There is also a suggestion that this tune has become known as "Boneparte Crossing the Rockies", ( I know there is no historical evidence for this event ) , which is further confused by another tune, also known as " Sherman's March " also being called BCtR ( both versions ).
Confused ?

# Posted on June 17th 2005 by Guernsey Pete

The Hot Asphalt (sung by the Dubliners I think) is the same tune as the second part of some versions of the hornpipe, The Rights of Man.

# Posted on February 15th 2006 by Ciotog

It is indeed very similiar to "The Hot Asphalt". The second part of the tune has some slightly different beginning 4 bars but the ending 4 (which repeat the last 4 of part one, not counting the triplet in this version) are the same as the way the lyrics go.

# Posted on March 16th 2006 by 52Paddy

Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine/ the Alps

I suspect the two tunes derived from Scottish pipe march "The Battle of Waterloo."

# Posted on March 30th 2006 by slainte

"The Battle of Waterloo" ~ D Mixolydian ~ or Dorian ~ duplication

Submitted on July 1st 2006 by davarm.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/5915

A2 |
D>D DE DCCD | F>G AF G2 (3ABc | d>c AG AGED | C>C CD C2 (3AGE |
D>D DE DCCD | F>G AF G2 (3ABc | d>c AG AGEC | D4 D2 ||
AB |
d>c AG F>G AB | c>d cA c2 (3ABc | d>c AG AGED | C>C CD C2 (3AGE |
D>D DE DCCD | F>G AF G2 (3ABc | d>c AG AGEC | D4 D2 ||

# Posted on July 1st 2006 by ceolachan

"Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine" ~ march / songs / etc...

# Posted on July 1st 2006 by ceolachan

"Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine" ~ march / songs ~

This air is also used as an alternate air, among other songs, for "The Little Beggarman" / "My Old Rigadoo" ~

"The Auld Rigadoo" / "The Red Haired Boy" / etc...
Key signature: A Mixolydian
Submitted on February 25th 2002 by muddflat.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/566

The Little Beggarman / Little Beggar Man / Old Rigadoo

I am a little beggarman a beggin' I have been
For three score or more in this little Isle of Green
I'm known from the Liffey, down to Segue
I'm known by the name of old Johnny Dhu

Of all the trades that's goin sure beggin' is the best
For when a man is tired he can sit down and rest
He can beg for his supper for there's nothin' else to do
Only cut around the corner with his old rigadoo

~ etc...

# Posted on July 1st 2006 by ceolachan

Crossing the Rockies yes, crossing the Rhine, no...

Listen to Jim "Texas Shorty" Chancellor's "Bonaparte Crossing the Rockies." It's the same tune as "Star of the County Down" only speeded up. It's made the rounds in the US under that name, and is in the Fiddler''s Fakebook as "Bonaparte Crossing the Rocky Mountains." I think the main difference between "Rockies" and "Star" is that the former has a goofy little switch from minor to major for two measures in the B section.

The version of "County Down" I'm most familiar with is on the Van Morrison and the Chieftains recording. It's got the lyrics cited here but it isn't played as a waltz.

# Posted on January 6th 2007 by docfeetz

The Edor version of this is here http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1464. I've heard both in sessions.

# Posted on May 9th 2007 by Dow