| |  This
rousing song started life as a poem by Sir Henry Newbolt1. The poem has been an inspiration
for many singers and composers, and holds a permanent warm spot in
the folk singers' reservoir. The setting we have chosen by Charles Villiers
Stanford is undoubtedly a great baritone song, part of his Songs of the Sea, op.91
suite2. It has firmly held its place in the
classical repertoire.
Set in the key of D
minor, Stanford's Drake's Drum3 tells a great story and maintains that haunting feel of the
original poem, but its dramatic
resolution to D major for
the final verse gives it a powerful, almost regal, finish before leaving us with
the originally stated enigma! We have shared that persistent and
insistent rapid four-beat 'drumbeat' motif throughout the piece between many
instruments in this MusicSmiles
orchestral arrangement. There are a number of publications of the song. The one
chosen retains a few of the original 'spellings'. There are other completely
modernised versions but this one revisits a little of the quaint charm of the original
vernacular poetry1. (Don't worry if you're not a
baritone - take a deep breath and give it a twirl!)
Drake's
Drum
(Six bars Introduction )
Drake,
he's in his hammock
And a thousand mile away . . .,
(Captain, art thou sleeping there below?)
Slung atween the round shot in Nombre Dios Bay,
And dreaming all the time of Plymouth Hoe.
Yonder lumes the
island,
Yonder lie the ships,
With sailor lads a-dancing heel-an'-toe,
And the shore-lights flashing,
And the night-tide dashing,
He sees it all so plain . . ly
As he saw it long ago.
Drake
he was a Devon man,
And ruled the Devon seas . . .,
Roving tho' his death fell,
He went with heart at ease,
And dreaming all the time of Plymouth Hoe.
"Take my
drum to England,
Hang it by the shore,
Strike it when your powder's running low:
If the Dons sight Devon,
I'll quit the port of Heaven,
And drum them up the Channel
As we drumm'd them long ago . . ."
Drake,
he's in his hammock
Till the great Armadas come,
(Captain, art thou sleeping there below?)
Slung atween the roundshot,
List'ning for the drum,
And dream . .ing all the time of Plymouth Hoe.
Call him on the
deep sea,
Call him up the Sound,
Call him when ye sail to meet the foe;
Where the old trade's plying
And the old flag flying,
They shall find him ware and wa . . .king,
As they found him long ago.
Whew!
It's a humdinger isn't it?! Hope you enjoyed our MusicSmiles
arrangement of this splendid C V Stanford mini-masterpiece. See
MusicSmiles
bibliography
for further details.
Like
to hear it again?
Footnote 1: Sir Henry John Newbolt (1862 - 1938) is
remembered mainly for his rousing patriotic nautical ballads - which include
Drake's Drum: published in Admirals All and Other Verses in 1897) See
below:-
 | Drakes Drum by (Sir Henry Newbolt)
 | Drake he's in his hammock
An' a thousand miles away,
(Capten, art tha sleepin' there below?)
Slung atween the round shot in Nombre Dios Bay,
An' dreamin' arl the time O' Plymouth Hoe.
Yarnder lumes the Island, yarnder lie the ships,
Wi' sailor lads a-dancin' heel-an'-toe,
An' the shore-lights flashin', an' the night-tide dashin',
He see it arl so plainly as he saw et long ago. |
| Drake
he was a Devon man, an' ruled the Devon seas,
(Capten, art tha sleepin' there below?)
Rovin' tho' his death fell, he went wi' heart at ease,
A' dreamin' arl the time O' Plymouth Hoe.
"Take my drum to England, hang et by the shore,
Strike et when your powder's runnin' low;
If the Dons sight Devon, I'll quit the port o' Heaven,
An' drum them up the Channel as we drumm'd them long ago." |
| Drake he's in his hammock
Till the great Armadas come,
(Capten, art tha sleepin' there below?)
Slung atween the round shot, listenin' for the drum,
An' dreamin' arl the time O' Plymouth Hoe.
Call him on the deep sea, call him up the Sound,
Call him when ye sail to meet the foe:
Where the old trade's plyin' an' the old flag's flyin'
They shall find him ware and wakin', as they found him long ago! |
|
Click
to return to story.
Footnote 2: Songs of the Sea include:
| Drakes Drum |
| Outward Bound |
| Devon, O Devon |
| Homeward Bound |
| The 'Old Superb' |
Click
to return to story.
Footnote 3: Drake's Drum is a drum which was once owned by
Sir Francis Drake. It was with him when he sailed round the world (the first man
to achieve this tremendous nautical feat); and when he died from dysentery off
Panama in 1596.
| A legend is attached to the drum: it has been claimed that it can be heard at
critical times when England is at war, or when significant national events
occur. Some recorded examples of this are : When Britain's greatest naval hero
Admiral Lord Nelson was made a freeman of Plymouth; During the Dunkirk
evacuation, and during the Battle of Scapa Flow in World War II; and the Falklands War in 1982. |
| It now resides in the museum exhibition in Buckland Abbey, in Yelverton,
Devon, England. This 700 year old building with a 16th century Great hall, was
once a secluded Cistercian Abbey. It was later to become the home of Sir Francis
Drake, and before him Sir Richard Grenville of The Revenge.
| If you would like to
know more about this and the other wonderful features of the National Trust
property - the magnificent monastic barn, the miles of lovely walks through the
peaceful wooded River Tavy valley, and the independent craft workshops - (from
the Armada to the present day) contact: Buckland Abbey, Yelverton, Devon, PL20
6EY; Tel: (01822 853607);
E-mail: bucklandabbey@nationaltrust.org.uk |
|
Click
to return to story.
OR
visit the website: http://touruk.co.uk/houses/housedev_buckl.htm Then
Click the back arrow <==
top left of your screen to return to this story.
IN
THE MEANTIME,
IF YOU WISH
Click
a drumstick <<< to visit Plymouth in Devon,
England, and see a picture of the 'real' Drake's Drum. When
there Click the back arrow <==
top left of your screen to return to this story.
Foot-footnote: Scribe seems to remember that C V
Stanford's song was one
of his Royal Schools Grade 6 Singing exam pieces some years ago. Mind you it was
'quite some years ago' so he could be wrong. Any recollections from
site-visitors to jog his memory
would be welcome!
Foot-Foot-Footnote: 'Felix, why are you looking so
appealingly at me?' "Well, we sort of wondered if you would tell
our illustrated story about Cap'n Drake." 'But everybody knows that story
Felix.'
"We
realise that, but, well, we wondered if you would tell it just one more
time."
'Oh, alright but it will have to be the shortened version, and not too many interruptions!. "Oh,
Yes. Well
OK. Yippee!"
Click the galleon's green pennant to go to
our special 'illustrated' MusicSmiles
Story about Francis Drake.
>>>
By the way, you may be asking, 'Who's Felix?' Well, he claims
to be a descendant of Drake's cat (also called Felix!). But, maybe one ought to form one's own
opinion!!!
|
