The Duke and Waterloo in Music and Song

Linda Parker

Ever since the early 1800s, when the (relatively) inexperienced Major General Arthur Wellesley’s troops were victorious at the Battle of Assaye in India, there have been songs and poems which tell tales of the Duke of Wellington’s derring-do. The first ballads were composed by soldiers under the Duke’s command, and from all regiments. Usually, the many verses celebrate the great British Army and its victories over the Enemy — a typical example is this one, Wellington and Glory for Ever, which was printed in 1812:

This first verse illustrates how stirring the sentiment is:

Amid that race of heroes bold,

Who grace the British name,

Enrol’d be gallant Wellington,

The foremost child of fame,

Hear, Britons! Hear against the foe,

How British vengeance flew,

How well they fought and beat the French,

As Britons ever do.

The National Library of Scotland has an excellent archive of Napoleonic Wars songs (which is where I found Wellington and Glory Forever) and the URL is: https://digital.nls.uk/english-ballads/archive/85447904 .

Another of the ballads is entitled The Battle of Waterloo which, as you can imagine, is a popular name in this genre….but more of that later:

It’s not just 19th century balladeers who are responsible for ‘Wellington songs’ because the great Ludwig van Beethoven made a contribution, too, with Wellington’s Victory or The Battle Symphony, Op 91 (14:14), as this album cover shows:

You can listen to it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=samfSDbZnko where it is played as soundtrack to scenes from the film Waterloo.

Referring back to song titles, above, who knew that Battle of Waterloo is a track on the album Death or Glory by the German heavy metal band Running Wild? A word of warning: it features bagpipes and cannons as well as guitar solos. Enough said.

For all the headbangers amongst us, you can hear the track on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKv7zzE4j_E&list=PLZCkBPGAE2flWprHhpT-XIhPP_U5I_74o&index=13 .

Running Wild was formed in 1976, in Hamburg, and their early work featured satanic themes and imagery, but then they progressed to pirates, sailing and historical events. The band split in 2009, but re-united in 2012 and are still going strong.

On the other side of the coin, Scottish folk singer and song writer Jim Malcolm has a gentler take on the topic with Battle of Waterloo on his 1998 album, Rohallion, with an acoustic guitar accompaniment this time rather than explosions, and is a soldier singing to his wife and daughter.

You can also listen to Battle of Waterloo on YouTube at https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=X51UrXtgkoU&list=PLJ8YxBmJDOLe4kAZXkvnbcqJUA-FlqLXj which is a live version from the 2004 album, Live in Glenfarg. Jim Malcolm seems to be a well-regarded “…ultimate Scots troubadour”, and he is still active on the European and North American folk scene.

I’ll finish this brief foray into songs linked to Wellington and Waterloo with everybody’s favourite — and at least we all know the tune!

My my
At Waterloo Napoleon did surrender
Oh yeah
And I have met my destiny in quite a similar way
The history book on the shelf
Is always repeating itself
Waterloo I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo couldn’t escape if I wanted to
Waterloo knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo finally facing my Waterloo

My my
I tried to hold you back, but you were stronger
Oh yeah
And now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight
And how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose
Waterloo I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo couldn’t escape if I wanted to
Waterloo knowing my fate is to be with you
Oh, oh Waterloo finally facing my…