The Postcard
A postally unused postcard bearing no publisher's name. The card was posted in Lancaster, Pennsylvania using a one cent stamp on Wednesday the 13th. February 1907. The recipient's name and address extended across the undivided back of the card:
Miss Naomi Kauffman,
256, South Queen Street,
City.
It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary
You would expect 'the sweetest girl I know' to have been derived from the song 'It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary', but in fact it pre-dates it.
'It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary' is an Irish music hall song first performed in 1912 by Jack Judge, and written by Judge and Harry Williams, though authorship of the song has long been disputed.
It was recorded in 1914 by Irish tenor John McCormack and used as a marching song among soldiers in the Great War and is remembered as a song of that war.
Welcoming signs, in the referenced county of Tipperary, Ireland, humorously declare, "You've come a long way" in reference to the song.
The chorus of the song is as follows:
'It's a long way to Tipperary,
It's a long way to go.
It's a long way to Tipperary,
To the sweetest girl I know!
Goodbye, Piccadilly,
Farewell, Leicester Square!
It's a long long way to Tipperary,
But my heart's right there.'
Authorship
Jack Judge's parents were Irish, and his grandparents came from Tipperary. Judge met Harry Williams (Henry James Williams, 1873 – 1924) in Oldbury, Worcestershire at the Malt Shovel public house, where Williams's brother Ben was the licensee.
Williams was severely disabled, having fallen down cellar steps as a child and badly broken both legs. He had developed a talent for writing verse and songs, and played the piano and mandolin, often in public. Judge and Williams began a long-term writing partnership that resulted in 32 music hall songs published by Bert Feldman.
Many of the songs were composed by Williams and Judge at Williams's home, The Plough Inn (later renamed The Tipperary Inn), in Balsall Common. Because Judge could not read or write music, Williams taught these skills to Judge by ear.
Judge was a popular semi-professional performer in music halls. On the 30th. January 1912, he was performing at the Grand Theatre in Stalybridge, and accepted a 5-shilling bet that he could not compose and sing a new song by the next night.
The following evening, Judge performed It's a Long Way to Tipperary for the first time, and it immediately became a great success. The song was originally written and performed as a sentimental ballad, to be enjoyed by Irish expatriates living in London.
Judge sold the rights to the song to Bert Feldman in London, who agreed to publish it and other songs written by Judge with Williams. Feldman published the song in October 1912, and promoted it as a march.
Dispute
Feldman paid royalties to both Judge and Williams, but after Williams' death in 1924, Judge claimed sole credit for writing the song, saying that he had agreed to Williams being co-credited as recompense for a debt that Judge owed.
However, Williams' family showed that the tune and most of the lyrics to the song already existed in the form of a manuscript, "It's A Long Way to Connemara", co-written by Williams and Judge back in 1909, and Judge had used this, just changing some words, including changing "Connemara" to "Tipperary".
Judge however stated:
"I was the sole composer of 'Tipperary', and all
other songs published in our names jointly.
They were all 95% my work, as Mr Williams made
only slight alterations to the work he wrote down
from my singing the compositions.
He would write it down on music-lined paper and
play it back, then I'd work on the music a little more.
I have sworn affidavits in my possession by Bert
Feldman, the late Harry Williams and myself
confirming that I am the composer."
In a 1933 interview, Judge added:
"The words and music of the song were written in the
Newmarket Tavern, Corporation Street, Stalybridge on
the 31st. January 1912, during my engagement at the
Grand Theatre after a bet had been made that a song
could not be written and sung the next evening.
Harry was very good to me, and used to assist me
financially, and I made a promise to him that if I ever
wrote a song and published it, I would put his name
on the copies and share the proceeds with him.
Not only did I generously fulfil that promise, but I
placed his name with mine on many more of my own
published contributions.
During Mr Williams' lifetime (as far as I know) he never
claimed to be the writer of the song."
Williams's family campaigned in 2012 to have Harry Williams officially re-credited with the song, and shared their archives with the Imperial War Museums. The family estate still receives royalties from the song.
Content
The song was originally written as a lament from an Irish worker in London, missing his homeland. Unlike popular songs of previous wars (such as the Boer Wars), it did not incite soldiers to glorious deeds, instead concentrating on the longing for home (as with the 1914 song 'Keep the Home Fires Burning').
'It's the Wrong, Wrong Way to Tickle Mary'
A parody of Tipperary, titled 'It's the Wrong, Wrong Way to Tickle Mary' was published as sheet music in the United States in 1915. The bawdy lyrics suggest the performances of concert parties on the front lines of the war:
'That's the wrong way to tickle Mary,
That's the wrong way to kiss.
Don't you know that over here, lad
They like it best like this.
Hoo-ray pour les Français,
Farewell Angleterre.
We didn't know how to tickle Mary,
But we learnt how over there.'
Reception
'Tipperary' became the hit song of 1913, and was widely popular when the Great War began the following year. British soldiers marching to Mons sang it.
Daily Mail correspondent George Curnock saw the Irish regiment the Connaught Rangers singing this song as they marched through Boulogne on the 13th. August 1914, and reported it.
Soon, every British newspaper had printed the lyrics to the chorus, and it became a popular and patriotic tune amongst civilians.
The media reported that the song was popular among soldiers despite (or because of) its irreverent and non-military theme, and was contrasted with the military and patriotic songs favoured by enemy troops.
Commentators considered that the song's appeal revealed characteristically British qualities of being cheerful in the face of hardship. The Times suggested that:
"'Tipperary' may be less dignified, but it, and
whatever else our soldiers may choose to sing
will be dignified by their bravery, their gay
patience, and their long suffering kindness.
We would rather have their deeds than all the
German songs in the world."
In 1916, survivors of the sinking of HMS Tipperary in the Battle of Jutland were identified by their rescuers on HMS Sparrowhawk because they were singing 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary' in their lifeboat.
However, as soldiers lost their optimism for a quick end to the Great War, they came to abhor the sentimental song and jeered down attempts to start it. F. T. Nettleingham, a veteran and anthologist of songs from the war, noted that:
"The song was never Tommy's
song - it was never greatly sung."
He did note however that it was often the subject of parody. The fact that civilians continued to hold it to be the soldiers' anthem illustrated a gap in understanding, and alienated the fighting men.
Later Performances of Tipperary
Tipperary was sung by the prisoners of war in Jean Renoir's film La Grande Illusion (1937), and as background music in The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966).
The song was featured in the 1951 film On Moonlight Bay, the 1960's stage musical and film Oh! What a Lovely War, and the 1970 musical Darling Lili, sung by Julie Andrews.
It is also the second part (the other two being "Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire" and "Mademoiselle from Armentières") of the regimental march of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 used it in 1996 and in the final television episode. It is also sung by British soldiers in the film The Travelling Players (1975), and by Czechoslovak soldiers in the movie Černí Baroni (1992).
Tipperary is also featured in For Me and My Gal (1942) starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, and in Gallipoli (1981), starring Mel Gibson.
It was sung by the crew of U-96 in Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 film Das Boot (the arrangement was performed by the Red Army Choir). Morale is boosted in the submarine when the German crew sings the song as they begin patrolling in the North Atlantic Ocean. The crew sings it a second time as they cruise toward their home port after near-disaster.
The cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show march off screen singing the song at the conclusion of the series' final episode, after news anchor Ted Baxter (played by Ted Knight) inexplicably recited some of the lyrics on that evening's news broadcast.
The song is often cited when documentary footage of the Great War is presented.
One example of its use is in the annual television special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966). Snoopy—who fancies himself a First World War flying ace—dances to a medley of First World War-era songs played by Schroeder. The song is included, and at that point Snoopy falls into a left-right-left marching pace.
Schroeder also plays the song in Snoopy, Come Home (1972) at Snoopy's send-off party. Also, Snoopy is seen singing the song out loud in a series of strips about his going to the 1968 Winter Olympics.
In another strip, Snoopy is walking such a long distance to reach Tipperary that he lies down exhausted and notes:
"They're right, it is a
long way to Tipperary."
On a different occasion, Snoopy walks along and begins to sing the song, only to meet a sign that reads:
"Tipperary: One Block."
In a Sunday strip wherein Snoopy, in his Great War fantasy state, walks into Marcie's home, thinking it a French café, and falls asleep after drinking all her root beer, she rousts him awake by loudly singing the song.
In 1942, as the Japanese hell ship Lisbon Maru was sinking, Royal Artillery POWs trapped in the vessel are reported to have sung the song.
Other Versions and Adaptations of Tipperary
In 1916, the Daily Mirror published the song in the languages of the Empire, including a version translated into Cornish by Henry Jenner.
A Rhodesian version of the song, called 'It's a Long Way to Mukumbura', became popular among Rhodesian soldiers during the country's Bush War in the 1970's.
The University of Missouri uses a version of 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary' as a fight song, renamed 'Every True Son'. It is usually played as part of a medley, followed by a cheer and then "Fight, Tiger."
The University of Oregon uses a contrafact of 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary' as a fight song, renamed 'Mighty Oregon'.
'It's a Long Way from Amphioxus' is a song parody written by Philip H. Pope, and is sung by students and scientists as an affirmation of evolution. It is the official song of the Biological Sciences Division at the University of Chicago.
The Club Atletico River Plate sports club from Buenos Aires, Argentina used the music from the song to create its hymn.
The song is referenced extensively in the 1917 Billy Murray song 'The Further It Is From Tipperary, The Closer It Is To Berlin'.
The song is sung several times throughout the 2021 Simpsons episode "The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A.".
Singer Tiny Tim recorded a cover of the song twice, first in 1968 as a part of a medley with 'There Will Always Be an England' and 'Bless 'Em All', then in 1980 for his Chameleon album.
The song is a recurring motif in the film Six Minutes to Midnight, notably in the last scene, on the eve of WWII, when the German schoolgirls have been reunited with their beloved principal Rocholl (played by Judi Dench).
Henry Raby VC
So what else happened in the day that the card was posted?
Well, the 13th. February 1907 was not a good day for Henry Raby because he died on that day.
Rear-Admiral Henry James Raby, who was born in Boulogne on the 26th. September 1827, was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Henry attended Sherborne School, during which time he was a member of Abbey House. After leaving Sherborne, he entered the Royal Navy in 1842 as a 1st. Class Volunteer in H.M.S. Monarch. He served for 11 months with the Naval Brigade in the Crimea, being promoted Commander for his services.
Henry Raby's VC Action
Raby was 27 years old, and a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the Crimean War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC:
On the 18th. June 1855 in the Crimea, immediately after the assault on Sebastopol, a soldier of the 57th. Regiment, who had been wounded in both legs, was observed sitting up and calling for help.
At once Lieutenant Raby and seamen Henry Curtis and John Taylor left the shelter of their battery works and ran forward a distance of 70 yards, across open ground, through heavy gunfire and succeeded in carrying the wounded man to safety.
Henry's medal is on display at the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth.