'The Wearing of the Green'

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 45, 10 November 1904, Page 15

'The Wearing of the Green'

Apropos of Mr Seddon's partiality for 'The Wearing of the Green,' it is interesting to note that -several authorities have ventured on assigning a date to tin-, well known song One says that it was composed m 1757, another in 1765, and a thud in ll'.)H. E,ven Dr Petne was inclined to regard the ' ictoellious ' song as having been composed in 17!)8. 'Hie fact is that the tune to which Boucicault set hiis line song, in 1850, was an old Irish air dating from 1715, which pasvsed over to Scotland m 1725, and w,as stolen by a Scotch musician, James Oswald, and published by him as ' The Tulip ' in 1756. Oswald himself was a little nervous about issuing the Irish air as his own, for, though he got the work licensed in 1717, he did not venture to print it till ]7. r >6. The usually well-informed musical critic of ' Truth ' tells us that ' The Wearing of the Green ' was> partly rewritten towards the end of the eighteenth century to words associated with a certain now forgotten individual named Nappor Tandy.' The ' now forgotten individual,' Napper Tandy, was a very important personage in 1702, and was made a General of Division by Bonaparte in 17!)8. The Anglo-Invh song which has handed down Ins name was written in 17% ; and an English version of the air appeared in 18.-J0 as ' Tne captain with his whiskers,' described as an ' enormously successful ballad, sung by Madame Yestns.'