Always learning. Born, bred and still living on the most easterly point of Northern Ireland - the Ards Peninsula - 18 miles across the sea from Scotland. I do lots of things- design, music, talks, trying to be a husband and father. This blog isn't an example of great quality writing or research, it's just a scrapbook pointing towards content that's of interest. © the author; contact me for permissions
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Saturday, October 20, 2012
Broadside ballad entitled 'Sons of Levi, A New Masonic Song'
The late George Holmes gave me a recording of this song, I am pretty sure he played the lambeg drum on it but was too modest to admit that to me. I found it again recently here on The Word on the Street, a website by the National Library of Scotland which is a collection of nearly 1800 'broadsides'. The commentary on the song says that it is Jacobite in origin, became Masonic and then Orange. The lyrics from George's version are a little different than those shown below. The lyrics are full of quite esoteric scriptural references; I'll leave it for my more Biblically-literate readers to assess the claim from the chorus that a group of people can be 'the root and the branch of David, the bright and glorious morning star...'. George's recording of it is great.
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to have a record with this on it, with atavistic drum belting out.
Powerful, and a little crazy!
It is lost and he asked me to track it down for him.
Could you somehow share it (perhaps on YouTube?).
Thanks,
Graham
Found it!
ReplyDeleteFire in the Soul
The Paul Brennan Band
https://youtu.be/IhucqExjf48