Blue Cockade - traditional celtic ballad

[@stevebarrett2106]

I was listening to this when it was first here, and I still listen to it now. Best version of this song by far, in my opinion.

[@picoides1]

If you ever have plans to tour the US, please consider stopping by Portland, Maine! I'd love to see you play live.

[@RobertGanley]

Beautiful! I can listen to Slainte all day

[@LaHopey]

Absolutely cracking version. I'd only heard the Show Of Hands cut of this before, but you folks really do it justice. Lovely!

[@hugh164]

Beautiful, Over here on the other side of the pond, I say you do good work. excellent, thank you for carrying on the Tradition. I also liked your rendition of the "yew Tree"

[@silverbreezeRn]

Lovely ballad! You all sing wonderfully!

[@TheAncientBiker]

Beautiful.

[@kevo32a]

lovely. a fine job of a song. the piece where y all sing together is just beautifal.

[@cathgarland5349]

Very old folk song (1600s) from England - this is a beautiful arrangement - originally the White Cockade

[@MarkHarmer]

Thank you very much! We recorded this in the studio a long long time ago, in amongst several other songs. All done as live. We still perform together. And yes, this is a lovely song!

[@skylark51]

I had only heard the Show of Hands version before finding your lovely arrangement - really nicely done

[@blindstirring]

very nice - I'm glad I found you. I'll look for other songs of yours

[@WhiskeyMickMusic]

btw - (for Valonaren) a cockade is a tied ribbon on a military hat. Could be white, red, blue etc depending on regiment.

[@54321bb]

Great song thanks

[@damilla1958]

I just discovered you. Wonderful music, great performance, especially by Lynn! Tried to navigate your website, some links are down. All the Best!

[@WhiskeyMickMusic]

Beautiful song and gorgeous version. Irish rebel song? hmmmmm.

[@richc101]

Great version of the song, common story of recruitment into the british army - in other versions the colour of the cockade varies - probabily dependant on the regiment in the local area where it was sung. A good irish version of what is I believe an English song (see also kate rusby and show of hands for versions)

[@andrewwigglesworth3030]

It's not an "Irish version.", it's an English version of an English song. This band lifted the words and arrangement directly from "Show of Hands."

[@Gillesscott]

"Cockade" is very known in France with the name "[cocarde]." It is a piece of cloths that he one hangs to the hat or on the jacket. In France, the knownest cockard is the revolutionary cocarde (blue, white, red like the new French flag at the Revolution). In Scotland, at the battle of Culloden, the Jacobites of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" wore a white cockard on their head gear.

[@maltavmalta]

Take a good song and make it perfect.

[@BoudiccaBlanc]

Whatever the origin; it's well known that the British Empire required press gangs to fill the ranks on ships and regiments for their wars of colonialism. This is typical of empires. One of the reasons that the British celts couldn't repel the invasions of the Saxons is that The Roman legions had left the country defenceless. The Roman Empire forcibly recruited legions from one part of the empire and sent them to another part (to avoid rebellion by trained troops in their local areas).

[@andrewwigglesworth3030]

This song is not about the press gang. No-one was ever press ganged into the British army, and the Army did not press gang anyone into the Navy. This song is about being recruited into the Army. Next, it has nothing to do with "Celts" and "Saxons"; it's an English folk song dating from sometime in the late 18th century, widely collected in the late 19th and early 20th century in Southern England. "The Blue Cockade" was also collected as "The White Cockade" and "The Green Cockade."

[@AccordionStu]

any ideas on the chords? I play G, Em,and D, but not sure

[@sylkev]

What is the name of the group that sing this lovely version of the Blue Cockade? ty

[@MarkHarmer]

It’s Slâínte (www.celtmusic.co.uk) and we still perform together

[@andrewwigglesworth3030]

The song "The Blue Cockade" is not "celtic", not an "Irish rebel song" and is not about press gangs. Firstly, I'll deal with the word "celtic." It's a meaningless term in relation to our folk traditions in Britain and Ireland, so can be easily dismissed. The song being sung here is a direct lift from the band "Show of Hands" (ie. exactly the same words, speed and arrangement). Phil Beer of "Show of Hands" states that it is a version of the song from Dorset because of Phil Knightly's family connexions there and with the Dorset regiment. The most commonly known name of this song is "The White Cockade", and there were "Green Cockade" versions too. All of the three differently coloured Cockade versions of this song are very similar, and though I can't actually put my finger on the words used by "Show of Hands" they are very similar to lyrics collected as "The Blue Cockade" in several places in Southern England. So, secondly, this song is English. This of course means it can't be an "Irish rebel song", though that to my mind was a strange extra stretch since the song doesn't refer to Ireland or rebellion in any way. It seems to be a bit of whimsy on the part of the person who posted the video. Next, it is not a song about the press gang, but recruitment by the Army. Soldiers did not press gang people; the ship is what will carry them to some foreign shore to serve. Again, it is a bit of whimsy on the part of the poster of the video who clearly did not understand what the lyrics meant. "The Blue Cockade" is an English song, collected numerous times in Southern England in the nineteenth and early 20th centuries, so please don't invent nonsense and relocate it to a place where it never existed.

[@MarkHarmer]

That’s interesting- and thanks!