Two Little Boys
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| "Two Little Boys" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Writer | Edward Madden |
| Composer | Theodore Morse |
"Two Little Boys" is a song written by American composer Theodore Morse and lyricist Edward Madden. It was written in 1902 and became a popular music hall song of the time, made popular by Harry Lauder. It describes the story of two boys who grow up to fight in the American Civil War. In 1969, it became a surprise No. 1 top-selling single for entertainer Rolf Harris in the United Kingdom.
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[edit] Rolf Harris
In 1969, it was revived by Australian entertainer Rolf Harris, who briefly visited folk musician Ted Egan during a tour of Arnhem Land in Australia. Egan sang him the song, which Harris recorded on tape. Back in the UK, Harris persuaded his television producer to incorporate the song into his BBC variety show. Harris discovered he had lost the tape and rang Egan, 10,000 miles away in Canberra, and asked him to sing the song over the phone. Alan Braden arranged the song for the TV show, and a favourable audience reaction prompted Harris to record and release it as a single. The song reached #1 on the singles chart in December 1969, where it stayed for six weeks, thus becoming the first number-one single of the 1970s. On BBC Radio Blackburn in 1979, Margaret Thatcher picked it as a favourite song. [1]
In October 2008, Harris announced he would re-record the song, backed by North Wales' Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir, to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I.[2] Proceeds from the new release went to The Poppy Appeal.[3] Harris was inspired to make the recording after participating in My Family at War, a short series of programmes in the BBC's Remembrance season, which was broadcast in November 2008.[4] He discovered that the experiences of his father and uncle during World War I mirrored the lyrics of the Civil War song.[5]
[edit] Other versions
Hearts & Flowers recorded the song and included it on their album "Of Horses, Kids, and Forgotten Women", which was released in 1968.
When being apart from the Mitchell Trio for only half a year, John Denver performed this song at the Nowhere Coffeehouse in University of Cincinnati Student Union on May 9, 1969.
Probably the most popular version in the United States of the song, "Two Little Boys" was by Beryl Middleton. Beryl Recorded this in 1969 on Walters Productions label. It was released as a single as well as on her album, "Hello, I'm Beryl Middleton". She also recorded Two Little Boys with the "Airmen of Note" - the U.S. Airforce band and was featured on the voice of America. Her version was voted the number one song in Washington, DC by radio station WMAL in 1970. Actually Beryl was born in Yorkshire, England but is now an American citizen and resides in Sarasota, Florida.
Kenny Rogers sang a version of the song while he was lead singer of the country-rock band The First Edition, which was released on their 1971 album Transition. The song was later revived in 1980 by Splodgenessabounds and reached #27 on the UK singles chart. Scottish duo Hue and Cry recorded a jazz-inspired version for their 2009 Xmasday album.
Hartlepool United football fans have sung "Two Little Boys" on the terraces since the 1980s. A version by a group of Hartlepool fans was released as a double A-side with "Never Say Die" on the single "Poolie Pride", recorded under the name of "Monkey Hangerz", reaching #24 on the UK Singles Chart in 2006. Rolf Harris' version was played at the 2005 Coca Cola Championship League 1 Play Off final as the Hartlepool United anthem before the kick off.
The song is also commonly played by Irish band The Frames during live performance of their song "Star Star**", as well as by the Canadian-Irish band The Irish Rovers on the album Children Of The Unicorn.
[edit] In popular culture
A version by Roger Whittaker appears briefly in "A Pair of Charlies", an episode of Budgie, the early seventies British drama series starring Adam Faith.
Scottish comedian Billy Connolly recorded a parody of the song with new lyrics entitled 'Two little boys in blue' on his 'Raw meat for the balcony' LP in 1977. This version of the song told the story of two boys who grow up to be policemen.
A version with the names changed is sung by the character Spud in the film Trainspotting after Tommy's funeral.
The song was also featured in Yahtzee's Zero Punctuation review of Army of Two.
In an interview for their film X-Men: First Class, at critic Peter Travers' request, actors Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy sang a rendition of the song as representation of the relationship between their characters Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr.
[edit] Football Chants
"Two Little Boys" is sung by Shamrock Rovers fans in the League of Ireland.
[edit] See also
- List of number-one singles of 1969 and 1970 (Ireland)
- List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)
- List of number-one singles from the 1970s (UK)
[edit] References
- ^ "Two little boys, but in which war?". BBC News. 2008-11-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7724596.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
- ^ "Rolf remakes Two Little Boys hit". BBC News: Wales (BBC). 2008-10-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7669707.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
- ^ "Rolf re-releases 1969 classic track". The Press Association (The Press Association). 2008-11-11. http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5h_1uXXNLA6vZ5Sz7_vTGNpEaEBGg. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/full-coverage/5135099/little-boys-hits-rolf-close-home/
- ^ Adams, Stephen (2008-11-11). "Rolf Harris re-records Two Little Boys to mark 90th anniversary of end of WWI". Telegraph.co.uk (London: Telegraph Media Group). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/3416040/Rolf-Harris-re-records-Two-Little-Boys-to-mark-90th-anniversary-of-end-of-WWI.html. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
[edit] External links
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Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- BBC article discussing the origin of the song
| Preceded by "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies |
UK Singles Chart number one single (Rolf Harris version) December 20, 1969-January 24, 1970 (6 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse |
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