The Legendary Scots' March
by Jeff Nordin and Charles Knutson
Introduction and Bylaws
Interpretive
Clothing
Scottish Culture
History
Music and Dance
Military Life
Language
Bibliography, Sources
and Library Materials
Reference to "The Scot's March"
is made in a number of primary sources of the 17th Century. It
was is referred to as "odd" sounding and that the mere sound of this
ominous march could frighten off any army who was not anxious to meet
the fierce Scots. In the words of historian Th. A.
Fischer, the "March of the Scots was the terror of the Spaniards and
the Austrians in Germany. German and Swedish troops often used it
to secure their positions from attacks". Swedish Chancellor
Oxenstierna once ordered his Dutch regiments to sound it, "thinking
thereby to affright the enemy". In this instance the ploy
misfired: the foe advanced and the Dutch troops were forced to
retreat. In his memoir, Colonel Robert Monro described the Battle
of Breitenfeld in which he ordered a drummer to "beat" the "Scots'
March" to reform his troops in the smoke and dust of the battle Thus,
it seems a Scot's March was obviously a drum beat, suggesting that the
melody may have been assigned the title in later times, or that
the drum beat was recognizable alone. This would seem plausible
since drummers were the only required musicians in the infantry of the
17th century."We were masters of their cannon, and consequently of the field, but the smoke being great and the dust being raised, we were as in a dark cloud, not seeing the half of our actions, much less discerning either the way of our enemies, or yet the rest of our brigades: Whereupon, having a drummer by me, I caused him to beat the Scots march, till it cleared up, which recollected our friends unto us..."
-R. Monro
Such references imply that the march was easily recognized, and yet, it passed out of popular knowledge by the time of the Scottish romantic revival of the mid 19th century. Unsubstantiated tradition credits the composition of the "Scots' March" to James V's siege of Tantallon Castle in 1527. The cadence is supposed to express the sound: "ding doun Tantallon."
In broad Scots, this means to push or knock down. Tantallon castle is the East Lothian seat of Clan Douglas to this day. Historians have claimed that this drum beat survived up to the 1700's. It is true that "Tantallon", as a drum beat, was known and used by the Jacobites during the '45 Rebellion, possibly as their signal to advance. However, Henry G. Farmer argues that there is no historical trail to follow that confirms this was the "Scots March" of early centuries. The story of the eclipse of this march may, in part, be the decline of the fife's role in military music from the late 17th to early 18th centuries. That this span of years saw the union of Scotland with England and suppression of Scottish nationalism may also have been a factor. In the quest to rediscover "The Scot's March," speculation first fell on two marches, "Dumbarton's Drums" and "The Lowlands of Holland." The justification for these speculations was discussed by Henry G. Farmer. We have included as many of the potential candidates as we could find so that they can be shared as part of the folklore of the "Scots March."
"Dumbarton's Drums," with its Clan Douglas association, does fit the Tantallon tradition, and is the present regimental march of The Royal Scots. Furthermore, Samuel Pepys heard a "odd sounding" march played by the Royal Scots in June of 1667 and considered it not only the "Scots March", but also the oldest march in existence. A version of the air does date from the Skene Manuscript (Circa 1625-20) under the title "I Serve a Worthy Ladie". This version has been included, as well as a newer arrangement, since the elder of the two may not appeal as well to 20th century tastes. The first few bars do not agree, but the 8th note runs are certainly recognizable in both versions. There are three primary arguments as to why Dumbarton's was thought to be the "Scots March", as well as later counter-arguments:
(1) The title dates the melody and song to about 1675. Although the air appears to date from even earlier, it does not appear under the title "Dumbarton's Drums" any earlier than 1724. It was at that time published in Allan Ramsey's Tea-Table Miscelany the tunes in which were "done by some ingenious young gentlemen, who... are obliged for some of the best songs in the collection" -A. Ramsey.
(2) It is a distinctly "martial" air. According to Farmer, "this music never appeared in print as a march until the nineteenth century." Moreover, the authors that made this claim based the assumption simply on the martial theme of the lyrics.
(3) There is no evidence that the regimental march of the Royal Scots ever changed. Until the 1800's regimental marches changed frequently, and were often chosen at the whim of the colonel. It is thought that the words were written during the colonelcy Lord George Douglas, Earl of Dumbarton. That in itself argues against it never changing. Douglas was a Jacobite/Catholic who went into exile with his "lawful sovereign," rather than retain command of the regiment under William III. It seems unlikely that a tune named after a Jacobite would have been retained by his Protestant successor.
"The Lowlands of Holland," has also been suggested as the "Scot's March" (Ferguson, The Scots Brigade in the Netherlands.) Did the Scots Regiment that served in Holland from the 1500's to the 1870's create the "Scot's March?" To-date, there are no substantiating arguments or documentation for this belief. Farmer found two versions of songs by this name. The oldest of which he could find dated only as early as 1742. Like Dumbarton's, the air itself dates from the Skene Manuscript (c. 1615-'20) under the title "My Love shoe winns not her Away." Again, both the Skene Manuscript arrangement and the newer arrangement are supplied here.
In 1947, H.G. Farmer established "pretty" conclusively that the "Scot's March" found in Elizabeth Roger's MS Virginal Book, 1656 is THE "Scot's March”. His argument stems primarily from the fact that it is the only contender that was clearly titled "The Scots March" during the 1600's. While this may be the case, he contradicts himself slightly when he says that it is the oldest of the three. After all, it was he who pointed out that the melodies of "Dumbarton's", and "Lowlands" appear in the Skene MS(c. 1615-'20). Thus, the argument may still be unsettled in some minds. Farmer also claims that the beat "Ding-doun-Tantallon" fits in with the rhythm of this air, "but certainly not with the accepted airs of "Dumbarton's Drums" or "The Lowlands of Holland." But that will have to be left to individual interpretation.
Sources:
"The Scot's March," from "Roger's MS", 1656.
"Dumbarton's Drums", Riley's Flute Melodies, 1820.
"Lowlands of Holland", from Loesberg's Folksongs & Ballads Popular in Ireland, Vol 1, current.
