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Introduction
‘There are some among us’ sighed Gardiner at the height of the Great War ‘who never will understand the English spirit.’ He was thinking of those who scolded the British Tommy for jostling to his fate with It’s a long way to Tipperary on his lips, while the Kaiser’s men marched in time to a noble Lutheran hymn — didn’t that just say it all? In a way, mused Gardiner, it did.
IN the early days of the war an excellent friend of mine used to find a great source of despair in “Tipperary.”* What hope was there for a country whose soldiers went to battle singing “Tipperary” against a foe who came on singing “Ein feste Burg”?* [...]
Yes, on the face of it, it seemed a poor lookout for “Tipperary” against such a foe. But it wasn’t, and any one who knew the English temperament knew it wasn’t. I put aside the fact that for practical everyday uses a cheerful tune is much better than a solemn tune. “Tipperary” quickens the step and shortens the march. Luther’s hymn, so far from lightening the journey, would become an intolerable burden. The mind would sink under it. You would either go mad or plunge into some violent excess to recover your sanity.
It is the craziest of philosophy to think that because you are engaged in a serious business you have to live in a state of exaltation, that the bow is never to be unstrung, that the top note is never to be relaxed.
* A music-hall song written and first performed in 1912 by Jack Judge (1872-1938) of Cheshire, whose parents were Irish; Tipperary is a town and county in the south of Ireland, and at that time part of the United Kingdom. The song was made popular in 1915 by Irish operatic tenor John Francis McCormack (1884-1945). The chorus runs:
“It’s a long way to Tipperary,
It’s a long way to go;
It’s a long way to Tipperary,
To the sweetest girl I know!
Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square,
It’s a long, long way to Tipperary,
But my heart’s right there!”
* ‘Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott’ is a paraphrase of Psalm 46, and was written in 1527-29 by leader of the German Reformation Martin Luther (1483-1546). Luther also wrote the tune, which strongarms the words to fit its rhythm. Despite the use to which the German Empire put it, it is a hymn about spiritual battle, not worldly war. A common English translation, by Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), renders the first verse thus:
A safe stronghold our God is still,
A trusty shield and weapon;
He’ll keep us clear from all the ill
That hath us now o’ertaken.
The ancient prince of hell
Hath risen with purpose fell;
Strong mail of craft and power
He weareth in this hour;
On earth is not his fellow.
Précis
When the First World War began, some in England were embarrassed to find that their troops marched in step to music-hall song ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’, whereas the Germans had adopted a noble Lutheran hymn. Columnist ‘Alpha of the Plough’ defended the Tommies, arguing that the solemn German hymn was more of a burden than an inspiration. (59 / 60 words)
When the First World War began, some in England were embarrassed to find that their troops marched in step to music-hall song ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’, whereas the Germans had adopted a noble Lutheran hymn. Columnist ‘Alpha of the Plough’ defended the Tommies, arguing that the solemn German hymn was more of a burden than an inspiration.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, although, because, besides, despite, if, not, since.
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