Bagpipes and Drums at funerals.
We have been asked several "why" questions over the course of the years pertaining to tunes and symbolism at funerals / memorials we have attended, which in our short performance life (2018), has been around 70.
Why does a piper walkaway after a tune? Usually initiated at a last alarm service for an active fire service member or retiree, we do this based on the following analogy.
A
piper and the sound of the bagpipes helps to direct departed souls towards Heaven's Gates. The walking away symbolizes the piper leading the departed to the Hereafter, yet stopping short of the Gate through which the piper cannot pass.
How can you play a musical instrument such as the pipes and drums while feeling the burden or emotion of losing a friend and or colleague?
It's a mindset. Does it it hurt, yes. However when you look into the motto of our band, Tradition Honour Pride, providing a small piece / contribution to the grieving process to allow others to feel some comfort and peace through this musical tradition, provides musicians a sense of honour and pride within themselves. It's another mission that hopefully has helped someone in a time of unrest and hurt.
What song is that and why? First off we call them tunes. Songs are what words are applied to and what "most" bagpipe tunes are related too.
We base our tune selection for funerals, with the exception of a few, with tunes that other bands will know so we can play together when needed, universal if you will. All of the tunes have a deep meaning based on their written song counter parts or written tunes for the bagpipes alone.
To cover a handful of these tunes, let's summarize their meaning or core thoughts. Feel free to search for additional meanings or reasons. All lyrics can be found online. Again this is a short summary for social media purposes and we attached credit where independent information was found.
Arguably the best-known funeral hymn is "Amazing Grace." Its text, a poem penned in 1772 by John Newton, describes the joy and peace of a soul uplifted from despair to salvation through the gift of grace.
A sad and moving funeral song adapted from Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 with a message about finding peace in the next life.
The composers have shared their back story, what they imagined as they wrote the tune. During the reign of King James I, all clan chiefs were asked to meet secretly at St. Columba Church in Glasgow (known as the Highland Cathedral). There, they pledged to live in peace and end their constant feuding.
Life is short enjoy it in peace.
Certainly one of the most popular songs to originate from the Celtic Lands of Scotland and Ireland is The Parting Glass. It is, despite the topic matter, not an inherently sad song. Rather, it is an acknowledgement that friends will be reunited again, and that this departure is only temporary. In others words..we will see you later.
The Green Hills of tyrol:
Though some claim the tune came from an Austrian folk song, it in fact became a folk song after Rossini composed it. In 1854 Pipe Major John MacLeod of the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders heard a Sardinian band play the tune and adapted it for pipes. A YouTube search will often turn up Rossini's air.
Even later, Andy Stewart wrote words to it and the song is about a dying Scottish soldier, wishing to return to the hills of his homeland rather than die in the Tyrol. The song was one of two US chart entries by Andy Stewart.
The lyrics by Andy Stewart were written in 1961. The tune itself shares the same melody as The Last Rose of Summer.
The Pipe tune was written by William Robb (1863 – 1909) of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
Seen below you can have a sense of the tunes meaning.
When the Battle’s Over
I returned to the fields of glory,
Where the green grasses and flowers grow.
And the wind softly tells the story,
Of the brave lads of long ago.
Chorus
March no more my soldier laddie,
There is peace where there once was war.
Sleep in peace my soldier laddie,
Sleep in peace, now the battle’s over.
In the great glen they lay a sleeping,
Where the cool waters gently flow.
And the gray mist is sadly weeping,
For those brave lads of long ago.
Chorus
See the tall grass is there awaiting,
As their banners of long ago.
With their heads high forward threading,
Stepping lightly to meet the foe.
Chorus
Some return from the fields of glory,
To their loved ones who held them dear.
But some fell in that hour of glory,
And were left to their resting here.
The tune Balmoral was written by Sir Robert Bruce of the Gordon Highlanders. As a Scottish solider fighting in World War 2, Robert Bruce was captured during the Battle of Singapore in Malaysia along with many fellow soldiers and forced to work on the Thai Burma rail way used by the Japanese as a supply chain to their forces in Burma.
Sir Robert, then the Command Sgt Major of the Malay Regiment wrote this tune to honor those British and Allied soldiers who were killed or worked to death on this railway system.
More info may be found at:
Thank you for the read of this quick shortened summary.