John Tams & Barry Coope's ' Over the hills and far away' recorded live at East Grinstead's Chequer Mead theatre on 16 November 2010, courtesy of Acoustic Sussex
***** in context of the show its a nickname. And I have worked with a few Irish that never minded paddy as much as being called mick that one got me a threat of having my head punched in. 😉
My 3x Great Grandfather was in the 95th Rifles and fought in the Peninsula wars through Spain, France and at Waterloo. The night before the battle, he was skirmishing against French troops and during the battle. I have a transcript of his journal that he kept through all of this time. Wellington asked that a comrade who took part in the battle with him be chosen to be his sideman during the dinner celebrating the 25th anniversary....My GGG Grandfather was that man. So proud of my family.
yeah I would love to hear or read some of those transcripts. I wonder if they could be put on-line somehow or maybe you can tidy them up and publish them. Thanks for the family anecdote.
This song and the man who sings it are a major part of the reasons why the Sharpe series was so brilliant. And he was a perfect actor in the role of Hagman as well.
@@animerlon I agree, it just busted my heart into shards. That's why as a writer, I can't kill favored characters.... probably not a good thing.... but dang.... Hagman had made it through so damn much with Sharpe.... it tore me up... I actually sobbed like a baby.
@@LadyDragonsblood Me too. I can handle endings that aren't all happily ever after but i found this one to be unnecessarily cruel. After singing about being far away for so long, he deserved to go home.
Reminds me of my father ....Joseph Henry Richards ....Sargent Grenadier Guards ...Western Desert , Italy , ....Gone for 24 years now .....miss him to this day ..... Taught me Discipline , Respect , and who I am.
As a German I heard this song for the first time in the tv series Sharpe and as an old soldier the lyrics are very close to my heart. The longing and love for the homeland and the duty to fulfill one's service.
Hearing John Tams perform this song, and seeing his wonderful performances as Daniel Hagman in the Sharpe stories is one of those things that make the series truly special. Hearing John perform it like this, in front of a live audience does bring a tear to my eye. Thank you John for Daniel Hagman, and thank you for this timeless rendition - it has made the song new again to millions who would never otherwise have heard it.
And I'm one of the millions who would never otherwise have heard it. It moves me to tears every time I listen to it. Thank you for posting it, and thank you, John Tams.
My childhood was blessed by listening to him sing and act, happy memories of been on the sofa with my family watching Sharpe. Its where I found my love of history
I am an American soldier, retired but back on duty teaching firearms. My ancestors come from Northampton but came to the Colonies in 1740. My direct ancestor John Wesley Southard is on the roles at Valley Forge and was wounded at Yorktown. My line served in every war the U S had and I volunteered to go to Berlin in 1961. I had the opportunity to serve as an exchange soldier with the Greenjackets and as an Infantryman I was able to do several patrols with them along the Grunewald. I served in SE/Asia and many other locations for 24 years. I will always value the time spent with my Brit Brothers in Arms.
That was nice of you to write this Daniel,because my brother in law was a bandmaster with the Greenjackets when they served in Germany,and it once again reminds me how hard they to march to always be up at the front of any throes with the enemy . rgds
Theres always a few in a unit who can sing and know when to and of what. Morale and thoughts of home. Sharpe worked because each of the chosen men could have been real, they were a believable unit.
He should sing this at the Albert Hall Remembrance Service dressed as a Chosen man there would not be a dry eye in the house or in the country, although it is an old folk tune, he has made it his, and he sings it with such passion and conviction he makes us all proud to be have walked the walk wearing the Queens uniform
In a world that makes no sense anymore the simplicity and heroism of Hagman, Paddy, Harris and Richard Sharpe made some kind of sense to me. The love that these guys had for each other transcended everything. I’d have been proud to have served alongside Daniel. John Tams was simply magnificent in that show and he continues to be magnificent at what he does now that it has finished. Seam B has been very good since but he WAS Richard Sharpe. This is what it means to be British
My eternal respect & love to my Southern Irish Grandfather Private Michael Quinn, late of the Connaught Rangers; served the British Empire WWI; Inter-War Colonial Policing & WWII. I hope I die making you proud of me😇😇😇😇
im a 30 year old heavily tattooed metal head but every single time i hear John Tams sing it has me crying like a baby! the guy is an amazing talent & his music means more to me than nearly any other!
In the same way that Obi Wan became far more powerful when Darth Vader killed him, I choose to believe that Hagman and Harris ascended to some higher plane on 18th June 1815
My father enlisted into the 95th in June 1939. He spent 30 years in the British Army and was R.S.M for the 95th, the 60th and at The Rifle Brigade Depot in Winchester. Commissioned in 1959 he ended his time with the rank of Major. A true rifleman. "Swift and Bold"
In this the 100th.anniversary of the Great War,I am reminded of my uncle Jonathan who went over the hills and far away and never returned,he`s over there still and no one knows where.God Bless you Jonny
Both my Granddads came back, one left a hand at Gallipoli. The other won the MM, but claimed he found it in a tin of bully beef. Neither talked about it.
Listening to this man singing is like going back in a time machine to the Peninsular War as his voice fits so perfectlyhe sounds like a real soldier of the time singing!!
If you get a moment, please share with friends on Facebook etc - with over 70,000 hits, I reckon we can give John Tams a nice present of 100,000 by Christmas. Thanks
Frenchman here, same. Sharpe was never broadcaast in France for obvious reasons (French soldiers are basically as dumb as Star Wars stormtroopers in the show except when shooting Spaniards) and I just discovered this fantastic series last month (thank you RU-vid!). But boy is it a jewel. John Tams is one of the best and best fleshed-out character's I've ever seen
Indeed... SOLDIERS do not start or cause wars. that is solely the preserve of POLITICIANS , ( Who usually do not have to fight in them.... There are a few exceptions though)
I am Canadian proud to be subject of Queen Elizabeth II Queen of Canada. My young patriotism was British Imperialism because a lot of us thought of it as Our Empire. We were part of it not just subject to it but full possessors of it. This made us no less Canadian just the best part of the Empire. My ancestors were American colonists that fought for King George. People we called loyalists and heroes and the Traitor Rebels called Tories and traitors. I still feel an affinity to Our mother the UK even if she does seem to forget us more and more. I am although politically quite leftwing a monarchist because of the fact that democratic constitutional monarchies are quite arguably more often good places to live than republics. These songs sing to me three my family history and make my heart soar.
Indeed, as one of your Prime Ministers said, the British Empire did not stop at the White Cliffs of Dover! It was our Empire, good and bad. The World owes it a debt that cannot be paid by money for stopping Louis 14th, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm and Hitler in their tracks!
@@sand1e he would be too short, at least back then. If I remember right they all were rather tall muscled lads, Hagman (I mean Tams) is too slender and short of stature for a napoleonic grenadier
It is a very moving piece of song, but it was originally written by British Recruiters for the napoleonic wars that's why it mentions "40 shillings on the drum" why was the payment given to soldiers on signing up and why it glorifies war, which is definitely not what war should be viewed as or what Remembrance Day should stand for I think.
No, it does not glorify war, it puts war in it's place.... it was written for wars long before the Napoleonic Wars... it's origins are deep in the 18th century with queen Ann... The lyrics that John sings are updated... what you are looking for definitively is the song from the Ceylon Wars of the late 18th century... which used many Irish volunteers, Johnny I hardly knew ya!! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Yg_rf2d894k.html
By all accounts John Tams is a bit of an old-school "working man" lefty (no bad thing in my book). The lyrics to the song's chorus are traditional, so he couldn't change them. Loyalty to your fellow men and comrades above all seemed to be the drive behind most of Tams' "Hagman" songs. :)
Hagman was played by the guy who's currently singing...John Tams,not only did he sing the theme music for the Sharpe series,but he also sings a version of Over the hills and far away IN as his character Daniel Hagman.
That was '' trooper'' Hagmans remedy to every ailment his oppoes suffered . He was the original battalion medic as well as being a '' chosen man'' Believe he ended up as a Sgt: before he was slotted. To this day soldiers promoted from the ranks , as """ Ruperts""" / after being gazetted are still referred to , not as L.E.O.s' but as SHARPIES.
"Look after one another!" As touching as this song is, and as much as I liked it (and still do), whenever I heard John singing it in the "Sharpe's Rifles" episodes: His final words are the REAL message ...
@@luketimewalker Somewhat reluctantly. I think like me he respected his motives but was questioning his actions. But Hagman is that classic old NCO of the unit, no screaming RSM, but the old man they all look up too.
@@TheGroundedAviator I was shocked at first too, but in the end Truman was right. I shudder at the thought that captains and above really treated men worse than cattle as is portrayed in the show...
@@luketimewalker The worst usually got killed by their own men. I know at least one story of an RSM "disappearing" one night on a troopship. Truman was right about some stuff and tricked about others, despite being a gruff worker I can get uneasy about such actions. Stanwyck was ironically the decent one with Parfitt being not just a robber baron, but also a hypocrite as he was abusing the very people he came from.
My Grandfather, wounded in Flanders. My Great umcle, missing, presumed dead at Ypres, my Great Uncle died of wounds in the Dardanelles. My uncle wounded in Italy and probably not the end of the list. They fought for their mates, their families and their duty. Not much about King and Country from what I recall from those who came home.
@@adamcarreras-neal4697 I come from a military family - at least five generations. We were all loyal to King/Queen and Country, but on the battlefield we fought not for anything but our lives and the lives of our pals. Fighting for one's country is more a myth than reality; and pride in one's unit meant so much more. At the end of the day, it comes down to self preservation. If and when you get through, you can still honour the monarchy, but they're not the ones to send you to war!
This brings a tear to my eye for all those who have fought for their country. It describes every enlisted, or even chosen man. It puts me in mind of Mark Knopfler's 'Brothers In Arms', which has the same effect.
I AM ARGENTINIAN AND VERY PROUD OF IT BUT THIS SONG IS THE FEELLING OF A SOLDIER WHO LOVES HIS COUNTRY AND TOUHG I M NOT A MONARCHIST, I UNDERSTAND WHY THE BRITISH SOLDIERS FOUGHT AND DIED SO BRAVELY TRIYING TO TAKE BUENOS AIRES IN YEARS 1806-07
GUSTAVO ALEJANDRO JOSE SCAVUZZO I hate your current politics in place, but I am extremely fond of the words you have written.. The power of the internet have brought together two like minded people in you and me and I can completely agree with your original sentiments.
@@callumbush1 theres a time and a place, and this thread ain't it. Soldiers are all brothers in arms directed by the cowards, no matter what side they are on
Even though we fought so often in history with the British/English , we must never forget the support, friendship, kindness is shown towards the French Free Forces by the British in the UK during the World War II. Greetings from France !
I grew up watching Sharpe, a big part of the inspirations I got in joining the Army at 18 in 2000. Unfortunately many of the lads I knew fell not to rise again a few years later.
This song reminds me of my grandfather. He told us that when war broke out he fought like an absolute tiger. But he said in the end it was all futile and to no avail. No matter how hard he fought they still made him go in the end.