SEVENTY SECOND'S (72nd's) FAREWELL TO ABERDEEN, THE. AKA and see “Boy’s Lament for his Dragon (The).” Scottish, March (cut time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The debate between what is the proper name for this tune continues, as does who composed it. The march was composed as “Boy’s Lament for his Kite (The)” by William MacKay according to Donald MacPhee’s A Selection of Music for the Highland Bagpipes (c. 1876-1880) and David Glen’s Edinburgh Collection of Highland Bagpipe Music, Book 1 (1903). However, the march contemporaneously appears as “The Royal Highlander’s Farewell to Aberdeen” in Uilleam Ross’s c. 1880’s collection, and as “The 72nd’s Farewell to Aberdeen” in Logan’s Complete Tutor for the Highland Bagpipe(c. 1901, where it is attributed to N. Mathieson)”.
The 72nd Regiment was the 1st Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders (prior to the 19th century reorganization known as the Ross-Shire Buffs and the Duke of Albany’s). The first battalion were men recruited from the east coast of Scotland, who were sent overseas to China from Aberdeen, occasioning the title of the march.
Additional notes
Source for notated version: -
Printed sources : - Lerwick (The Kilted Fiddler), 1985; p. 66.
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