Jolie Rouge
10-06-2007, 02:06 PM
Taps
Scouts Version
Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the lake,
from the hills,
from the sky;
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.
Fading light,
dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky,
gleaming bright.
From afar, drawing nigh,
falls the night.
Thanks and praise,
for our days,
'Neath the sun,
'neath the stars,
neath the sky;
As we go, this we know,
God is nigh.
Sun has set,
shadows come,
Time has fled,
Scouts must go to their beds
Always true to the promise
that they made.
While the light
fades from sight,
And the stars gleaming rays
softly send,
To thy hands we our souls,
Lord, commend.
http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/taps.html
TAPS,
circa 1862
It all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moan of a soldier who lay mortally wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment. When the captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead. The captain lit a lantern. Suddenly he caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy has been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, he enlisted in the Confederate Army. The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial despite his enemy status. His request was partially granted. The captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge of the son at the funeral. That request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. Out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician. The captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform. This wish was granted. This music was the haunting melody we now know as "Taps" used at military funerals.
Information provided by Lt Colonel Lewis Kirkpatrick, (Ret) Reserve Officers Association
LYRICS :
Day is done,
gone the sun,
from the lakes
from the hills
from the sky,
all is well,
safely, rest,
God is near.
Fading light,
Dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky
Gleaming bright,
From afar,
Drawing, near,
Falls the night.
Thanks and praise,
For our days,
Neath the sun
Neath the stars
Neath the sky,
As we go,
This, we, know,
God is near.
http://freepages.music.rootsweb.com/~edgmon/cwtaps.htm
Taps ("Butterfield's Lullaby"), sometimes known by the lyrics of its second verse, "Day is Done," is a famous musical piece, played in the U.S. military during flag ceremonies and funerals, generally on bugle or trumpet. The tune is also used at night to signal "lights out."
The bugle call was composed by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general who commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division in the V Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Butterfield wrote the tune at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in July 1862. Taps also replaced "Tattoo", the French bugle call to signal "lights out." Butterfield's bugler, Oliver W. Norton, of Chicago, was the first to sound the new call. Within months, Taps was used by both Union and Confederate forces. Villanueva (see external link "Detailed History of Taps" below) states that the tune is actually a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the Scott Tattoo which was used in the U.S. from 1835 until 1860.
Taps concludes many military funerals conducted with honors at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as hundreds of others around the United States.[citation needed] The tune is also played at many memorial services in Arlington's Memorial Amphitheater and at gravesites throughout the cemetery.
Taps is sounded during each of the 2,500 military wreath ceremonies conducted at the Tomb of the Unknowns every year, including the ones held on Memorial Day. The ceremonies are viewed by many people, including veterans, school groups, and foreign officials. Taps is also played nightly at 11 PM (2300 hrs) in military installations at non-deployed locations to indicate that it is "lights out." When Taps is played, it is customary to salute if in uniform, or to place the right hand over the heart if out of uniform.
Lyrics
While there are no official lyrics, and the original version was purely instrumental, there have been several later lyrics added. The most common form is shown below:
Fading light
dims the sight
And a star gems the sky,
gleaming bright
From afar
drawing nigh,
Falls the night.
Day is done,
gone the sun
From the lake,
from the hills,
from the sky
All is well,
safely rest;
God is nigh.
Then goodnight,
peaceful night;
Till the light
of the dawn
shineth bright.
God is near,
do not fear,
Friend, goodnight.
Legends
There are several urban legends concerning the origin of Taps. The most widely circulated one states that a Union Army infantry officer, whose name is often given as Captain Robert Ellicombe, first ordered the Taps performed at the funeral of his son, a Confederate soldier killed during the Peninsula Campaign. This apocryphal[1][2][3] story claims that Ellicombe found the tune in the pocket of his son's clothing and performed it to honor his memory. But there is no record of any man named Robert Ellicombe holding a commission as captain in the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign.[4]
That Daniel Butterfield composed Taps has been sworn to by numerous reputable witnesses including Oliver Norton,[5] the bugler who first performed the tune. While scholars continue to debate whether or not the tune was original or based on an earlier melody, few researchers doubt that Butterfield is responsible for the current tune.
Another, perhaps more historically verifiable, account involves John C. Tidball, a Union artillery captain who during a break in fighting ordered the tune played for a deceased soldier in lieu of the more traditional–and much less discreet–three volley tribute. Army Col. James A. Moss, in an Officer's Manual initially published in 1911, reports the following:
"During the Peninsula Campaign in 1862, a soldier of Tidball's Battery A of the 2nd Artillery was buried at a time when the battery occupied an advanced position concealed in the woods. It was unsafe to fire the customary three volleys over the grave, on account of the proximity of the enemy, and it occurred to Capt. Tidball that the sounding of Taps would be the most appropriate ceremony that could be substituted."
While not necessarily addressing the origin of the Taps itself, this does represent a milestone as the first recorded instance of Taps being used in the context of a military funeral. Until then, while the tune had meant that the soldiers' day of work was finished, it had little to none of the connotation or overtone of death with which it is so often associated today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taps
Scouts Version
Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the lake,
from the hills,
from the sky;
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.
Fading light,
dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky,
gleaming bright.
From afar, drawing nigh,
falls the night.
Thanks and praise,
for our days,
'Neath the sun,
'neath the stars,
neath the sky;
As we go, this we know,
God is nigh.
Sun has set,
shadows come,
Time has fled,
Scouts must go to their beds
Always true to the promise
that they made.
While the light
fades from sight,
And the stars gleaming rays
softly send,
To thy hands we our souls,
Lord, commend.
http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/taps.html
TAPS,
circa 1862
It all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moan of a soldier who lay mortally wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment. When the captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead. The captain lit a lantern. Suddenly he caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy has been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, he enlisted in the Confederate Army. The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial despite his enemy status. His request was partially granted. The captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge of the son at the funeral. That request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. Out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician. The captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform. This wish was granted. This music was the haunting melody we now know as "Taps" used at military funerals.
Information provided by Lt Colonel Lewis Kirkpatrick, (Ret) Reserve Officers Association
LYRICS :
Day is done,
gone the sun,
from the lakes
from the hills
from the sky,
all is well,
safely, rest,
God is near.
Fading light,
Dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky
Gleaming bright,
From afar,
Drawing, near,
Falls the night.
Thanks and praise,
For our days,
Neath the sun
Neath the stars
Neath the sky,
As we go,
This, we, know,
God is near.
http://freepages.music.rootsweb.com/~edgmon/cwtaps.htm
Taps ("Butterfield's Lullaby"), sometimes known by the lyrics of its second verse, "Day is Done," is a famous musical piece, played in the U.S. military during flag ceremonies and funerals, generally on bugle or trumpet. The tune is also used at night to signal "lights out."
The bugle call was composed by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general who commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division in the V Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Butterfield wrote the tune at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in July 1862. Taps also replaced "Tattoo", the French bugle call to signal "lights out." Butterfield's bugler, Oliver W. Norton, of Chicago, was the first to sound the new call. Within months, Taps was used by both Union and Confederate forces. Villanueva (see external link "Detailed History of Taps" below) states that the tune is actually a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the Scott Tattoo which was used in the U.S. from 1835 until 1860.
Taps concludes many military funerals conducted with honors at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as hundreds of others around the United States.[citation needed] The tune is also played at many memorial services in Arlington's Memorial Amphitheater and at gravesites throughout the cemetery.
Taps is sounded during each of the 2,500 military wreath ceremonies conducted at the Tomb of the Unknowns every year, including the ones held on Memorial Day. The ceremonies are viewed by many people, including veterans, school groups, and foreign officials. Taps is also played nightly at 11 PM (2300 hrs) in military installations at non-deployed locations to indicate that it is "lights out." When Taps is played, it is customary to salute if in uniform, or to place the right hand over the heart if out of uniform.
Lyrics
While there are no official lyrics, and the original version was purely instrumental, there have been several later lyrics added. The most common form is shown below:
Fading light
dims the sight
And a star gems the sky,
gleaming bright
From afar
drawing nigh,
Falls the night.
Day is done,
gone the sun
From the lake,
from the hills,
from the sky
All is well,
safely rest;
God is nigh.
Then goodnight,
peaceful night;
Till the light
of the dawn
shineth bright.
God is near,
do not fear,
Friend, goodnight.
Legends
There are several urban legends concerning the origin of Taps. The most widely circulated one states that a Union Army infantry officer, whose name is often given as Captain Robert Ellicombe, first ordered the Taps performed at the funeral of his son, a Confederate soldier killed during the Peninsula Campaign. This apocryphal[1][2][3] story claims that Ellicombe found the tune in the pocket of his son's clothing and performed it to honor his memory. But there is no record of any man named Robert Ellicombe holding a commission as captain in the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign.[4]
That Daniel Butterfield composed Taps has been sworn to by numerous reputable witnesses including Oliver Norton,[5] the bugler who first performed the tune. While scholars continue to debate whether or not the tune was original or based on an earlier melody, few researchers doubt that Butterfield is responsible for the current tune.
Another, perhaps more historically verifiable, account involves John C. Tidball, a Union artillery captain who during a break in fighting ordered the tune played for a deceased soldier in lieu of the more traditional–and much less discreet–three volley tribute. Army Col. James A. Moss, in an Officer's Manual initially published in 1911, reports the following:
"During the Peninsula Campaign in 1862, a soldier of Tidball's Battery A of the 2nd Artillery was buried at a time when the battery occupied an advanced position concealed in the woods. It was unsafe to fire the customary three volleys over the grave, on account of the proximity of the enemy, and it occurred to Capt. Tidball that the sounding of Taps would be the most appropriate ceremony that could be substituted."
While not necessarily addressing the origin of the Taps itself, this does represent a milestone as the first recorded instance of Taps being used in the context of a military funeral. Until then, while the tune had meant that the soldiers' day of work was finished, it had little to none of the connotation or overtone of death with which it is so often associated today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taps