The Cruel Wars | The Longest Johns
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 23 мар 2021
- This is a beautiful combination of traditional folk songs, Fighting for Strangers/Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye and High Germany. Arranged by Jon Loomes and made famous by The Dreadnoughts, it's a really powerful story of the dangers of war and the false appeal that can be so easily spread.
#folk #thelongestjohns #shanty
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Longest Johns
/ thelongestjohns
/ thelongestjohns
/ thelongestjohns
/ longestjohnsgaming
/ discord
www.thelongestjohns.com
open.spotify.com/artist/5k979... 
Видеоклипы
Thanks so much for watching! If you enjoyed, please do leave a like and maybe drop us a lovely comment below :)
You guys are the best, you are so humble and kind to people
Found this amazing band maybe a month before Wellerman seemed to explored on tik tok. Can't wait to see the Johns live once the pandemic is over
Quelle puissance, c'est entrainant, émouvant et tellement bien interprété ! Greatings from France !
Adequate! Singing was amazing as always, and I really dug the smooth editing on this, too! Kudos, and keep going strong. :)
Very nice rendition. Of course, no version can beat The Dreadnoughts for me, but you chaps now hold second place on this one.
On the bright side: he couldn't sing shanties if he had two legs.
But that was no reason good enough not to sing along.
Well we better hope he had a beard
@@LincMinecrafter
And could shout "ho!"
@@gangrenousgandalf2102 and had a boat
YOU FUCKING DIDN'T--
Guys will be like "I know a place" and then take you to the cruel wars in high Germany
Hate it when that happens
@@blusoldier5253 Some jerk nearly got me with this today, screw him.
@@user-qo4xz8ix9n Tsk, you think you know a guy, he buys you one drink, and he tries to press you into service. Romance is dead...as are Harry and my brothers three
Damn bro, was your ex a recruiting sergeant?
That day was wild
The lyrics if ya wanted:
A recruiting sergeant came our way
From an inn near town at the close of day
He said my Johnny you're a fine young man
Would you like to march along behind a military band
With a scarlet coat and a fine cocked hat
And a musket at your shoulder
The shilling he took and he kissed the book
Oh poor Johnny what'll happen to ya?
The recruiting sergeant marched away
From the Inn near town at the break of day
Johnny came too with half a ring
He was off to be a soldier to go fighting for the King
In a far off war in a far off land
To face the foreign soldier
But how will you fare when there's lead in the air
Oh poor Johnny what'll happen to ya?
Well the sun rose high on a barren land
Where the thin red line made a military stand
There was sling shot, chain shot, grape shot too
Swords and bayonets thrusting through
Poor Johnny fell but the day was won
And the King is grateful to ya
But your soldiering's done and they're sending you home
Oh poor Johnny what'll happen to ya?
They said he was a hero and not to grieve
For the two ruined legs and the empty sleeve
They took him home and they set him down
With a military pension and a medal from the crown
But you haven't an arm, you haven't a leg
The enemy nearly slew ya
You'll have to go out on the streets to beg
Oh poor Johnny what'll happen to ya?
A recruiting sergeant came our way
From the inn near town at the close of day
He said my Johnny you're a fine young man
Would you like to march along behind a military band
With a scarlet coat and a fine cocked hat
And a musket at your shoulder
The shilling he took and he kissed the book
Oh poor Johnny what will happen to ya?
O Polly love, O Polly, the route has now begun
And we must go a-marching to the beating of a drum
Come dress yourself all in your best and come along with me
I'll take you to the cruel wars in High Germany
O Harry, dearest Harry, mind well what I do say
My feet they are so tender and I cannot march away
Besides, my dearest Harry, I am with child by thee
Not fitted for the cruel wars in High Germany
I'll buy you a horse, my love, and on it you shall ride
And all of my delight shall be walking at your side
We'll stop at every alehouse and drink when we are dry
Be true to one another, get married by and by
O' cursed be the cruel wars, that ever they should rise
And out of merry England, press many a man likewise
They took her Harry from her, likewise her brothers three
And sent them to the cruel wars in High Germany
There's always at least one so Thank you kind sir
The Irish version I've heard includes a line saying ' ye're shy an arm, ye're shy a leg, ye're an armless boneless chickenless egg an' ye'll have ta be put with a bowl for ta beg, ah Johnny, I hardly knew ye'.
What a legend
@@poisonsumc7426 That line is from Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye, which this song references, but is not the same song. The first half of this song is the song "Fighting for Strangers", which includes many references to other folk songs (the "scarlet coat and the fine cocked hat", the shilling and kissing the book, Johnny, "half a ring", are all references to other folk songs.)
thank you, I needed this to follow along and the auto-captions were faulty
Would love to hear these guys sing "Roll the old Chariot" together with David Coffin.
This needs to happen
That would be awesome!!!
That’d be amazing!
Oh man absolutely that would be amazing!
Well it'd be all right if they'd sing another song...
I am 70. I grew up on folk songs and sea chantys and it is a great joy to hear them done by a new generation, and you do them so beautifully.
That's so cool! Any suggestions me and the boys can sing?
There are so many. You can find most on you tube. My favorites are Fairport Convention, Steeleye span, Gordon Lightfoot, and anything by Stan Rogers.
Now I'm not saying your music gave me confidence, but before I started listening to the Johns I never sang Infront of anyone.
Kinda same here, its probably the pure manliness of them XD
@@benjaminwhitehead4050 I think it also has to do with the heart of sea shanties, sailors weren’t a bunch of classically trained singers, they were men who were struggling to stay alive so it doesn’t sound bad if you can’t sing, if anything it adds to it.
@@joshuab4586 yea but then you have legends like these. It also depends if you just sing it in front of your monitor like a possesed lunatic (thats me haha) or if you are a professional choir that's singing these songs. but either way it does sound really good.
I just love these shanties beacuse they are so bloody catchy they geniuenly made me want to sing again after i wasnt singing since pandemic started.
This is so relatable wow
That's the power of the right kind of music. Some people respond to metal, to hip-hop, to classical.. here we have shanties and folk. I love music, all kinds, it's only some themes and disharmonies I dislike. I'm glad you found something you love enough to let you sing.
The song that got me into shanties and folk music
Same
I started listening when some guy in Rec Room was walking around singing drunken sailor, he had a huge crowd, and everyone kept following him around
For me it was actually leave her Johnny while playing AC Black Flag, but I love Cruel Wars and especially the high germany part so much
The dreadnoughts version?
Same, the dreadnoughts
I'd love to see a crossover between The Longest Johns and The Dreadnoughts.
We would too!
@@thelongestjohns where do I sign the petition?
@@tylerbennett5381 has anyone made one yet ? :)
@@nathanvaughn7744 not that I know of
@@thelongestjohns OH SHIT IT IS ON how do we make this happen? This has to happen.
The Dreadnoughts rowed so the Longest Johns could sail.
Not to say this version here is bad, not by any means (and I really really love what TLJ are doing right now, especially with the crowd projects) but for me the version from the Dreadnoughts has more feeling to it. There is more emotion in the voice.
@@Kremit_the_Forg the longest johns are, if anything, too musically talented. The harmonies are great but yeah there's a passionate rough edge to the dreadnoughts' stuff
God bless them
Both are good.
Fisherman's Friends, Johnny Collins and Stan Rogers invented the boat
I'm hoping this new sea shanty trend will lead to a folk music revival. People are starting to discover artists like Stan Rogers. Makes me smile.
ah yes! i’m super new to sea shanties and folk music but stan rogers is already one of my favs! literally going to buy one of his records...wish he were still alive😓
@@walshling16 If you're a fan of Stan Rogers I can also recommend James Kellaghan. Great Big Sea is also famtastic with a more modern spin.
@@widgetfilms thanks so much!
@@widgetfilms unfortunately Great Big Sea broke up- Alan Doyle is still making music so there's that...
@@walshling16 Also, check out Nathan Rogers. He's not Stan, but he has just as much musical talent and a voice you may find strangely familiar.
This is the perfect song to yell at the top of your lungs in a pub with your mates!
It is
There's a video of them doing just that
If the pubs were open, or if i had any maties who would sing along
As the longest johns have proven in the past lol
Irish?
The Longest Johns and The Dreadnoughts are such a credit to world culture for keeping these amazing historical songs alive!
Sabaton: hey 👋
@@21gavrielenosberlin53 Sabaton is Alright but these songs. Or at least I assume were actually sung on the ships during the 1700 and 1800's. No disrespect to Sabaton tho,still good music.
@@lance.2 Some of the songs they sing are indeed traditional shanties from those periods, others are original songs by them or others that are inspired by these older songs, for example this one is an original by a band known as The Dreadnoughts, this song taking inspiration from "Johnny, I hardly knew ye", "High Germany" and "Fighting for Strangers", I personally don't know how many if any of those songs are traditional, but they are the basis for this one which merges lyrics from all of them and creates some of it's own
And I feel like neither would exist without Stan Rogers. Rest in piece Stan Rogers. A true mountain of a man
And fisherman's friends and stan rogers
It's really nice to see this doing the rounds again after all these years. Nicely done, lads :-)
Many many thanks! So glad we were introduced and able to chat about the song. It’s so wonderfully put together and a real privilege to sing.
It’s been 4 years and we finally got it without background noise I’m hyped
It was in the Christmas stream too but yeah
Anyone else remember when they just started singing this at a restaurant
Honestly think that one sounded better
@@odinphantom7337 I just liked the atmosphere of it, like the Johns are just a bunch of traveling bards.
@@odinphantom7337 I think both are great but the bar one had more emotion to it which fits the song well.
It was a pub wasn't it?
Made a war veteran that was crippled for my dnd campaign, Used this song as a reference and i love it.
Thats awesome
Same! Except I made mine a bitter NPC for my party to encounter. He's a war veteran who lost his arm and became paralyzed from the waist down. This song was the inspiration
My grandfather who served in ww2 absolutely loves you guys
That transition into High Germany is just wonderful.
First: Amazing as always. I love this arrangement and the Longest Johns' performance of it.
Second: Shout out for Dixit in Dave's background.
*Oh Polly, love, Oh Polly, the rout has now begun!* 😭💔
*We must go a marchin, to the beatin of a drum!*
*Come dress yourself all in your best and come along with me!*
*I'll take you to the cruel wars in high Germany!*
*Oh Harry, dearest Harry, mind well what I do say!*
*My feet they are so tender, and I cannot march away!*
Ah, a tale as old as time: the recruiter always lies
This song made remember a lad I met when getting out of the army. He was being medically discharged with no skills, a TBI, and three kids. Broke my heart.
well here we go again
O' cursed be the cruel wars, that ever they should rise
oh boy
Andy finally escaped the hallway!
YES I’ve been waiting for a recording of this from y’all! Listening to that one pub recording over and over is Fine and all but this is better
@Tobias Bulk legit same
Tobias Bulk yeah, now I’m just hoping their version makes it onto Spotify
Exactly what I was thinking! Glad I am in good company!
i love the juxtaposition of dave's "good vibes" balloon in the background as they are singing about war and heartbreak
I remember when The Dreadnaughts gave a shoutout to your live version of this song, and 4 years and still every time you have a new song(or a new recording of an old one in this case) it makes my day
WE GETTING PRESSED INTO THE ROYAL NAVY WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥🔥 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 ⛵⛵⛵
For those who are curious, the line "Johnny came to with half a ring" refers to a tradition that was popular in England at around the time the songs that would become Fighting for Strangers were written, known as "the broken token". When going on a long trip, which could include being conscripted but also might include other hazardous travel such as anything to do with boats, young betrotheds or to-bes would break a token of some kind in half -- a coin, for instance, or a ring -- and each carry a half with them, both as a reminder and a good-luck charm.
So I’ve watched this enough to study each person in length and here’s what I’ve found
Andy likes smiling when singing.
Robbie likes to use hand gestures to aid singing.
JD looks really cool in the beginning of the third verse.
Dave looks like he really doesn’t want to be there (although I’m sure he does)
To clarify, JD looks cool when he starts singing “When the sun rose high...” the lighting makes him look super cool.
This bout to be lit
Dave’s balloon just makes this video perfect
If they make Terry Pratchett's monstrous regiment onto live action this should be adapted for it.
When the rich wage war, its the poor who suffer.
God bless
when old men wage war, the young ones die*
I love the variety of singing locations. Bedroom, gamer chair, living room, and literally the backyard.
One of my favorites and how I found the Johns. How times have changed from that video in a pub from so long ago. Beautiful! Can't wait to see what song's they'll bring out next!
I really like this version of yours, I'm a major huge fan of The Dreadnoughts' rendition. Superb amazing job all of you!!!~
Damn! What a dandy tune! Makes me feel like I'm back in the nostalgic 1800s casual jammin' 👌
The Cruel Wars is easily one of my favorite folk songs, and to hear you lads' version is nice.
You guys literally bring back the age where sailors and magic were flourishing! Thank you so much for bring these wonderful works :)
As a massive fan of The Dreadnoughts, you guys have no idea how happy this cover is making me
its also really decent for them to tip the hat to the dreadnoughts. i like people who give credit where credit is due so the longest johns therefore are honorable musicians and gentlemen to the core!
Been a while since I've seen a Smokey Bastard tshirt. Awesome Song!
I love how andy's face just reminds me of "a life of a billionaires son"
I’ve just recently discovered y’all. But I have te be honest you are the best music group of this time. Keep strong and lot of love from the Netherlands❤️
If you're more into rock and punk then be sure to check out The Dreadnoughts, the original singers of this song!
You guys’ music is absolutely amazing. Nothing much else to say, just doing my part to feed the algorithm, ha. Blessings on you all, and thanks for making my day with your lovely voices!
Im so jealous of u guys getting to hang out and have song, i cant get my friends to sing happy birthday!
So beautiful and tragic. I've got chills.
I'd love to have this on Spotify!
We are coming ever closer to a dreadnoughts collaboration!
sad that it's over, happy to view it 30 more times!
I’ve been a fan of the dreadnoughts for a long time, but the Longest Johns for longer! I’m SO SO SO glad the longest johns did this song, it makes me happy in my soul
Welp, now thisll be stuck in my head for the next two weeks. not that its a problem.
YESSSS MY SECOND FAVORITE SHANTY YESSSS
As a soldier, I have always loved this one.
Honestly underrated.
Reminds me of some military cadences. Namely 'Mama Told Johnny Not To Go Downtown'.
Every time I hear this I think of Monstrous Regiment by Sir Terry Pratchett (RIP).
Finally managed to be in time for the song!
I love how much JD gets into it, it adds an extra layer of passion to the music
Holy Shanty I thought this would never happen
This is the best thing to happen to me
i would LOVE for this to be the next mass choir project, or at least to have all 4 parts in isolation so i can organize my own rendition of it!!
I already listened to your bar rendition of this song many a times, really happy to see a "studio"? version, sounds amazing lads! Really proud of you guys, extremely well done! Pat yourselves on the backs for me!
"Gaming"
- David Stirling
This song has no right to be as much of a banger as it is.
This one is one of my favorites. I love it in the pub, with the bar sounds behind it.
I remember watching you all sing this in that video a few years back
One of my favorite shanties to date and my favorite shanty band sings it in like an actual studio environment
I don’t know how, but you all should try to get in contact and sing a song with the Dreadnoughts! I think it would be awesome for you guys to meet them and maybe even talk about more shanty projects in the future!
I listend to this song all the time on your old video, I am so happy right now
Grim and catchy, the best shanty combo!
That pure satisfaction when the harmonies and acoustics hit just right
That THICC low E flat made me very happy indeed
God now I really want to hear you guys sing either Over The Hills And Far Away or Gaberlunzie's Twa Recruitin'' Sergeants
Excited!
I remember just replaying the video of ya'll singing this in a pub on repeat, this is a godsent
Thank you so much for covering this song, god bless you lads and the dreadnoughts, long live Johnny
OH MY GOD FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! One of their best now with a brilliant recording!
Been listening to you guys since you sung My son John about 8 years ago. And i would love if you could sing that song again
thank you johns if it wasn't for your music I honestly don't think I would be here today
This is so ridiculously good.
I’ve literally been dying for another LJ take of this! Can’t wait!
Im happy that you finally did this song
This definitely deserves to break 1 million views, so powerful.
My kids made bass instruments out of elastic bands stretched across toy boats with the pitches needed for the bass line to High Germanie ("O Polly"). Then they sang it at the top of their voices perched on top of the bike shed. Good times.
oh poor johnny
What'll happen to ya?
This was my absolute favourite of the Johns songs, and one of the ones that got me into the band, so happy that they've redone it!
If I had the pleasure to meet these folks at a Renaissance festival or something, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'd be able to die happy
I do not know why but I listen to this every single day and I still find it very beautiful
I will literally listen to anything this group sings! No questions asked lol! This song moved me guys! Thank you!
Would love to see you guys start going to pubs and tavern style diners to start singing these songs again. Those were my favorite of all your videos
I listened to this song almost daily as I was deciding to enlist into the Army.
Now I am a broken man with a military pension and a medal from the crown…
Time flies.
Especially with the second half of the song, I always have to imagine a large group of people singing the song out in the streets while matching along.
A strong song and beautifully performed !
This was my favourite shanty for a long time, would love to see this on the new album!
2:25 though, just shivers, we want more of that TLJ!!!!
Such an interesting song! The triplets in the first half and then the extra beats in the second are something I don’t hear very often in shanties
Made my day to see this and sing along
YESS I very recently have had this song stuck in my head forever. So glad there's finally a professionally produced cover by the johns.
What an amazing group! You have beautiful harmony together! It makes me happy to have known your existence since before your last album, Cures What Ails Ya! I kid you not, you’re among my top 5 favourite artists ever. I don’t say stuff like that lightly, but it’s a shame you’ve only started to get widespread attention lately. You deserved it from the beginning! I wish you guys the best!
Thank you for sharing all these beautiful and heartwarming songs full of joy, wrath, longing and kindness! I do love your interpretations and cherish the sounds of your voices! Please keep going!
I was just thinking this morning about how much I've been enjoying this song lately, what a grand surprise! Thank you, Gentlemen!