The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-11-16
"TIPPERARY'

Man is a wrong headed animal. He may take
griefs hilariousy. He goes into battle singing
comic songs. He may see his comrades fall, he
MAY have TO lay waste country If his officers
tell him to, and he should mourn and analyze
his emotions and his deeds introspectively and
think effectively of the terrible things he IL
ing; but he plays practical jokes on his surviving
comrades and becomes heated a bunkie's
failure to return swap OF tobacco. IL he is
a noncombatant il is just the same: his motto
Is: why should the children of a King go
mourning all their days."
Scandal follows among the good but weari-
some people who would have the perverse hui
man brute logical; and they write articles and
letters TO the editor condemning the heartless
folk who dance to TITS a Long Way ~ Tippe-
rary" when brave men singing that air
they go to death. 1t should be sacred II these
well meaning people could get Tommy Atkins
view they would be surprised at his attitude and
shocked by his language He Will be ticked and
fattered when he hears that careless merry
makers dance on Broadway TO his marching
song. Why did he pick 1t out? The English
kinsfolk of these well meaning mourners Of ours
set dignifed and erSIobling songs for him
to sing but he would have none of them; he cast
them into outer darkness and sang 'Tipperary
because 1t had nothing to do with the case.
Is 1t irrelevant and profane not to wear q long
face not to speak In hushed tones whenever one
thinks of the tragedy abroad? Why, in own
great national tragedy we turned as much OF 1t
We could into comedy We sang songs which
treated suffering heroes lightly, ireverently;
sang THE Captain With His Whiskers Stole
Sly Glance at Me- and we sang of "Old
Massa, With the Mufestache on His Face" And
we danced to those tunes; and our suffering he
roes would not sing THE Star-Spangled Ban
nsr," but insisted such irreverent songs as
'I4orena."
When the wars of the French revolution were
raging. after the fall of Robespierre, there was a
great burst Of gayety in Paris. there were Vic
tim Balls to be admitted TO which one must
have lost relative under the terror, and must
wear a badge of crepe around the arm Peace
to the dead; let us dance to their memory! For
In all ways must dance" So Carlyle views
it. and Is wise.
Hear him again; while the September massa-
cres were going on twenty-three theaters were
crowded nightly; while right arms here grew
weary with staying right arms there were
tweedle -deeing on melodious catgut." Heart
less? Perhaps, but perhaps the explanation lies
deeper in human nature. and those are not all
wise who believe that mourning consists In
crepe alone Let us dance to their memory;
il was not unsympathetically callousiy that
the merrymalters chose for their great dancing
tune the one which the soldiers had chosen for
their marching tune, chose it out of hundred
others. Man ia, as Wilde said, "a clown with
a broken heart II he ceased his clownng. Light
hearted and light headed little people OF the
ca barets, dance on TO the tune of 'aripperary';
only the unco' guild msunderstands you, and
Tommy Atkins smiles approvaL--New York
Times