[Dixielandjazz] "Gary Owen" and "The girl I left behind me"

[Anton Crouch]

Hello all

Don Ingle, in connection with 4th July music, mentions "The Gary Owen 
a.k.a. The gal I left behind me.(Irish Union Army troops in US 7th 
Cavalry made it a part of military band tradition.)"

The two tunes are different, although both are associated with the US 
7th Cavalry.

"Gary Owen" is the "Custer tune" and was originally "Auld Bessy" (1788). 
It is used to good effect in the movie "They died with their boots on" 
(Raoul Walsh, 1941).

"The girl I left behind me" is also a cavalry tune but is not usually 
associated with Custer. It is older than "Gary Owen" (early 17th C.) and 
probably came to the colonies as the fife tune "Brighten camp". John 
Ford used it to great effect in his cavalry movies.

All the best,
Anton