Bonaparte's Retreat: A Song History

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Few fiddle tunes tell a story as plainly as "Bonaparte's Retreat," a programmatic piece meant to evoke Napoleon's army in retreat from Russia.[1][2] Its roots likely lie across the Atlantic: the folklorist Samuel Bayard argued that it descends from an old Irish march, "The Eagle's Whistle," once the marching tune of the O'Donovan family, though he admitted the American versions vary a good deal.[1] A Library of Congress essay likewise traces the melody to that Irish bagpipe march.[2] Among the first to record it commercially was the Georgia fiddler A. A. Gray, who cut it for OKeh in 1924;[1] Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers (1929) and the Arthur Smith Trio (1936) followed.[1]

Gericault lithograph of two weary soldiers returning from Russia, one on foot leading a horse beside a mounted comrade

Théodore Gericault, Retreat from Russia (Retour de Russie), lithograph, 1818. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Public domain (CC0).

The version that became most influential with revival fiddlers comes from William Hamilton Stepp, a Kentucky fiddler born in 1875.[1][3] On October 26, 1937, Alan and Elizabeth Lomax recorded him at Salyersville, Magoffin County, for the Library of Congress, and Lomax called him "the best fiddler I have heard."[2][4] Ruth Crawford Seeger transcribed the performance for the Lomaxes' book Our Singing Country (1941), titling it "Bonyparte."[1][2] That transcription caught the ear of Aaron Copland, who made Stepp's tune the main melody of "Hoe-Down" in his ballet Rodeo, choreographed by Agnes de Mille and premiered at New York's Metropolitan Opera House on October 16, 1942.[1][2][5] Half a century later, Copland's music became the soundtrack of the "Beef. It's What's for Dinner" television ads.[2] In 2016 Stepp's recording was named to the National Recording Registry.[6]

Don't confuse the fiddle tune with the popular song of the same name. Around 1949–1950, Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart set lyrics to a slowed-down version of the melody, turning it into a song about dancing and courting.[7][8][9] King's own recording reached the country Top 10, Kay Starr's 1950 pop version reached No. 4, and Glen Campbell revived it as a country hit in 1974.[9][10] The fiddle tune itself is usually played in D, often with the fiddle retuned to DDad, which lets it ring with drones.[1]

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Sources

  1. Traditional Tune Archive: "Bonaparte's Retreat (1)".
  2. Library of Congress, National Recording Registry: "'Bonaparte's Retreat'—W.H. Stepp (1937)" (essay by David S. Lynch).
  3. Wikipedia: "William Hamilton Stepp".
  4. Alan Lomax Kentucky Recordings: "Bonaparte's Retreat".
  5. Agnes de Mille's Dances: "Rodeo (The Courting at Burnt Ranch)".
  6. Library of Congress: "National Recording Registry, 2015 (announced 2016)".
  7. SecondHandSongs: "Bonaparte's Retreat" (Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart).
  8. Nashville Songwriters Foundation: "Redd Stewart".
  9. Wikipedia: "Bonaparte's Retreat (Pee Wee King song)".
  10. Wikipedia: "Kay Starr discography".