The Provenance Of The Song 'Ye Jacobites By Name'

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The provenance of the song “Ye Jacobites By Name”, by The Johnstons is the song was released in 1969. The Johnstons was composed of the siblings Adrienne Johnston, Lucy Johnston, and Michael Johnston, except for Mick Moloney whom the group recruited to help develop musically (“Home.” Paul Brady, www.paulbrady.com/bio/the-johnstons/.). All the members are originally from Ireland and the group was known as an Irish folk band. It can be easily said the song was created to express the disapproval some people had of the Jacobites starting all the way back in 1689. The song essentially sent the message that the Jacobites had several flaws, the doctrines they believed in were problematic, and they were wrong in their actions. The song served as a …show more content…

From the increase of political activity, English politics took place just about anywhere someone went. Politics became partisan, and there were two major groups on opposite ends of the political spectrum. There were the Republicans and the Jacobites. Despite the Republicans being the minority in society, they wanted to radically reform society, abolish the monarchy, and promote religious toleration for Protestant Dissenters. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Jacobites were those who remained supporters of James II and the House of Stuarts, planned to restore the Stuarts, and largely supported the Church of England. A reason why the song focused so much on getting the Jacobites to listen could be, because they were supporters of James II. King James II was not highly favored by the people of England, so citizens could easily question the judgment and character of Jacobites. The song is coming from the perspective of someone who obviously opposes the Jacobites, which brings up the fact that Republicans were intensely hostile towards the Stuarts. The easiest connection between the song and the class discussion is the sharp contrast and opnions between those who were Jacobites and those who were

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