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high. The Boers made sure of their prey; but the
Australians, riding without hesitation at the wire, cleared it, every one of them, the horse carrying two men as gallantly as the rest. Needless to say, these were no Cape ponies or Argentines, but fine Australian horses; indeed it was impossible not to be filled with admiration at the way this contingent was mounted, many of the horses in the ranks being high-class steeplechase animals of bone and substance, and of a very fine stamp.
511:. The Rolf Harris version appears early in the film before giving way to a punk version as the two leads are introduced. Throughout the film one of them imagines himself as a soldier helping his childhood friend despite the cost to himself. As the actors/characters are from Australia and New Zealand, this could also serve as a nod to the
181:
It was during one of these patrols that the Boers, lying in wait for the
Australians, fired into them, killing one of their horses; the dismounted man sprang up behind a comrade and galloped away pursued by the Boers. Suddenly in front appeared a strong barbed wire boundary fence, five or six strands
169:
was a story about the eponymous hero and his friend Tom, who having ridden wooden horses as two little boys end up together on a battlefield. There
Jackanapes rides to the rescue of the wounded and dismounted Tom. Jackanapes nobly replies to Tom's entreaties to save himself, "Leave you"? "To save my
499:, it is sung from the perspective of a third prospective recruit, who decides instead of choosing the blue or gray uniform to "wear my tight blue pants and grey sport jacket", protest the war with a "picket sign and a bottle of wine", and "stay at home with the girls".
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The song may have inspired others, such as "Two Little Sailor Boys", also by Madden, 1906, and The Four
Virginians' "Two Little Lads", which used the same melody to tell a different story, as well as lesser lyric changes, such as the bluegrass band
177:, in March or April 1900, described in a book written about the war by two members of an English volunteer regiment published in 1902. The incident is described on page 60, and involved members of the Australian contingent:
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The song parallels a childhood incident, the two boys playing soldier with wooden horses, and a dramatic battlefield rescue when they have grown up to be soldiers. The war referred to in the song is not identified.
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406:. Alan Braden arranged and co-wrote the song for the TV show, and a favourable audience reaction prompted Harris to record and release it as a single. The song reached number 1 on the
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football fans have sung "Two Little Boys" on the terraces since the 1980s. A version by a group of
Hartlepool fans was released as a double A-side with "Never Say Die" on the single "
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recorded "Civil War Song" in 1962, a parody of tragic and sentimental Civil War ballads unearthed by "folk music revival" pop singers at the time. Appearing on his album
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433:, a short series of programmes in the BBC's Remembrance season, which was broadcast in November 2008. He discovered that the experiences of his father and uncle during
86:" is a sentimental song about two friends who grow up to be soldiers. Recorded as early as 1903 in the United States, it became an international hit for Australian
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on 18 December 1969, where it stayed for six weeks, thus becoming the first chart-topping single of the 1970s as well as the last of the 1960s. On
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co-writing and arranging the song after having it sung down the phone from
Australia to him by Harris. Back in the UK, Harris persuaded his
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picked it as a favourite song. In
Australia the single reached number 7 in 1970, and was in the top 25 charting singles for that year.
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A techno duo called Two Little Boys released a 1991 single titled "Stylophonia", which extensively samples the voice of
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by Guy H Guillum Scott and
Geoffrey L McDonell, published in London in 1902 by E.& F.N. Spon, Limited, 125 Strand
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594:"Catalog of Title Entries of Books Etc. July-Sept 1903 Third Quarter 1903, Library of Congress, Copyright Office"
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who released it in the United States in 1903 with the title "When We Were Two Little Boys". It became a popular
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referring to the fallen soldier as the other's "brother" instead of "comrade" in their 1962 version.
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620:"When We Were Two Little Boys by Billy Murray Victor (2468) (release date, label shot and audio)"
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spirit - the historic military brotherhood shared between the two countries since World War I.
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skin"? "No, Tom, not to save my soul". And unfortunately takes a fatal bullet in the process.
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939:"Tracks on Transition - Kenny Rogers and The First Edition (August 1971) | SecondHandSongs"
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in 1977. This version of the song told the story of two boys who grow up to be policemen.
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In 1969, the song became a No. 1 single in the United
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recorded a parody of the song with new lyrics entitled "Two Little Boys in Blue" on his
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In
October 2008, Harris announced he would re-record the song, backed by North Wales's
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The song appears to have its origins in the fiction of the Victorian children's writer
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There is some indication that the song also shares a similarity to an incident in the
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962:"SPLODGENESSABOUNDS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company".
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The Record of the Mounted Infantry of the City Imperial Volunteers
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The lyric "out from the ranks so blue" could also refer to the
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66 years later. It was published in 1903 by American composer
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684:"Images of sheet music, When we were two little boys, 1903"
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published in the United States in 1903 has a photograph of
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Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – An 80th Birthday Portrait
1003:"The Brittas Empire | Series 3 - 4. Two Little Boys"
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instrument and singing the chorus of "Two Little Boys".
474:, Spud sings the song in the pub after Tommy’s funeral.
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The first of numerous recordings was by American singer
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The song was covered on the 1971 7th studio album by
1550:Christmas number-one singles in the United Kingdom
574:List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1970s
569:List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1960s
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518:"Two Little Boys" was a title of an episode of
460:and reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart.
1540:Songs with lyrics by Edward Madden (lyricist)
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1088:UK Christmas number-one singles in the 1960s
977:"Deano and Nige's Best Last Day Ever (2012)"
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190:, a reference to the blue uniforms worn by
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860:"Rolf re-releases 1969 classic track"
724:Cautionary tale of author J. H. Ewing
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456:The song was also covered in 1980 by
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783:"Two little boys, but in which war?"
664:from the original on 5 February 2023
1535:UK singles chart number-one singles
911:Adams, Stephen (11 November 2008).
888:. Nz.news.yahoo.com. Archived from
509:Deano and Nige's Best Last Day Ever
491:American cartoonist and songwriter
33:Two Little Boys (Jean Shepard song)
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834:"Rolf remakes Two Little Boys hit"
560:List of number-one singles of 1969
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447:Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
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437:mirrored the lyrics of the song.
399:to incorporate the song into his
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808:Kent, David (26 November 1993).
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31:For the Jean Shepard song, see
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1026:Two Little Boys - Stylophonia
966:. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
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120:singer and recording artist
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757:. Smithsonian Institution.
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1137:I Want to Hold Your Hand
886:"Yahoo New Zealand News"
771:. The National Interest.
483:Raw Meat for the Balcony
840:. BBC. 15 October 2008
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1525:Pinky and Perky songs
864:The Press Association
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161:Juliana Horatia Ewing
134:The Country Gentlemen
1500:Songs about soldiers
1495:Songs of World War I
1368:Christmas in the Sun
196:Spanish American War
1394:Rolf's Cartoon Club
1305:Ringo for President
983:. 20 September 2012
943:secondhandsongs.com
688:Library of Congress
626:. 20 September 2012
412:BBC Radio Blackburn
397:television producer
1354:Stairway to Heaven
1163:We Can Work It Out
964:Officialcharts.com
866:. 11 November 2008
789:. 13 November 2008
646:Morse, Theodore F.
521:The Brittas Empire
477:Scottish comedian
464:In popular culture
458:Splodgenessabounds
347:Tennessee Birdwalk
331:"Bluer Than Blue"
322:singles chronology
188:American Civil War
1520:Rolf Harris songs
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1465:Operation Yewtree
1361:Bohemian Rhapsody
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892:on 13 August 2014
690:. 5 February 2023
544:Hartlepool United
497:Inside Folk Songs
416:Margaret Thatcher
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122:Dan W. Quinn
106:Billy Murray
103:
83:
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23:
15:
1455:Discography
1421:(2004–2007)
1413:(2001–2012)
1410:Rolf on Art
1405:(1994–2004)
1397:(1989–1993)
1389:(1979–1987)
1347:Old Man Emu
1269:Rolf Harris
1211:Rolf Harris
1189:The Beatles
1167:The Beatles
1159:Day Tripper
1152:The Beatles
1148:I Feel Fine
1141:The Beatles
1108:The Shadows
1051:BBC article
923:13 November
870:11 November
598:archive.org
529:Rolf Harris
435:World War I
393:Alan Braden
389:Rolf Harris
320:Rolf Harris
309:Producer(s)
219:Rolf Harris
202:Rolf Harris
145:Crimean War
141:Rolf Harris
114:Sheet music
88:Rolf Harris
69:Composer(s)
1505:1902 songs
1489:Categories
1378:Television
1115:Moon River
1100:I Love You
948:25 January
844:15 October
694:5 February
630:5 February
604:7 February
580:References
533:stylophone
451:Transition
166:Jackanapes
118:vaudeville
1429:Paintings
1291:Sun Arise
1178:Tom Jones
729:The Times
414:in 1979,
198:of 1898.
151:origins.
18:1903 song
1009:21 March
987:24 March
981:MIDb.com
896:21 March
787:BBC News
668:3 August
662:Archived
652:(1903).
554:See also
283:Columbia
253:Recorded
245:Released
175:Boer War
149:Boer War
96:lyricist
1312:Iko Iko
1213:, 1969)
1202:, 1968)
1191:, 1967)
1180:, 1966)
1169:, 1965)
1154:, 1964)
1143:, 1963)
1132:, 1962)
1121:, 1961)
1110:, 1960)
376:YouTube
351:(1970)
342:(1969)
333:(1969)
237:Written
155:Origins
1440:(2005)
1106:&
1033:26 May
1029:, 1991
816:
793:26 May
261:Length
227:B-side
215:Single
26:(film)
1448:Other
1276:Songs
1161:" / "
513:ANZAC
391:with
278:Label
192:Union
1035:2023
1011:2014
989:2021
950:2024
925:2008
898:2014
872:2008
846:2008
814:ISBN
795:2010
696:2023
670:2023
632:2023
606:2023
562:and
256:1969
240:1969
94:and
47:Song
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217:by
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