“The New Bunch of Loughero”
Description
Singer meets a lady by the Danube saying "I have lost my Bunch of Loughero" She recalls Napoleon's victories and defeat at Waterloo. Her son says he will raise an army to rescue him. She says "I'll live like chaste Penelope, Still hoping for my Loughero"
Notes
Marie Louise of Austria (1791-1847) is Napoleon's second wife and mother of Napoleon II. She returned to Vienna in 1814 when Napoleon is defeated. (source: "Marie Louise of Austria" at Answres.com site)
Zimmermann: Loughero is from Irish luachair = rushes.
Note the difference between "The Bunch of Loughero" (Napoleon) and "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (Britain) - BS
This song shares with "Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena)" and "The Royal Eagle" the theme of Marie Louisa's grief for her husband. This is romantic, but false; she refused to go into exile with him to Elba, let alone St. Helena.
In fact, even before Napoleon went to Elba, she is reported to have taken General Adam Adelbert Neipperg as a lover. When he came back during the Hundred Days, she not only refused to join him, she wouldn't even allow him to see his son. By the time Napoleon died, Louisa had borne two children to other fathers. - RBW
Historical references
- 1815 - Defeat at the Battle of Waterloo forces Napoleon into exile
- 1821 - Death of Napoleon
Cross references
- cf. "The Bonny Bunch of Roses, O" (theme)
- cf. "Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena)" (theme: Marie Louise's grief for Napoleon)
- cf. "The Royal Eagle" (theme: Marie Louise's grief for Napoleon)
- cf. "The Removal of Napoleon's Ashes" (theme: Marie Louise's grief for Napoleon)
References
- Zimmermann 32A, "The New Bunch of Loughero" (1 text, 1 tune)
- BI, Zimm032A