The Song of the Western Men

Hawker, a churchman, claimed authorship for the words except for the chorus.[2] He assumed that the Trelawny mentioned in those three lines was Sir Jonathan Trelawny, the Bishop of Bristol, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London by King James II in 1688. However it is more likely that it referred to his grandfather, Sir John Trelawny, a Cornish Royalist leader who had been imprisoned by parliament in 1628. The people of Cornwall did not actually march to rescue Trelawny, as told in the song. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for three weeks, then tried and acquitted.[3][4]

Hawker's poem was set to music by Louisa T. Clare in 1861.[5] Hawker was so pleased with Clare's setting, that he sent her another poem of his in hopes of a further success.[6]

According to Cornish historian Robert Morton Nance, "The Song of the Western Men" was possibly inspired by the song "Come, all ye jolly tinner boys" which was written more than ten years earlier in about 1807, when Napoleon Bonaparte made threats that would affect trade in Cornwall at the time of the invasion of Poland. "Ye jolly tinner boys" contains the line "Why forty thousand Cornish boys shall know the reason why."[7]

In 1881, at the laying of the foundation stone of the Cathedral at Truro, the song was described by Canon Harvey as "... the national anthem of our dear Cornwall."[8] The song is a regular favourite sung at Cornish rugby union matches and other Cornish gatherings. In some schools in Cornwall, the children are taught the first verse and chorus, and sing it at events such as Murdoch Day and St Piran's Day (5 March). Since 2016 the latter occasion has also seen the "Trelawny Shout" – the song being sung in pubs across Cornwall for charity. [9]

There are two versions of the song in Cornish. The first was written by Henry Jenner in 1905:

• The original words were written about Sir John Trelawny (grandfather of the Bishop) who was leader of the King's party in Cornwall and on 13 May 1627 was committed to the Tower by the House of Commons for certain "offences against the liberty of free election" and "contempt of the House".[10]
• "Michael's hold" may refer to Archangel Michael, commander of the legions of Heaven. Other sources say the line refers to a hold on St Michaels Mount (i.e. a prison or cell).
• There is some doubt as to whether the work was entirely original or an adaptation of an earlier tune.
• "Trelawny" is often referred to, by anyone who is Cornish, as the "unofficial" Cornish anthem and the most popular which is heard at Cornish rugby union matches and other Cornish gatherings, but the Cornish anthem that has been used by Gorsedh Kernow for the last 75 plus years is "Bro Goth Agan Tasow" ("The Land of My Fathers", or, literally, "Old Country of our Fathers") with a similar tune to the Welsh national anthem ("Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau") and the Breton national anthem. "Bro Goth Agan Tasow" is not heard so often, as it is sung in Cornish). Those who prefer an anthem in English often use "Hail to the Homeland".

• List of topics related to Cornwall

• "The Song of The Western Men" at RobertStephenHawker.co.uk
• The Life and Letters of R. S. Hawker from the Internet Archive
• Words in Cornish from the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies website
• Trelawny's Army (with notes by R. S. Hawker)
• "The Song of the Western Men" from Everything₂
• The Song of the Western Men public domain audiobook at LibriVox (multiple versions)