The Roast Beef of Old England

The Roast Beef of England
"The Roast Beef of Old England" is used by both the Royal Navy and the United States Marine Corps. This version is performed by the United States Navy Band. Almost all units within the Canadian Armed Forces also use this as the entry tune to officers' mess dinners.
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Portrait of composer Richard Leveridge.
The Roast Beef of Old England by William Hogarth.

"The Roast Beef of Old England" is an English patriotic ballad. It was written by Henry Fielding for his play The Grub-Street Opera, which was first performed in 1731. The lyrics were added to over the next twenty years. The song increased in popularity when given a new setting by the composer Richard Leveridge,[1][2] and it became customary for theatre audiences to sing it before, after, and occasionally during, any new play. The Royal Navy always goes in to dine at Mess Dinners to the tune, which is also played at United States Marine Corps formal mess dinners during the presentation of the beef[citation needed]. Officers of the Royal Artillery are also played in to dinner by this tune.

The song provided the popular title for a 1748 painting by William Hogarth: O the Roast Beef of Old England (The Gate of Calais).

  1. ^ The New Grove Dictionary of Opera: "Leveridge, Richard"
  2. ^ Olive Baldwin and Thelma Wilson, "Leveridge, Richard (1670–1758)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 21 April 2011