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Talk:Rule, Britannia!

1994 Welsh verse lyrics
What was the verse sang in welsh by Bryn Terfel in 1994 (as on the recording at foot of the wikipedia page for Rule, Brittania!). Was it one of the other verses in translation, or some other varient lyrics. I can't find any reference detailing it on the entire interweb, and it was surely an interesting varient. Graldensblud 23:54, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

It is actually a direct translation of the first verse, not the third verse as was quoted here. Clissold 10:42, 19 December 2007

In the recording, while Terfel is singing the Welsh lyrics, you can hear gasps of delight in the audience, confirmed by cheers at the end of the verse (quickly drowned out by the chorus singing the refrain). This presumably occurs as Welsh-speaking members of the audience realize with pleasure that Terfel, himself Welsh, has translated the verse into Welsh. Yet the gasps of delight only begin in the MIDDLE of the verse, not at the beginning. Can anyone explain why this is so?Partnerfrance (talk) 09:38, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Requested move
Rule Britannia → Rule, Britannia! – Page should be under the song's actual title. Rule Britannia should exist as a redirect page.

Survey

 * Add *Support or *Oppose followed by an optional one-sentence explanation, then sign your opinion with  ~

 * Support ▫ UrbaneLegend talk 10:57, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Support. That's the actual title of the song.  JackofOz 11:05, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Support concur with previous comment FClef 13:33, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Support. — Knowledge Seeker দ 06:08, 15 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Support. Wiki-Ed 08:48, 15 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Support. Also concur with previous comment Hga 18:53, 15 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Support. Again - concur with suggestion Peter Shearan 05:38, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

This poll is now closed. The consensus was support, and the page has been moved accordingly.

Historical significance of the song
I've included a paragraph on the historical significance of the song as I am sure it evolved as a jest (it's written as a series of imperatives and in the future tense) and I think it was aimed at a continental power following an event of some importance... However, I cannot remember what the event was or which nation it was aimed at. Any clues anyone? Of course my memory could be faulty - it might not have been specific as it would annoy all Britain's imperial rivals at this time. Wiki-Ed 21:53, 27 Sep 2004 (UTC)

 * The date of composition (1740) suggests that the War of Jenkins' Ear (which later merged into the War of the Austrian Succession) may have been on the composers' minds. Gdr 21:41:53, 2005-09-10 (UTC)

I think this article could do with all the diffrent versiosn, anyone agree?

Wasn't the song used to celebrate the rise of the Navy in defending against pirates and associated slavery of their captives? Nbroxton1 (talk) 23:39, 17 November 2020 (UTC)

Use for a general salute.
I wanted to add that a 15 sec burst of the chorus is used in the Royal Navy when making a General Salute to the First Sea Lord; as a part of a system where God Save The Queen (also in 15 secs) is used during a Royal Salute and various other tunes are used for various office-holders.

However I am not 100% certain of this, and I can't find corroberation. Does anyone else agree with me and can anyone find proof?

In 1745, Britannia Did Already Rule The Waves
The article says that "Though the Netherlands, which in the 17th century presented a major challenge to English sea power, was obviously past its peak by 1745, Britain did not yet "rule the waves". The time was still to come when the Royal Navy would be an unchallenged dominant force on the oceans ...", however this doesn't swing with my historical take (you dig?), and indeed the Wikipedia article on the Royal Navy states unequivocally: "From about 1692 until World War II, the Royal Navy was the largest and most powerful navy in the world." Maikel 19:57, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

 * I'm not sure if this is what you're talking about. It's a common misconception that the words say "Britannia rules the waves".  They don't.  They say "Britannia rule the waves".  It's not a statement of fact, but an invocation to always be the dominant sea power. JackofOz 01:46, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

 * Indeed. And the Royal Navy article is wrong; I thought I corrected that a while ago but it looks like someone tinkered with it again. The claims could do with a "citation needed". Wiki-Ed 09:52, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

The comma
Shouldn't this article be entitled Rule, Britannia!, as the first line of the chorus goes? ▫ UrbaneLegend talk 11:48, 13 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I do believe you're correct. JackofOz 12:37, 13 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Shouldn't it be 'Rule Britannia!', as it's in the imperative? Postman curlywurly (talk) 17:47, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
 * "Rule Britannia" is a command to someone to Rule Britannia, the comma makes it a command addressed to Britannia to rule - the wave. Dmottram (talk) 10:46, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Pink Floyd song
Hello, in a Pink Floyd song you can hear the words Would you like to see Britannia rule again my friend (song: Waiting for the worms, The Wall). If someone agree that it is appropriate, we could add this in the trivia section. Don't take it too seriously, bye. ; ) B G 01:33, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Laugh
I heard someone say this today. It gave me a big laugh, so I thought others might enjoy it:
 * Britannia may well rule the waves, but she will never waive the rules.  JackofOz 14:26, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

-Hear hear! -S. Lee, Mililani HI

Popular newspaper headline, has about 18000 google hits at the moment, compared to 80000 for the original phrase. 87.194.62.160 (talk) 21:26, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

I found this quote in Malaparte's Kaputt (and it led me to this Wikipage). He attributes it to "Hammen Waper", a "gossip writer". 90.48.178.90 (talk) 22:38, 1 April 2016 (UTC)

Lyrics of chorus: wrong?
I've just been listening to a recording of the Last Night of the Proms (HMV Classics: HMV 586794 2) on which Rule, Britannia! is sung by Norma Proctor with the Royal Choral Society. They sing "never will be slaves" not "never shall be slaves". They also don't sing "Never, never, never" as mentioned in the article: there is only one "never" but it is drawn out: "Ne-e-e-e-ever".

I've noticed this before whilst listening to the 'last night' on TV or radio and I've also seen it in printed lyrics. PurplePenny 17:46, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

 * I would imagine there are different ways of singing it. A singer might be able to hold the "ne-e-e-ver", but I don't think many other people could do (hence "never, never, never"). The will/shall bit has always confused me... I think they're interchangeable depending upon who is singing it and where. Wiki-Ed 08:53, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

 * I have a copy with "never" three times, and shall instead of will. I'll put it in as variable. --Qu e ntin Smith 11:24, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

 * I've heard "Never, never, never" more than "neevverrr", but it is right to have both mentioned IMO. Same with "shall/will".  Question:

Would the "Trivia" section not perhaps be better labelled "Popular culture references" since that is what it seems to be comprised of?Rlquall 13:05, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

 * The way we sing it is "never, never, never, never" - four nevers. But then again, we also sing it as "England", not "Britons". I had always thought this inconsistent but just assumed it was part of the English "England = Britain" viewpoint. 46.208.140.43 (talk) 14:55, 17 January 2012 (UTC)

Year written?
The article needs to mention the year the poem was written. Right now, it only gives the year that the poem was set to music, and it is missing the year the poem was written. I don't know the year myself; can someone fill that information in? —Lowellian (reply) 05:50, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

At least, the way I read the intro sentence as it currently stands ("Rule, Britannia!" is a patriotic British national song, originating from the poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson, and set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740.) it seems to say that the poem was set to music in 1740, but the sentence structure and the comma seem to imply that the poem was written in a different year. If that 1740 refers to both the year of writing and the year the poem was set to music, the intro sentence needs to be rewritten to make that clearer. If the year of writing is not the same as the year the poem was set to music, the year of writing needs to be given. —Lowellian (reply) 05:54, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

 * I think the wording might be deliverately weasely because the author doesn't know the answer - I belive this is because it is not known. I think it was written - from its wording - around the same time, but I don't recall ever having seen a date on the poem itself. Wiki-Ed 21:48, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Does this song have any relation to the defeat of the spanish armarda at all? because i have been lead to belive so in history studies.

Contradiction
A previous contributor had inserted a template that didn't exist, so I changed it. The contradiction stands though - the article says that the Jacobites seized upon the song and wrote anti-Jacobite words to it, which seems like a strange thing to do. -- Mithent 23:04, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

As leitmotif in American popular culture
I have heard this song my whole life as a leitmotif in American popular culture for all things U.K. I am surprised that this reasonable observation was deleted. If we want to get into citation issues, the whole article is uncited. Charles T. Betz 02:54, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

 * Good example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_in_Civilization_IV - it is used to represent Victoria. Charles T. Betz 03:00, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Another pointer: http://www.moviemusic.com/mb/Forum1/HTML/002407.html. Elmer Bernstein, noted film composer, apparently discusses the stereotypical usage of Rule Britannia to denote a British warship. Charles T. Betz 03:03, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
 * In review of Shangai Nights, http://moviemusicuk.us/ahitf03.htm, "London, of course, is stuffily depicted by brief blasts of "Rule Britannia"" Charles T. Betz 03:06, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

 * You are correct in that the article is largely unsourced at the moment. Until recently it did not have much more than the words, but people have been adding snippets here and there and now it looks a bit scruffy. I have no idea where their sources are, but they do link to other Wikipedia articles. I think your addition probably belongs in the "other uses" section. Wiki-Ed 09:24, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

 * I have done so. Charles T. Betz 12:48, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Lyrics
I added a couple of citataions from the OCM. I was going to add a citation for the lyrics and turned to my Palgrave's Golden Treasury...but find there are some differences: "Britons never will be slaves and "And manly hearts to guard the fair" (my bolding). Palgrave is publishing it as a poem, not a song so, for example, the chorus is "Rule, Britannia! rule the waves!" (without the repetition needed for the song). Any suggestions as to which source we quote as the definitive lyrics? Bluewave 14:22, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Now also checked Oxford Dictionary of Quotations which agrees with "will be slaves" so maybe the article is wrong? Bluewave 14:30, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Anthem?
I've always thought this would be a better anthem than God Save the Queen - boring, generic, no real mention of anything British and shared with other countries as a royal anthem (Australia etc), compared with this which is rousing and interesting. Is there a reason why it is not? It's about the same age, if not older, than the current one. Would it ever get changed? 212.108.17.165 09:17, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

 * For some reason I'm given to understand the Queen is quite fond of God Save the Queen, so she is unlikely to suggest changing it. However, the lyrics to God Save the Queen are actually linked to historical events (Marshal Wade etc), whereas Rule! Britannia doesn't actually mention anything specifically British. So I disagree with you there. However, in any case, it's not official (in legislative terms). As to a change in the future, well maybe, but who can say. I would be surprised if a national vote on the subject selected this one over Land of Hope and Glory though. Wiki-Ed 10:42, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

I wonder if it's a good idea to add the term "Cool Britannia" to the See also section. What do you think?

Cool Britannia
I wonder if it's a good idea to add the term "Cool Britannia" to the See also section. What do you think? Iakd87 00:29, 30 April 2007 (UTC).

 * I am sure the Queen will be most displeased by that... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.10.201.221 (talk) 12:36, 1 November 2009 (UTC)

Mermaid
I am confused about the relation of the "imperial" and the "mermaid" versions. A google search yields conflicting results, presenting the "mermaid" lyrics either as "traditional", or as an alternation to Thomson's lyrics by Mallet. dab (𒁳) 10:43, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

 * I too am confused, and I'm not sure I believe the assertion in this article that the revisions made in 1751 produced a version known as "Married to a Mermaid". I'd like to understand the change in lyrics -- what were the three verses by Lord Bolingbroke, and what were the originals they replaced? I believe that the version known as "Married to a Mermaid" is a music-hall song composed in 1866 by Arthur Lloyd which certainly USES the chorus of "Rule Britannia" as a musical element but is really a comic song in its own right and not a version of "Rule, Britannia!" per se. Mooncow (talk) 17:48, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

Never will or never shall?
Maybe it's my hearing, but I've always heard the words "Britons never ... shall be slaves", not "never will be slaves". Is it just me, or is this a recognised variant of the words? -- JackofOz 04:21, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
 * I changed it to "will" on the basis that this is the version of the words in the original masque and in Palgrave's Golden Treasury and the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. I agree that it sounds a bit odd, but these are all reliable citable sources and I suggest they should be the starting point for an encyclopedic article.Bluewave 09:10, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Bluewave.  There seems to be plenty of evidence on Google that "shall" is sung pretty commonly.  It may not be the words in the original poem, but it's what is actually sung these days.  I think this deserves some mention in the article.  --  JackofOz 09:50, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

 * Each is correct in context, "never will" means "I don't think they will but I'm not too bothered.", "never shall" means "They never shall. I would go to war to prevent it." When we consider the possibility of us all being turned into slaves (which nearly happened in WWII and truly happened in the 1600s) I think the determined emphasis of "shall" makes more sense. Normal English would be will but the deviation to shall makes it emphatic, not wrong. user:Budhen 1 Sep 2020. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Budhen (talk • contribs) 20:15, 1 September 2020 (UTC)

 * The last two lines go together in a construction more common in Latin. The meaning is "if you rule the waves, Britannia, Britons will never be slaves". It's like "brush your teeth, you won't get toothache". This means that "will" is right. "Shall" makes a different sense.  Esedowns (talk) 14:47, 5 September 2023 (UTC)

Attacks by the Barbary pirates on the Cornish coast?
Christopher Hitchens says the song is connected with the attacks by the Barbary pirates on the Cornish coast - in which many Cornish folk were taken as slaves to Algiers in the 18th century. Can anyone verify this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.240.38.29 (talk) 22:29, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Compare When Britons were slaves in Africa, HistoryExtra (BBC History Magazine) Lefschetz (talk) 07:57, 2 September 2020 (UTC)

Vandalism
Seems like someone had their way with this page. I undid some of the edits that made reference to Brazil, I can't seem to figure out how to change the flag picture to the union jack.

Could someone take a look throught the article and correct the vandalised sections?

 * I think I've successfully reverted the vandalism....but I'm really not sure whether that flag is a good idea. It kind of reinforces the idea of the song as a cliche for imperial Britain. Bluewave (talk) 16:40, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

United Kingdom
I reverted the change United Kindom back to Great Britain. UK is not entirely incorrect as that is what the nation has subsequently come to be called but it is misleading. At the time of writing the song, pre 1801, it was written to praise a specific cultural concept of Great Britain and Great Britain has quite different cultural connotations to United Kingdom. When Brits sing Rule Brittania they mostly still sing to a nostalgic image of the Britain of the past with all that went with that in terms of power, prestige and glory. Singing this does not conjure up a concept of the political entity, the United Kingdom of today. If people follow the link to Great Britain I think they will come away much better informed about why this song is so powerful and why it is sung. Rule Britania is about Great Britain, it isn't about the United Kindom even though they occupy, more or less, the same piece of land. Ex nihil (talk) 08:53, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Urtext
I suggest to add a reference to the `Urtext' version of Alfred (cf. for a full citation). The piano version shown in the article severely changes the harmonies (to the worse, of course). -- Lemzwerg (talk) 16:46, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Music
It's great to see music sheets (or song sheets, whatever your preference) on wikipedia. Well done. Anyone know of any other such sheets on wiki? BritsRule (talk) 12:05, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

"Unofficial national anthem"
An editor is trying to add a claim that the song is "is often called the unofficial national anthem" of the UK, which so far as I can tell is not based on a reliable source, and which has also been discussed (and rejected) at Talk:United Kingdom. Comments from uninvolved editors welcome. Ghmyrtle (talk) 19:51, 1 March 2010 (UTC)
 * It's a patriotic song and it's not the national anthem. If someone claims it is "often called" the unofficial national anthem, they should be able to provide many examples of it being called that. I think the onus is on them to do so. Bluewave (talk) 22:50, 1 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I think the sources on that page fully support the editors' claim. They are not all reliable, in fact I would say only the first one is reliable. I have heard of this claim before, and since there is a reliable source to back it up then I think it could be included here. What do you think? MrTranscript (talk) 22:53, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Britains vs. Britons; or How many Britains are there?
This alerted me to the Lyrics as Sung. Does anyone actually think of plural Britains when they sing the song? Surely it's plural Britons who will never be slaves. No? --   Jack of Oz   [your turn]  19:36, 10 January 2011 (UTC)

 * See something odd -> check history -> see IP edit -> detect vandalism -> revert. Wiki-Ed (talk) 20:31, 10 January 2011 (UTC)

locked?
why can I not edit the page?--99.101.160.159 (talk) 21:08, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

Duplication and overlap
Hello. There appears to be some duplication of content in at least two sections, "Independent history" and "In popular culture". I'm tempted to remove it from the latter, but I wanted to get some more input first. Viriditas (talk) 03:03, 22 February 2012 (UTC)
 * The "In Popular culture" section should be removed. It's just a horrible list of unimportant trivia. Wiki-Ed (talk) 21:03, 22 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I've removed it and placed it below this section. Viriditas (talk) 01:25, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

In popular culture
The music used for the Alma Mater of Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas
 * Richard Wagner wrote an overture called "Rule Britannia" in 1837.
 * Ron Goodwin incorporated the tune into his Miss Marple theme for the film Murder Ahoy! starring Margaret Rutherford.
 * In Jules Verne's The Begum's Fortune, "Rule, Britannia!" is raucously sung by drunken British characters, representing what the writer (and other French people at the time) regarded as a grasping British greediness.
 * The first bars of the chorus are commonly heard in American popular culture as a sort of leitmotif accompanying the appearance of a British icon, such as the Royal Navy, the Union Flag (or Union Jack), a member of the British Royal Family, or any United Kingdom representative of social or military rank. This force is sometimes parodied by changing the lyrics to "Rule Britannia, Britannia waives the rules (or waves the rules. by juxtaposition, even in non-American parodies )"
 * A punk rock version of the song is sung in Derek Jarman's film Jubilee.
 * Rule Britannia is the ironic title of a novel by Daphne du Maurier, actually expressing the anger of Britons (specifically, of the Cornish) at being dominated by the United States.
 * Ruled Britannia is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove, describing a Britain conquered by the Spanish Armada.
 * An excerpt of the song was used as the ring entrance music for the tag team the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington) in the 1980s, and again, when Davey Boy Smith returned in the 1990s, while in the World Wrestling Federation. Davey Boy's son D.H. Smith would also use it as his entrance music.
 * "Rule, Britannia!" is sometimes mistaken for the British national anthem. This is probably because it is used so often in popular culture to represent Britain that it has become more associated with it than the actual national anthem.
 * The chorus tune was deliberately misquoted in an episode of the 1960s Batman TV series, in which Batman and Robin visited Britain.
 * John Lennon sings part of "Rule, Britannia!" in the film A Hard Day's Night
 * "Rue Brittania" (note the missing l) is the title of a story arc in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show covering episodes 117 through 124, wherein Bullwinkle bears the inscription "Rue Brittania" on his foot.
 * The Spitting Image sketch "Last Night of the Yobs" includes a version with the words "Rule, Britannia! Britannia rules not much - less than the Spanish or the Belgians or the Dutch".
 * It is used in Sid Meier's Civilization IV for Queen Victoria's and Winston Churchill Theme.
 * Ruling Britannia: Failure and Future of British Democracy by the Scottish journalist and author Andrew Marr was published in 1996.
 * The dystopian alternate history novelette "The Greatest Danger" by Lee Allred is set in The Domination of the Draka timeline, created by S. M. Stirling, in which the monstrous Drakas conquer the world and reduce everybody else to chattel slavery. In one episode of the story, the people of Guernsey defy their Draka captors by singing "Britons never, never will be slaves!", words quite literal in this context.
 * "Rule, Britannia!" is the theme song of Lord British, the avatar of Richard Garriott in the Ultima series of computer games. In Ultima 7, it is usually heard when the main hero of the game wanders near Lord British Castle.
 * British folk metal band Skyclad has incorporated parts of the chorus as a wordplay in their song "Think Back and Lie of England", ("Cruel Britannia ruled the waves..."), which unlike "Rule, Britannia!" is anti-patriotic.
 * In the Adult Swim show Sealab 2021 episode "Let them Eat Corn" two British arms dealers sing a song about their new teeth sung to a rock version of the song.
 * In Paul Revere's Ride (2005) by David Del Tredici, "Rule, Britannia!" is set in counterpoint against "Yankee Doodle", representing the Battles of Lexington and Concord that began the American Revolution.
 * Also used in Finnish, Norwegian, Danish and Swedish TV ads for Premiership Football on Canal+.
 * The song is regularly sung by fans of English football clubs Millwall FC, Swindon FC and Chelsea F.C.It is also sung by fans of Linfield in Northern Ireland and Rangers in Scotland because of its unionist connotations.
 * In the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights, "Rule, Britannia!" must be whistled to activate the stun gas feature of Bond's key ring.
 * In the Keeping Up Appearances episode "A Barbecue at Violet's", "Rule, Britannia!" is one of the songs in Hyacinth's "party game"
 * Featured in the film The Italian Job (1969).
 * Robert Newton and Stanley Holloway's characters in David Lean's This Happy Breed sing this song several times in the film.
 * The piece has appeared in two episodes of the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. Squidward's watch plays the song in one episode, and Squidward sings a song to the tune of this song in "Dunces and Dragons".
 * This song appeared as the title card music to an episode of The Fairly OddParents.
 * Rule, Britannia! is played in the first Austin Powers film because Mike Myers believed it was a film cliche to play the song whenever any film changed its setting to Britain.
 * It appears, in a strangulated form, in an exhibition of British artifacts in Flushed Away, along with a somewhat more musical version of Land of Hope and Glory.
 * Since 1971, Arsenal fans have sung a song called Good old Arsenal, which is based on the tune of Rule, Britannia!.
 * A parody of "Rule, Britannia!" ("Britons, ever, ever, ever will be slaves") is chanted by Germans in Andrew Roberts's political satire The Aachen Memorandum, which depicts a future Europe in which Britain has been split into separate states and merged into a United States of Europe.
 * "Rule Britannia!" is whistled by two RAF pilots in the French film La Grande Vadrouille.
 * Used several times in Dan Simmons's book The Terror
 * Michael Flanders & Donald Swann parodied both this song and British composer Benjamin Britten in "Guide to Britten", where the terminal line is "So rule Brittania, while Britten rules the staves, all the music-loving public are his slaves."
 * In the television series Frasier, the episode "Whine Club" includes a parody entitled "Hail, Corkmaster!", sung as part of the inauguration of the wine club's new president.
 * In the book "Ice Station" written by Matthew Rielly one of the main antagonists Trevor Barnaby has a habit of saying "Rule,Britannia" to his enemies moments before their death
 * In the DC Comics Flashpoint event, at the end of issue 3 of "Flashpoint: Lois Lane & The Resistance". As the battle against the conquering Amazons reached its climax, Resistance member Grifter asked UK heroine Britannia how "that song about her went again", referring to "Rule, Britannia!", to which she replied "I think the line you're looking for is... "Britons never, never, never shall be slaves", before charging into one last battle.
 * On The Bill Handel Show radio program based in Los Angeles, CA when discusing stories regarding the British Royal Family, the "Queen" makes a guest appearance whose intro begins with a deep doorbell with resounding "Rule, Britannia!" in the background as the Queen provides her royal non-sequitor address.

Mentions in other songs

 * "Rule Britannia!" is made reference to in David Bowie's song "Life on Mars?".
 * Pink Floyd's song, "Waiting for the Worms", from the album The Wall includes the lyrics "would you like to see Britannia rule again, my friend?"
 * During the fadeout of Pink Floyd's song "Not Now John", from the album The Final Cut, Roger Waters can be heard shouting "Rule Britannia! Britannia rules the waves!"
 * The Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, includes the song theme "Rule Britannia!" in the first movie of the series - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. It is performed on the first appearance of the British fort in the movie.

The relationship with Britannia?
Am I right that in the song "Rule, Britannia!" the Britannia means a personified image of the Great Britain? I think it's obvious, but in the article about it does not say. Is there any authoritative sources stating this? Andrew M. Vachin (talk) 16:16, 16 August 2017 (UTC)

 * Yes, you are right.  Esedowns (talk) 14:50, 5 September 2023 (UTC)

Native audio example
No disrespect of the performance of the United States Army, but couldn't we get a British performance group to provide the audio sample? I'm sure there are several public domain or full permission recordings by native Britons that can be used that more reflects the actual country this song represents. Michaelopolis (talk) 02:49, 31 May 2019 (UTC)

Add Criticism or Controversy section?
There has been recent controversy about playing it at the Last Night of the Proms.and similar Would having a section addressing this be appropriate? Ta, cmɢʟee⎆τaʟκ 13:33, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

 * There have always been people who like it and people who don't, like any song. I'd suggest waiting to see if it goes anywhere, otherwise I think we could put it down to a media organisation making news to publicise its own events and/or presenting a false balance. I think there's a WP policy for this sort of thing, but I can't remember what it's called - something to do with current events being blown out of proportion to their historical relevance (and in this case bear in mind the song will have provoked strong opinions for nearly 275 years... so there's actually quite a bit of history to account for). Wiki-Ed (talk) 13:53, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

 * Let us add it. Zezen (talk) 08:04, 13 September 2020 (UTC)

 * Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a newspaper. If there are reliable sources covering the history of attitudes towards this particular song, then there might be something to draw upoon. I would guess, however, that there are not. If so, this is a non-starter. Wiki-Ed (talk) 20:59, 13 September 2020 (UTC)

@Wiki-Ed https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-54115935 https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/last-night-proms ?

 * When I said "reliable sources covering the history", that's what I meant, not sensationalised self-promoting news stories. Wiki-Ed (talk) 19:36, 14 September 2020 (UTC)

A bit of history
Here is a bit of history new to me but I cannot verify it. I have copied it here. It puts the mention of "slaves" in Rule Britannia into a totally new context. It transforms the song from bull headed patriotism into triumph over adversity. If anyone has time they might care to track down the book and add to the article.

Date: 28 Aug 20 Author: Alistair Smith, Retired from Royal Navy Submarine Service. Seen by me (Budhen) on Facebook.

Quote begins: Here is something you are unlikely to learn via the BBC. In the 17th century the seas around Britain were ruled by North African Muslim Slavers. They stopped British ships and carried off the crews to be sold as slaves in Algiers and Tripoli. The situation became so bad that fishermen from Devon and Cornwall wouldn’t put out to sea in case they were captured by North African Slave Traders. Between 1609 and 1616, 466 British ships were captured by Slave Traders in the English Channel, Irish Sea and North Atlantic, and the crews were sold into slavery. In 1625 a raiding party landed at Mount’s Bay in Cornwall and 60 people who had taken refuge in a local church were dragged out, loaded up and taken off to Africa to be sold as slaves. On 12 August 1625 the Mayor of Plymouth wrote to London for military help after 27 ships had been seized by North African Muslim Slave Traders in just 10 days. In 1645, 240 people were seized as slaves in Cornwall. The situation only began to change after the end of the English Civil War when the Royal Navy was built up under Oliver Cromwell. By 1700, North African Slavers generally knew better than to bother the British Isles in the search for slaves because of the Royal Navy. It was a triumph that Britain was finally able to control its own coastal waters. It was in commemoration of this that in 1740, James Thompson wrote ‘Rule Britannia’. It is a hymn of thanksgiving rather than a proclamation of aggressive Nationalism. If you get this far and are interested to learn more, read "White Gold" by Giles Milton. Quote ends Budhen 1 Sep 2020 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Budhen (talk • contribs) 20:19, 1 September 2020 (UTC)

Important, ta. Let us add most of it.

Zezen (talk) 08:07, 13 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Its interesting but are you really sure that Rule Britannia was written in specific response to this? There is a bit of a time lag between (according to your timeline) the end of the Barbary threat in British waters and the penning of the song (poem). LastDodo (talk) 10:55, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

 * Thomas Pellow only escaped and returned home in 1738, so not much time difference there. His relation Edward Pellew was in charge of the British fleet which bombarded Algiers and brought an end to the White slave trade in August 1816. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 13:55, 28 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Was the poem inspired by this though? I guess the real question is what is the evidence that the poem was written in response to the barbary threat (or its ending)? What evidence does Giles Milton give in his book? Did Thomson state this explicitly? LastDodo (talk) 14:16, 2 July 2022 (UTC)
 * I've got the book out of the library and am looking for any references. Unfortunately the only copy they had was the large print book which contains the following notice: "Notes and Sources and the Index have been omitted from this large print edition.  This material can be found in the original edition published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd." - so about as much use as the proverbial chocolate teapot.  Grrr. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 14:34, 2 July 2022 (UTC)
 * There's this web page from the BBC "History Extra" site by Adam Nichols, associate professor of English at the University of Maryland which links the words to white slavery. What do you think? Martin of Sheffield (talk) 14:54, 2 July 2022 (UTC)
 * There's an interesting parallel to consider in Heart of Oak. That song contains the lines "To honour we call you, not press you like slaves, / For who are so free as the sons of the waves?" which seems to echo the sentiment here.  Heart of Oak was composed in 1759, so of similar vintage.  As I mentioned o the talk page there, Dad, who was RN during his National Service said that this phrase was comparing free English sailors with the slaves needed to row galleys.  Lots of explanations, but little citable fact I'm afraid. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 21:03, 2 July 2022 (UTC)
 * That Adam Nichols BBC History Extra article does indeed suggest a link, but never makes the claim explicitly. My guess about the line in the Heart of Oak song is that either it relates to the distinctive absence of galley slaves in the Royal Navy (Charles II once bought such a galley but the thing never put to sea), or it is a bit of PR, because the Royal Navy certainly did impress (i.e. conscript) people. I do intend to read White Gold at some point and if it settles the matter I'll come back here to edit and source, but I hope someone can resolve it before then. Its a nice 'did you know' fact to have in your pocket, but we do need to ensure it is actually a fact. LastDodo (talk) 11:43, 4 July 2022 (UTC)
 * According to the article on the War of Jenkin's Ear, the poem was actually penned as a result of the capture of Portobelo in 1739:
 * During the 1727 to 1729 Anglo-Spanish War, the British attempted to take Portobelo but retreated after heavy losses from disease. On 22 November 1739, Vernon attacked the port with six ships of the line; it fell within twenty-four hours and the British occupied the town for three weeks before withdrawing, having first destroyed its fortifications, port and warehouses.

 * The victory was widely celebrated in Britain; the song "Rule Britannia" was written in 1740 to mark the occasion and performed for the first time at a dinner in London honouring Vernon. The suburb of Portobello in Edinburgh and Portobello Road in London are among the places in Britain named after this success, while more medals were awarded for its capture than any other event in the eighteenth century.

 * The source can be viewed here. LastDodo (talk) 09:31, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
 * I have now read White Gold. Aside from quoting a line from the song, which he does not contextualise, author Giles Milton does not actually mention Rule Britannia! at all. So this book was no help I'm afraid. The book is also clearly not the source of some of the claims made in the Facebook post quoted above, for example it makes no mention of when the seas around Britain became safe, which according to that post is the prompt for the song, focusing instead on the end of the white slave trade after Edward Pellew's bombardment of Algiers in 1816. So we remain in the dark. LastDodo (talk) 11:37, 17 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Well done for undertaking the research, though! It's the sort of thing that takes ages to do, but is essential for making sure our content is properly sourced. MichaelMaggs (talk) 11:48, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

Year of poem
The James Thomson (poet) page includes "Thomson's words for "Rule Britannia", written as part of that masque and set to music by Thomas Arne..." indicate it was a 1740 poem, although the year was reverted on this page. What year was the poem written and published? Thanks. Randy Kryn (talk) 16:30, 18 March 2021 (UTC)
 * The existing citation, Scholes, doesn't support any date for the poem, only for Arne's setting. But ODNB is more specific, suggesting that the poem and the music were written pretty well at the same time. I'll add that information in, with the new citation. MichaelMaggs (talk) 17:49, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

Slaves
Reading the lyrics as an exhortation seems fully appropriate; is there any connection between such an exhortation and the rise of the Royal Navy in the preceding century (from modest to mighty) to tackle the threat of Barbary Corsairs and their slaving raids on the British coast?

If there are rightly several interpretations and influences listed in the 'Cultural Significance' section, then it seems strange that the need to defend the coast by ruling the waves - in order that Britons never will be slaves - has not been picked up on by any other contributors:

"There are no records of how many men, women and children were enslaved, but it is possible to calculate roughly the number of fresh captives that would have been needed to keep populations steady and replace those slaves who died, escaped, were ransomed, or converted to Islam. On this basis it is thought that around 8,500 new slaves were needed annually to replenish numbers—about 850,000 captives over the century from 1580 to 1680. By extension, for the 250 years between 1530 and 1780, the figure could easily have been as high as 1,250,000." - (From the WP article on the Barbary slave trade, regarding depredations against European populations as a whole)

Indeed, Englishman Thomas Pellow (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pellow) had only gained his freedom from slavery in 1738 and had published his memoir in recent years. Surely this must have had some cultural bearing on the poem & song? 2A00:23C7:3119:AD01:39D5:271E:ED49:966A (talk) 20:11, 30 August 2023 (UTC)

Potentially erroneous information
The Symbolism section of the page includes the claim that "Disher also notes that the Victorians changed "will" to "shall" in the line "Britons never shall be slaves"." This does not appear to be true. The "never shall be slaves" variation can be found in print at least as early as 1750 (for instance, in https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_a-collection-of-loyal-so_1750/page/n39/mode/2up). Perhaps "shall" overtook "will" in the Victorian era, but it seems misleading to say that the Victorians changed it. CreditsideBard (talk) 23:45, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Rule, Britannia!


text:
Langenfeld

Langenfeld may refer to:

Germany

 * Langenfeld, Bavaria, in the Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim district of Mittelfranken, Bavaria
 * Langenfeld, Mayen-Koblenz, in the Mayen-Koblenz district of Rhineland-Palatinate
 * Langenfeld, Rhineland, in the Mettmann district of North Rhine-Westphalia

Romania

 * Câmpulung la Tisa, formerly Langenfeld, a commune in Maramureș

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Langenfeld


text:
Jason Williams

Jason Williams may refer to:

Basketball

 * Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975), American basketball player; played collegiately at Marshall, Florida and multiple teams in the NBA
 * Jason Williams (basketball, born 1979), American basketball player; played collegiately at Radford
 * Jason Williams (basketball, born 1983), American basketball player; played collegiately at UTEP
 * Jason Williams or Jay Williams (basketball) (born 1981), American basketball player; played collegiately at Duke and professionally for the Chicago Bulls
 * Jayson Williams (born 1968), American basketball player

Other sports

 * Jason Williams (American football) (born 1986), American football player
 * Jason Williams (baseball) (born 1974), American baseball player
 * Jason Williams (cricketer) (born 1976), West Indian cricketer
 * Jason Williams (footballer, born 1984), Bermudian footballer
 * Jason Williams (footballer, born 1995), English footballer
 * Jason Williams (ice hockey) (born 1980), Canadian ice hockey player
 * Jason Williams (rugby league, born 1966), New Zealand rugby league player from Christchurch
 * Jason Williams (rugby league, born 1981), New Zealand rugby league player from Auckland

Others

 * Jason Williams (actor), actor, writer, and director
 * Jason Aldine Williams, known professionally as Jason Aldean (born 1977), American country singer
 * Jason Williams (politician) (born 1972), district attorney of New Orleans
 * Jason Adam Williams (politician), NYS JJAG and musician

title: Jason Williams


text:
Danny Dunn

Danny Dunn is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of American juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams beginning in 1956.

Background
The stories are set in the fictional American town of Midston. The plots feature characters who are interested in science and mathematics.

Abrashkin died in 1960, after publication of the fifth book. Williams, however, insisted on Abrashkin being given co-author credit on the subsequent ten books as well, since he had been instrumental in constructing the series. Ezra Jack Keats illustrated the first four novels in the series.

Although the exact location of Midston is not given, the authors wrote that a famed American of colonial times visited the town (when it was known as Middestown), implying Midston is somewhere in the original 13 states. In the book Danny Dunn and the Heat Ray, reference is made to US Route 1 and US Route 2 being located near Midston, and those roads meet only at Houlton, Maine.

Main character
Dunn is a boy, a fifth-grader when the series starts, although the school year ends at the end of the first book. He is looking forward to a career in science. According to book reviewer Andrew Frederick, Dunn is precocious and headstrong—a redhead whose adventures mainly include getting into and out of trouble.

Other characters

 * Professor Euclid Bullfinch, a researcher at [fictional] Midston University. The Professor is also a musician who plays the bass viol (also known colloquially as the "bull fiddle"). He is plump and somewhat bald, and smokes a pipe in some of the books. Danny considers him a mentor, and Danny's complicated problems often revolve around inventions by Bullfinch.
 * Mrs. Dunn, Danny's widowed mother, housekeeper for Professor Bullfinch.
 * Classmate Irene Miller, Danny's friend and next-door neighbor. Irene's father teaches astronomy at Midston University. Irene made her first appearance in the third book and is particularly interested in physics.
 * Classmate Joe Pearson, Danny's friend. Joe is the poet of the group, and he often functions as an amusing sidekick to Danny, expressing bafflement at the complicated technology employed by Danny and the Professor.
 * Classmate Eddie ("Snitcher") Phillips, rival of Danny and a school bully.
 * Doctor A.J. Grimes, a friend of Professor Bullfinch introduced in the first book, Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint. Grimes is a curmudgeonly figure, rarely taking the teenagers seriously, and often trying to antagonize the Professor. Doctor Grimes is also a musician who plays the piccolo; he and Professor Bullfinch occasionally play duets. Tall and lanky, he is in many ways a contrast to his friend Bullfinch.

Books in the series

 * 1) Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint (1956)
 * 2) Danny Dunn on a Desert Island (1957)
 * 3) Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine (1958) (Irene introduced)
 * 4) Danny Dunn and the Weather Machine (1959)
 * 5) Danny Dunn on the Ocean Floor (1960)
 * 6) Danny Dunn and the Fossil Cave (1961)
 * 7) Danny Dunn and the Heat Ray (1962)
 * 8) Danny Dunn, Time Traveler (1963)
 * 9) Danny Dunn and the Automatic House (1965)
 * 10) Danny Dunn and the Voice from Space (1967)
 * 11) Danny Dunn and the Smallifying Machine (1969)
 * 12) Danny Dunn and the Swamp Monster (1971)
 * 13) Danny Dunn, Invisible Boy (1974)
 * 14) Danny Dunn Scientific Detective (1976)
 * 15) Danny Dunn and the Universal Glue (1977)

Albums

 * Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine was turned into a musical children's album on Golden Records (Golden LP 239), with music composed by Julie Mandel.

Reception
Floyd C. Gale of Galaxy Science Fiction said in 1961 that "Danny's adventures are always based on a solid science foundation, once the authors' usually wild main premise is digested".

title: Danny Dunn


text:
Talk:Eleanor of Aquitaine

Divorce
D. L. D'Avray, professor of history at University College, London, gives a translation of John of Salisbury's account of the divorce in his Dissolving Royal Marriages: A Documentary History 860-1600, pp. 50-52. He describes Alison Weir's account as "completely misleading", and says that the best account is in John Baldwin, Masters, Princes and Merchants, note 182 to pp. 255-6. Dudley Miles (talk) 15:33, 20 June 2022 (UTC)

 * Amy Kelly's and Marion Meade's works are overly credulous and prone to fictionalizing without sources; Alison Weir's and Douglas Boyd's largely retread the same ground and should be read with care. I will try to find Baldwin in the university library to see how it compares but chapter 4 of Raplh V. Turner’s Queen of France, Queen of England (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009) should go into much more detail than a footnote can, and be more credible than Weir. — aoyma3 (talk) 08:03, 30 May 2024 (UTC)
 * All sources should be read with care, and are only as good as their primary sources, which are themselves prone to pushing an agenda. At its time, Weir was the best secondary source though in places poorly sourced. Actually it is more carefully written than Kelly and Meade, and more sceptical of their sources and accounts. Turner remains the most modern and thorough accounts but contains some errors and also falls into the trap of speculation (see the list of reviews I included). I have tried to base this article on a reading of both Weir and Turner, supplemented where appropriate by primary sources and scholarly articles. The bottom line is that we actually know very little about Eleanor, and generally only as a footnote to the accounts of the men of her time. Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  15:28, 30 May 2024 (UTC)
 * The only confusion or controversy relates to the matter of canonical law at the time as it relates to consanguinity. D'Avray cites both Bouchard and Baldwin. I had consulted and cited Bouchard on this matter. For your interest I have added d'Avray and Baldwin, so the reader can ascertain the matter to themselves. Michael Goodyear ✐  ✉  16:46, 30 May 2024 (UTC)
 * This is great, thank you! — aoyma3 (talk) 09:45, 31 May 2024 (UTC)

Style
The style is popularist rather than encyclopaedic. This has been a problem that has plagued biographies of Eleanor, where, faced with a paucity of information, the void has been filled with myth, legend and speculation. See, for example Wheeler's review of Turner. Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  03:30, 28 December 2023 (UTC)
 * There is far too much ut dicebatur (it was said). See Sullivan 2023. Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  03:56, 28 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Consequently, the article was tagged "This article is written like a story. Please help rewrite this article to introduce an encyclopedic style and a neutral point of view." Subsequently the article is being rewritten line by line to conform with WP MOS. Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  03:33, 6 March 2024 (UTC)
 * There has been a tendency to delete the speculative language - but a major point of the article is to draw attention as to how her life has been romanticised by biographers, by adding speculation where the record is blank. However, it is important to make a distinction between the two - often relegated to notes, less they become copied into numerous other articles Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  18:39, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Unverified material
"without the pomp and ceremony that befitted their rank", Chronique de Touraine. Only one of the standard biographies gives this as a source and none use this quotation. Kelly (1950; p. 104) gives the Chroniques (1894 ed.(p. 135)) as a source for the wedding being furtive. I have removed it unless it can somehow be verified. It had previously been tagged Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  20:10, 4 January 2024 (UTC)
 * It could, however be misattributed, for instance William of Newburgh wrote something fairly similar - cited by Sullivan (Chapter: The King of England). Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  18:14, 13 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Weir cites it but gives four authors for the quote, but no citation Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  02:53, 25 March 2024 (UTC) Newburgh gives: "united by the conjugal tie, which was solemnized not very splendidly, in proportion to their rank" or in another translation, cited by Sullivan p. 36, "less solemnly than respect for their persons justified", so I have restored this quote Michael Goodyear ✐  ✉ 18:54, 25 March 2024 (UTC)

Tasks
Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  19:50, 9 February 2024 (UTC) Michael Goodyear ✐  ✉  17:54, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Continue making family trees to show relationships (done)
 * Bring bibliography up to GA standards (done)
 * Fact check and add references (done)
 * remove unencylopedic language (done)
 * Rewrite (done)
 * Copyedit
 * Popular Culture is rather long and could possibly be spun off Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  17:56, 26 June 2024 (UTC)

Birthplace
The infobox lists Eleanor's birthplace as Bordeaux, but many other places say she was born in Poitiers. 70.50.199.125 (talk) 16:06, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Based on what is currently the definitive biography, by Turner. Actually nobody knows exactly where she was born - the infobox matches the discussion on this in the text. Michael Goodyear ✐  ✉  02:20, 21 February 2024 (UTC)

Art
Recent deletions miss the point that there have been numerous claims about the depiction of Eleanor, but there is no basis for any of them. She has also been depicted numerous times in art in fanciful ways. These topics are well discussed at length in the literature and discussed in the text. The examples provide evidence for that discussion. The edits have therefore ben reverted. Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  03:20, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

"Black legend"
, you recently added "Although Richard of Devizes admired Eleanor's perseverance in supporting her son Richard, all of them expressed negative views about women in power and hinted at some darker attributes that eventually led to the "Black Legend" that became associated with her." But "black legend" isn't mentioned anywhere else in the article. Is that something that could be expanded on? It's an intriguing teaser. Even if it were linked to black legend, that target article doesn't satisfy the reader's curiousity about how it relates to Eleanor. Schazjmd  (talk)  14:36, 4 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Black legends are typically negative and propagandistic depictions of "persons, nations or institutions". So her "black legend" seems to be her generally negative portrayal of Eleanor in traditional historiography. Compare to the Tudor myth. Which translates to providing extremely negative portrayals of both Richard II of England and Richard III of England, in order to contrast them with the supposedly superior Henry VII of England.Dimadick (talk) 16:40, 4 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Actually "Black legend" is mentioned on the page, and occurs frequently in the scholarly literature. See Note (b), and the article by Turner (2008) that specifically addresses this. Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  00:02, 5 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Ditto. The articles by Martin Aurell corroborate this further, but they are in French! I have the French originals and translated in English but not sure how to/if it is appropriate to add those to the article, as they are not published translations (finding the articles themselves was an arduous task itself...)
 * Linking to foreign language texts is not a problem, if appropriate. And it is here, since Eleanor was French. Linkage to unpublished translation would not be appropriate, since it would be difficult to verify. On the other hand, it is appropriate to add a translation to any quotes. Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  20:48, 27 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Note that the French version of this article draws heavily on the work of Martin Aurell. Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  20:59, 27 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I do however believe that the 'Golden myth' that Evans writes of in Inventing Eleanor (ch.2) will need explicit references to highlight where this has been the case, because that isn't explicitly mentioned again the article (though implied through references of the romanticisation) — aoyma3 (talk) 22:11, 25 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I have added a direct link to Evan's discussion, and an explicit reference in the discussion of Courtly Love. But see also Fiona Tolhurst's essay in "Medieval Women on Film: Essays on Gender, Cinema and History". I will add that in due course. Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  21:46, 27 April 2024 (UTC)

Birthdate (again)
After 20 years of discussion here, people are still changing the birthdate. The concensus of sources now is 1124, and we should stick to that - this is discussed in the text. I will revert any attempts to change that back to 1122. Michael Goodyear ✐ ✉  15:45, 5 June 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Eleanor of Aquitaine


text:
The Rock-afire Explosion

The Rock-afire Explosion (RAE) is an animatronic character band designed and manufactured by Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI) for use in ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants in the 1980s and early 1990s. The band's characters were various anthropomorphized animals, including a brown bear, a grey wolf and a silverback gorilla. They performed medleys of classic rock, pop, and country music, as well as original compositions and comedic skits.

CEI was founded by inventor Aaron Fechter, who oversaw production of the animatronics and provided several of the characters' voices. Starting in 1989, the band was replaced by Chuck E. Cheese characters and renamed Munch's Make Believe Band following ShowBiz Pizza's decision to rebrand in the early 1990s. As relations with ShowBiz deteriorated, CEI began selling The Rock-afire Explosion to other restaurants and entertainment centers around the world, including Circus Pizza, Pistol Pete's Pizza, and Billy Bob's Wonderland.

The show was considered pioneering in the animatronic industry, featuring life-sized characters that were capable of advanced movement and facial expression. At the end of the show's tenure, former Chuck E. Cheese marketing director Jul Kamen credited Rock-afire with being largely responsible for ShowBiz’s early financial success.

Production
Production of the show's programming and audio was done in-house by Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI) in Orlando, Florida. Nearly all Rock-afire shows were produced completely in-house, with CEI employees writing and performing songs and comedic skits. When ShowBiz began assuming control over programming, they used Songcode, a system inherited from their acquisition of Chuck E. Cheese (CEC).

Unlike other animatronic shows of the early 1980s, The Rock-afire Explosion (RAE) was life-sized, with most of the performers about the size of an average adult human. Fechter also implemented latex masks for the characters' faces, as opposed to the rubber and Styrofoam masks common in other animatronics. The latex masks fit over movable parts on the characters' faces, permitting a range of facial expressions, including smiling and the raising of eyebrows. Fechter also implemented computer programming that permitted some of the characters to move in rhythm with music.

Technical specifications
The Rock-afire Explosion uses four recorded tracks, two for audio and two for data. The data tracks are encoded using Biphase mark code produced during the programming process by two Apple IIe computers. The circuitry of the RAE was originally purchased by CEI from Superscope, the makers of Pianocorder. As technology evolved and Showbiz became more involved in programming, they switched to a new programming system, APS (Animation Programming System), designed by Dave Philipsen, that replaced the aging Songcode inherited from CEC. Cyberstar, a new controller designed by Bill Synhorst of Triad Productions, was implemented to add video playback capability and direct communication with existing driver boards, eliminating the need for the Pianocorder playback board.

Band members

 * Billy Bob Brockali – Bass / Vocals. A brown bear from Tennessee who wore yellow and red overalls and played a wooden bass. He was the mascot for ShowBiz Pizza Place throughout its existence, and his image was on most of the chain's merchandise. Preceded by Billy Wilbur from the Hard Luck Bears and Bear Country Jubilee. Sweet and naive, Billy Bob was usually a mediator to the band's minor on-stage squabbles. Voice: Aaron Fechter
 * Looney Bird – Vocals. Looney Bird shares Billy Bob's stage, as they are close friends. His head was the only thing ever seen, the rest of him hiding in an oil drum. Some shows featured a segment where Looney Bird would answer fan mail. For this, the robot was retrofitted to include a pair of hands that held a piece of paper for him to read. Looney Bird was originally portrayed as having the personality of an alcoholic and frequently huffed gas to calm himself down. In the mid 1980s, his personality underwent a drastic change and he would be portrayed as an inventor and scientific genius. Preceded by Gooney Bird from the Hard Luck Bears and Bear Country Jubilee. Voice: Aaron Fechter
 * Dook LaRue – Drums / Vocals. A mongrel with a smooth singing voice who aspired space travel and wore a space themed suit. Slightly dimwitted, Dook would often lose focus during shows and miss his cues. Preceded by Dingo Starr from the Wolf Pack Five. Voice: Duke Chauppetta (1980–1997, 2016–2021)
 * Fatz Geronimo – Keyboards / Vocals. A silverback gorilla. He is a parody of real-life entertainers Fats Domino and Ray Charles. Unofficial band front man, Fatz had a tendency to ramble. He introduced the most shows and ordered other band members around, leading him and Rolfe DeWolfe into many arguments. Preceded by Fats from the Wolf Pack Five. Voice: Burt Wilson (1980–2006, 2020-2023 ), Aaron Fechter (2006–2020)
 * Beach Bear – Guitar / Vocals. A polar bear with a laid back attitude and a smooth singing voice who was a surfer. He originally had a crazy personality. He is wise and somewhat sarcastic. Beach Bear was carried over from the Wolf Pack Five. Voice: Aaron Fechter (1980–1982), Rick Bailey (1982–present)
 * Mitzi Mozzarella – Vocals. Mitzi was a mouse and a cheerleader. A typical teenager, Mitzi was considered "loose" by the rest of the Rock-afire Explosion, and was obsessed with gossip, boyfriends, pop music, and Michael Jackson. Preceded by Queenie Fox and Mini Mozzarella from the Wolf Pack Five. Voice: Aaron Fechter (1980–1982), Monique Danielle (1982), Shalisa James (1982–present)
 * Rolfe DeWolfe and Earl Schmerle – A ventriloquist/comedy act. Nominally a stand-up comedy act performed in between musical sets; Rolfe is a wolf, and Earl is his sentient ventriloquist puppet. Rolfe is portrayed as sarcastic, egocentric, and abrasive, with a tendency to be incredibly rude to both the band and the employees that work at Showbiz. He has a fondness for disco music, Kmart, and the works of Frank Sinatra. Earl was there to "set him straight" by calling his behaviors out, and by turning Rolfe into a joke. Rolfe was preceded by the Wolfman from the Wolf Pack Five, while Earl is an original character. Voice: Aaron Fechter (for both Rolfe and Earl)

The show also consists of several smaller prop characters, many of which did not have speaking roles. These included an animated Sun and Moon that provided background vocals from time to time, a birthday spider called Antioch who spoke in gibberish, and a bear cub known as Choo-Choo, who hid in a small tree stump in front of Dook's drums and danced to the band's music. One of the more notable prop characters was Birthday Bird, who was perched on the neck of Billy Bob's guitar. Additionally, thirty stores were outfitted with "Uncle Klunk" (voice: Jeff Howell ), a human character who replaced Rolfe and hosted talk-show segments with his bird sidekick, Click. The Klunk animatronics also served to be retrofitted into Santa Claus shows during the holidays.

Later years at ShowBiz and Concept Unification
ShowBiz Pizza Place was similar to (and competed with) Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, another animatronic restaurant chain that was popular in the United States. In the mid-1980s, both venues began to suffer financial difficulties, partially due to the video game crash of 1983 and also due to both companies having opened more restaurants than they could afford to maintain. When Pizza Time Theatre filed for bankruptcy in 1984, ShowBiz bought the company, hoping that new talent and merchandising opportunities could save both companies.

By 1985, Richard M. Frank had joined the company as CEO and chairman. The corporation maintained the two restaurant chains simultaneously for several years. Each continued its own stage shows and sold different merchandise. However, in the latter part of the decade, relations between Creative Engineering and ShowBiz began to sour. Aaron Fechter, the founder of Creative Engineering and creator of the Rock-afire Explosion, claimed that the fallout between his company and ShowBiz arose when ShowBiz asked him to sign away the licensing and copyrights to the Rock-afire Explosion, which would have allowed ShowBiz to cut production costs on the show, such as manufacture of future shows and royalty payments to Creative Engineering. Fechter refused, on the grounds that ShowBiz offered no monetary compensation for the rights.

ShowBiz began toying with the idea of adding licensed characters such as Spider-Man or Garfield to the Rock-afire show, and three ShowBiz locations actually replaced Billy Bob and Looney Bird with Yogi Bear and Boo Boo animatronics in 1987. Ideas to retrofit the Rock-afire into completely original characters were also proposed at the time by Creative Presentations Inc, a now-defunct animatronic company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, that already provided ShowBiz with new showtapes and replacement cosmetics for Rock-afire shows.

An experiment of Paul Linden and Dave Philipsen using JVC BR-7000 VHS Hi-Fi tape decks which integrated two stereo audio tracks, two longitudinal data tracks, and video led to a system in 1988 where television screens were installed above the Rock-afire stage as the company introduced their new Cyberstar TV screen system. During showtime, the characters were finally shown performing in video, as reel-to-reel formatted tapes began to be used less often. A reel-to-reel version of Cyberstar called "Cybervision" was tested at two restaurants in Austin, TX; Cybervision can be distinguished from Cyberstar by the fact that they only feature the animatronics, and no graphics or walkaround characters. Cyberstar was also implemented at Pizza Time Theatre, and remains in use at all Chuck E. Cheese's locations, albeit using DVDs rather than VHS tapes.

The changes to the Rock-afire stage were very minor, as the company later decided to enact a process called "Concept Unification," in which all ShowBiz Pizza locations would be remodeled into Chuck E. Cheese's. The remodel included the elimination of all Rock-afire characters from merchandise and advertising, and retrofitting/reprogramming the Rock-afire Explosion animatronics into a show called Munch's Make Believe Band, featuring the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre characters. Dook was moved to Billy Bob's place and became Pasqually P. Pieplate, Looney Bird became Pizzacam, Beach Bear became Jasper T. Jowls, Fatz became Mr. Munch, Mitzi was moved to Dook's place and became Helen Henny, The Sun became The Building, Choo-Choo became Munch Junior, and Rolfe became Chuck E. Cheese; The Moon was the only character carried over unchanged, and Antioch's computer and air lines were reused for The Wink, an animated Chuck E. Cheese head over the stage that would wink at the end of each segment. Unused animatronics (which included Billy Bob, Earl, and Antioch) and props were either sold off, used for parts or destroyed.

After ties between Creative Engineering and ShowBiz were completely severed, "Concept Unification" began in November 1989 and occurred sporadically at ShowBiz locations until the final show was converted in late 1992 or Winter 1993. As Concept Unification began at each location, the right and center stages of the Rock-afire show were shut down, leaving only the Rolfe and Earl characters operational. The two performed "The Rolfe and Earle Show" (Earl's name was unintentionally misspelled), featuring the voices of Showbiz employees imitating Fechter's voice; the two ran a highlight reel of old Rock-afire Cyberstar segments and wondered aloud what the band would do now, and hinted at the coming Chuck E. Cheese-themed show. "The Rolfe and Earle Show" was the final Rock-afire show produced for Showbiz.

Later years
As troubles began between CEI and Showbiz, the RAE was marketed to other restaurants and amusement parks around the world. In the 1990s, an update to the band, known as "The New Rock-afire Explosion", was created, using new, smaller animatronics known as "mijjins", as well as other features such as revolving stages and dance choreography. However, relatively few customers purchased the show.

Odyssey Fun World, an indoor amusement park located in Naperville, Illinois, and Tinley Park, Illinois, operated the New Rock-afire show in its restaurants.

Fechter terminated all of his employees over several years, with the last 3 being terminated in 2003. In the mid 2000s, spurred by the growing online Rock-afire fan community, Fechter reunited some of the Rock-afire performers and began to program shows set to fan-requested songs. Videos of the performances—posted to his YouTube upon completion—are credited with helping to further revive interest in the group and ShowBiz Pizza, and spurred individuals who owned their own Rock-afire bands to begin programming new shows themselves.

Independent shows in the United States
Aaron Fechter maintains his own Rock-afire show, which has been used to program new shows and perform for private guests. As of 2023, the show is temporarily defunct as Fechter is in the process of moving his collection to Palatka, Florida.

Smitty's Super Service Station has a fully functional show in Sandy Hook, Mississippi.

The Rock-afire Explosion show at Billy Bob's Wonderland in Barboursville, West Virginia, remains operational and was restored in 2021 after decades of disrepair.

David Ferguson of Pendleton, Indiana, has a Rock-afire installed in his barn, dubbed "Goofy Gas Fillin' Station".

John Zerwas purchased a Rock-afire Explosion from Chimpy's Pizza Safari, a restaurant, in 2005. His show is installed in his home in Minnesota.

A private collector from Missouri named Mike has every Rock-afire animatronic, but no stage, running in his basement.

Jack Turner, a close associate of Aaron Fechter and collector, has a fully operational Rock-afire show in his St. Joseph, Missouri warehouse.

Although the Volo Auto Museum received a Rock-afire Explosion show slated for installation in 2020, there were licensing issues with Aaron Fechter preventing operation. However, as of 2024, Volo Museum and Fechter came to an agreement and the show is now fully operational.

The Rock-afire Explosion performed at Rock-afire, an arcade bar in Kansas City, Missouri. However, the bar closed in February 2019.

Independent public shows internationally
The Dreamfactory & World of Wonders in Degersheim, Switzerland has had a show since 1987, however it only became operational in 2021. This show features a turntable that swaps between Rolfe's stage and Uncle Klunk. Wolmi Theme Park in Incheon, South Korea has a Rock-afire show in a restaurant in the park, playing four songs custom-made for the park by Aaron Fechter.

The Hard Luck Bears Jamboree is a retrofitted Rock-afire Explosion show located in the Gulliver's World, Gulliver's Land, and Gulliver's Kingdom theme parks. All characters with the exception of Looney Bird and Earl are bears, but retain their original names. The show has been criticized for its programming, voice acting, and poor condition as a result of Gulliver's standards. As of 2023, however, the shows are being restored and programmed to original Rock-afire showtapes.

Documentary
The Rock-afire Explosion, a documentary about Chris Thrash, Aaron Fechter and the remaining Rock-afire Explosion fan base, was released at film festivals and special screenings around the United States in the fall of 2008. It was released on DVD in 2009. In 2011, it was released on iTunes.

title: The Rock-afire Explosion


text:
Paddy Clancy

Patrick Michael Clancy (7 March 1922 – 11 November 1998), usually called Paddy Clancy or Pat Clancy, was an Irish folk singer best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. In addition to singing and storytelling, Clancy played the harmonica with the group, which is widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States and revitalizing it in Ireland. He also started and ran the folk music label Tradition Records, which recorded many of the key figures of the American folk music revival.

Early years
Clancy was one of eleven children and the eldest of four boys born to Johanna McGrath and Bob Clancy in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. During World War II he served as a flight engineer in the Royal Air Force in India; he also reportedly had been a member of the Irish Republican Army. After his demobilization, Clancy worked as a baker in London. In 1947 he emigrated to Toronto, Canada with his brother Tom Clancy. The following year, the two brothers moved to Cleveland, Ohio to stay with relatives. Later, they attempted to move to California, but their car broke down and they relocated to the New York City area instead.

Greenwich Village and Tradition Records
After moving to Greenwich Village in 1951, both Paddy and Tom Clancy devoted themselves primarily to careers in the theater. In addition to appearing in various Off-Broadway productions and television shows, they produced and starred in plays at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village and at a playhouse in Martha's Vineyard. Their productions included an 18-week run of Seán O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars.

After losing money on some unsuccessful plays, the brothers began singing concerts of folk songs after their evening acting jobs were over. They soon dubbed these concerts "Midnight Specials" and the "Swapping Song Fair." Paddy and Tom were often joined by other prominent folk singers of the day, including Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Jean Ritchie.

In 1956 their younger brother Liam Clancy immigrated to New York, where he teamed up with Tommy Makem, whom he had met while collecting folk songs in Ireland. The two began singing together at Gerde's Folk City, a club in Greenwich Village. Paddy and Tom Clancy sang with them on occasion, usually in informal folk 'sing-songs' in the Village. Around the same time, Paddy founded Tradition Records with folk-song collector and heiress Diane Hamilton, and in 1956 the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem released their first album, The Rising of the Moon, with only Paddy's harmonica as musical accompaniment.

However, the Clancys and Makem did not become a permanent singing group until 1959. In the meanwhile, Paddy Clancy signed and recorded established folk artists for Tradition Records, including Alan Lomax, Ewan MacColl, Paul Clayton, Ed McCurdy, Oscar Brand, and Jean Ritchie. Tradition also produced Odetta's first solo LP, Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues, which Bob Dylan (a friend of the Clancys) later cited as his inspiration to become a folk singer. Carolyn Hester's self-titled album with Tradition led to her first public recognition and her signing with Columbia Records.

In addition to planning what the label would record, Clancy edited many of the ensuing albums himself. While still president of Tradition Records, he went as a cameraman on an expedition to Venezuela in search of alluvial diamonds, ostensibly as part of a documentary crew.

Clancy Brothers
In the late 1950s, Clancy with his brothers and Makem began to take singing more seriously as a permanent career, and soon they recorded their second album, Come Fill Your Glass with Us. This album proved to be more successful than their debut album, and they began receiving job offers as singers at important nightclubs, including the Gate of Horn in Chicago and the Blue Angel in New York City. The group garnered nationwide fame in the United States after an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which led to a contract with Columbia Records in 1961.

Over the course of the 1960s, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem recorded approximately two albums a year for Columbia. By 1964, Billboard Magazine reported that the group was outselling Elvis Presley in Ireland. Two of their albums, In Person at Carnegie Hall and The First Hurrah!, were also hits in the United States.

Paddy Clancy considered In Person at Carnegie Hall to be their best record.

The group performed together on stage, recordings, and television to great acclaim in the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia until Tommy Makem left to pursue a solo career in 1969. They continued performing first with Bobby Clancy and then with Louis Killen until Liam left in 1976 also to pursue a solo career. In 1977 after a short hiatus, the group reformed with Paddy, Tom, and Bobby Clancy and their nephew Robbie O'Connell. Liam returned in 1990 after the death of Tom Clancy.

In a 2008 documentary, The Yellow Bittern, Liam Clancy recalled Paddy as the "alpha male" of the group, who "quietly laid down the law" that his younger brothers and Makem followed "without questioning his authority." On another occasion, Liam noted about Paddy: "Being the eldest brother he was always the leader of the pack. His word was kind of gospel."

Paddy often acted as the spokesman for the Clancys, and he frequently included funny stories and jokes in his concerts. His signature song was the classic Irish drinking song, "A Jug of Punch." He was also well known for his renditions of "Mountain Dew," "Rosin the Bow," "The Foggy Dew," the humorous songs, "The Old Woman from Wexford" and "Mr. Moses Ri-Tooral-I-Ay," the Scottish song, "Johnny Lad", and several others.

Return to Ireland and death
After two decades in North America, in 1968 Clancy returned to live in Carrick-on-Suir, where he had bought a dairy farm and bred exotic cattle. When not on tour or working on his farm, he spent much of his time fishing, reading, and doing crossword puzzles.

In the late 1990s, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The tumor was successfully removed, but he was also stricken with terminal lung cancer around the same time. He continued performing until his failing health prevented him from doing so any longer.

Patrick Clancy died at home of lung cancer on 11 November 1998 at the age of 76. He was buried, wearing his trademark white cap, in the tiny village of Faugheen, near Carrick-on-Suir. He was survived by his widow, Mary Clancy (née Flannery), and their four children, Rory, Orla, Maura, and Conor. He was also survived by a daughter from his first marriage, Leish Clancy, and four siblings, Liam, Bobby, Peg, and Joan.

After his death, folklorist and broadcaster Ciarán Mac Mathúna identified him as the "strong man" of the Clancy Brothers, while Irish folk musician Mick Moloney asserted that he had been "a powerful figure in a group of strong willed men...Paddy's leadership quality always shone out when the Clancys performed." Moloney also noted what he saw as Clancy's legacy: "Irish music would not enjoy the success it has today if he had not made Irish music his career and paved the way for all of us."

Solo singing discography/Guest appearances

 * 1959 – Folk Festival at Newport, Volume 1 – Vanguard LP
 * 1961 – Folk Music of the Newport Folk Festival: 1959-1960, Volume 1 – Folkways LP/CD
 * 1984 – Mick Moloney: Uncommon Bonds – Green Linnet LP/CD
 * Other recordings listed under The Clancy Brothers

Tradition Records

 * 1956 – Siobhán McKenna, John Neville, Tom Clancy: The Countess Cathleen
 * 1956 – Ed McCurdy: A Ballad Singer's Choice
 * 1956 – Norman Notley & David Brynley: Elizabethan Songs
 * 1957 – Glenn Yarbrough: Come and Sit by My Side
 * 1957 – John Jacob Niles: I Wonder as I Wander — Love Songs and Carols
 * 1957 – Mary O'Hara: Songs of Ireland
 * 1957 – Odetta: At the Gate of Horn
 * 1957 – A. L. Lloyd and Ewan MacColl: Blow Boys Blow – Songs of the Sea
 * 1960 – Peg & Bobby Clancy and the Clancy Grandchildren: So Early in the Morning
 * 1960 – John Jacob Niles: An Evening with John Jacob-Niles
 * 1960 – Theodore Alevizos: Songs of Greece
 * 1961 – The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
 * 1961 – Carolyn Hester: Carolyn Hester
 * 1961 – Tommy Makem: Songs of Tommy Makem
 * 1961 – Peg & Bobby Clancy: Songs from Ireland

title: Paddy Clancy


text:
Monon Railroad

The Monon Railroad, also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1971, and much of the former Monon right of way is owned today by CSX Transportation. In 1970, it operated 540 mi of road on 792 mi of track; that year it reported 1320 million ton-miles of revenue freight and zero passenger-miles. (It also showed zero miles of double track, the longest such Class I railroad in the country.)

Timeline

 * 1847: The New Albany and Salem Railroad (NA&S) is organized with James Brooks as president.
 * 1854: The NA&S trackage stretches from the Ohio River (at New Albany) to Lake Michigan (at Michigan City).
 * 1859: The overextended and struggling NA&S is renamed the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad (LNA&C).
 * April 30, 1865: The LNA&C becomes one of twenty railroads to haul Abraham Lincoln's funeral train, its portion being from Lafayette to Michigan City, Indiana.
 * 1873: The LNA&C Railroad is reorganized as the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railway.
 * 1881: The LNA&C consolidates with the Chicago and Indianapolis Air Line Railway, and the trackage of the new division is soon extended to reach into its namesake cities.
 * July 1, 1897: The LNA&C is reorganized as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway.
 * 1932: The 300 pound (136 kg) Monon Bell is first presented as the trophy of the annual football game between DePauw University and Wabash College.
 * 1946: John W. Barriger III becomes president of the Monon, bringing aggressive plans for modernization.
 * June 29, 1949: Final day of steam locomotive service, as the Monon becomes one of the first Class I railroads to fully convert to diesel motive power.
 * January 11, 1956: The CI&L officially adopts its longtime nickname, Monon, as its corporate title.
 * 1959: The Monon's passenger service between Chicago and Indianapolis is discontinued. By 1965, only the Thoroughbred remained, with its single daily roundtrip from Chicago to Louisville.
 * September 30, 1967: Final day of regularly scheduled passenger train service on the Monon.
 * March 21, 1968: Merger with Louisville and Nashville Railroad announced to placate the Monon's fear of lost business due to L&N's acquisition of a competing route, the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad.
 * July 31, 1971: The Monon is merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
 * 1972-1979: Amtrak operates the Floridian Chicago-Miami service over the former Monon Railroad's tracks in Indiana. With the termination of this service in 1979, Bloomington, Indiana, and the rest of southern Indiana lose passenger railway service.
 * 1999: Portions of the line around Indianapolis are converted to a bicycle and pedestrian trail known as the Monon Trail.
 * 2004: CSX stops using the former Monon Railroad's tracks through Bloomington, Indiana. Over the next decade, Bloomington sections of the tracks are converted to the B-Line Trail (within the city proper) and the Rail-Trail (south of the city).
 * After 2009, the tracks between Munster and Hammond, Indiana, are removed and the line converted into another section of the Monon Trail.

Colleges served

The Monon served seven colleges and universities along its line:
 * Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana
 * Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana
 * DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana
 * Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana
 * Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana
 * St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana
 * West Baden Northwood Institute/College in West Baden Springs, Indiana.

The university traffic was important enough to the Monon that the railroad used the schools' colors on its rolling stock. The red and white of Wabash College (and similar to the colors of Indiana University) was used on the railroad's passenger equipment, and the black and gold used by both DePauw University and Purdue University adorned the railroad's diesel freight locomotives and later replaced the red and white on passenger equipment as well.

Genealogy

 * Monon Railroad
 * Chicago and South Atlantic Railroad 1879
 * Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railroad 1956
 * Chicago and Wabash Valley Railroad 1914
 * Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad 1916
 * Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad 1898
 * Bedford and Bloomfield Railroad 1886
 * Chicago and Indianapolis Air Line Railway 1883
 * Indianapolis, Delphi and Chicago Railroad 1881
 * New Albany and Salem Railroad 1873
 * Crawfordsville and Wabash Railroad 1852
 * Orleans, Paoli and Jasper Railway 1886

Monon route
The railroad got the name Monon from the convergence of its main routes in Monon, Indiana. From Monon, the mainlines reached out to Chicago, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Michigan City, Indiana. In Chicago the Monon's passenger trains served Dearborn Station. Branches connected the Louisville mainline to Victoria and French Lick in Indiana.

The Monon's main line ran down the middle of streets in several cities, notably Lafayette, New Albany, and Bedford. It also installed an unusual "home grown" warning signal at many grade crossings; these used a green signal light (similar to and adapted from a standard highway traffic signal) that stayed lit at all times, except when a train was approaching. A sign below or to the side of the signal read, "STOP When Signal Is Out" or "DANGER when light is out cross at your own risk". This design was fail-safe, in that when the signal bulb was burned out, approaching vehicle drivers would assume a train was coming — until they eventually realized there was no train and just a burned-out signal.

The Monon had seven sections. Beginning in the north, Section One was from the Indiana line to Lafayette, passing through the Monon switch in Monon. As a primary passenger route, it connected to Section Four running between Lafayette and Bloomington. This route reached the Ohio River over Section Five from Bloomington to New Albany. From this southern route, Sections Six and Seven were spurs to the west. Section Six served the coal fields between Midland and Clay City, connecting to the main line at Wallace Junction, just south of Cloverdale. Section Seven provided passenger service to the resort hotels in West Baden and French Lick, through a connection at Orleans.

The other primary line, mainly a freight line, included Section Two from Michigan City on Lake Michigan to Monon and then Section three from Monon to Indianapolis. Although each route had its primary traffic type, freight and passengers were carried over all parts of the line.

Section #1
Chicago to Lafayette: The Chicago to Lafayette route is used by Amtrak for the Cardinal and was used by the Hoosier State before that train was discontinued.
 * Chicago – Dearborn Station
 * Englewood
 * Hammond, here, the Monon entered Indiana and track ownership belonged to the Monon line. From Chicago to Hammond, the Monon utilized trackage rights via the Chicago and Western Indiana.
 * Munster
 * Dyer
 * St. John
 * Cedar Lake
 * Lowell
 * Shelby
 * Thayer
 * Roselawn
 * Fair Oaks
 * Rensselaer, home of St. Joseph College
 * Pleasant Ridge
 * McCoysburg
 * Lee
 * Monon, the central switching yard for all trains, and company namesake
 * Reynolds
 * Chalmers
 * Brookston
 * Battle Ground
 * Lafayette, rail station of Purdue University, located across the Wabash River in West Lafayette

Section #2
Monon to Indianapolis. Section #2 was a freight route between Monon and Indianapolis. The section of the line between Monon and Monticello is still in service and owned and operated by the Elkhart & Western Railroad, a Pioneer Railcorp subsidiary. The rest has been completely abandoned and the rails removed. Much of the right-of-way has been returned to neighboring landowners. Where farm fields surround it, evidence of the route has nearly been obliterated as the land has been returned to farming. From 10th Street in Indianapolis, through Carmel and up to State Road 47 in Sheridan, the Monon Trail is now a bike and walking route following the right-of-way.
 * Guernsey
 * Monticello
 * Yeoman
 * Delphi, where the Monon High Bridge still stands over Deer Creek Gorge.
 * Radnor
 * Ockley, south of Ockley station, the viaduct over Wildcat Creek still existed until 2013. It was just north of Owasco and was visible from US 421/SR 39. In 2004, it was damaged by heavy run-offs in Wildcat Creek, which moved the legs of the steel piers out of alignment. It was still standing until the summer of 2013 when it was dismantled by CSX.
 * Rossville
 * Frankfort
 * Kirklin
 * Sheridan
 * Westfield
 * Carmel; see Carmel Monon Depot
 * Nora
 * Broad Ripple
 * Boulevard Station
 * Indianapolis, home of Butler University. The Monon used the Indianapolis Union Station in downtown Indianapolis.

Section #3
Michigan City to Monon: This line runs parallel to U.S. 421 as far as Brookston. The Indiana Rail to Trails group is developing a bike route from Michigan City to La Crosse, using the Monon right-of-way, where it still exists. A section south of Michigan City by I-94 has been consumed by a landfill and the bridge over the I-94 and I-80/I-90 have been removed.
 * Michigan City
 * Otis
 * Westville
 * Alida
 * Haskell
 * Wanatah
 * South Wanatah
 * La Crosse
 * Wilders
 * San Pierre
 * Medaryville. North of Medaryville the tracks have been abandoned and removed. The line is still in service from Medaryville to Monon.
 * Francesville
 * Monon

Section #4
Lafayette to Bloomington: From Lafayette southward, the Monon follows along U.S. 231 to Crawfordsville. At Crawfordsville, the right-of-way moves eastward of the highway several miles, but continues south to Cloverdale, returning closer to U.S. 231 at Greencastle. Amtrak uses this route south to Crawfordsville and then the old New York Central/Conrail tracks into Indianapolis.
 * Lafayette, home to Purdue University
 * South Raub
 * Romney
 * Linden now hosts a museum of the Monon Line in the old station.
 * Crawfordsville home of Wabash College
 * Ladoga
 * Roachdale
 * Bainbridge
 * Greencastle, home of DePauw University
 * Limedale
 * Putnamville
 * Cloverdale The tracks from Lafayette end here.
 * Wallace Jct provided access to the coal fields of Midland, Howesville and Clay City along Section Six of the Monon line.
 * Quincy
 * Gosport – South of Gosport, the Monon crosses the White River.
 * Stinesville is the northern edge of quarry country. From here, south through Bedford and Mitchell, quarries of fine Indiana Limestone exist.
 * Adams
 * Ellettsville, tracks end here from Bloomington
 * Bloomington, home of Indiana University

Section #5
Bloomington to New Albany
 * Bloomington, home of Indiana University. Tracks from south of the junction with INRD have been removed and converted into a trail within the Bloomington city limits.
 * Clear Creek
 * Harrodsburg
 * Guthrie
 * Murdock
 * Bedford
 * Mitchell
 * Orleans is where the junction to Section Seven used to be. It headed southwest towards West Baden and French Lick
 * Leipsic
 * Campbellsburg
 * Hitchcock
 * Salem
 * Farabee
 * Pekin
 * Borden
 * New Albany

Section #6
Wallace Jct. to Midland (coal fields): With the exception of a short stretch from Midland Junction to Vicksburg, this section has been completely abandoned and the tracks have been removed.
 * Wallace Jct
 * Cataract
 * Jordan
 * Patricksburg
 * Clay City
 * Howesville
 * Midland, east entrance to the Indiana coal fields. The active mines are between Linton, Jasonville, and Sullivan.
 * Vicksburg
 * Victoria has disappeared as a community.

Section #7
This section has been completely abandoned. Tracks remain only in French Lick and are used as an excursion route. French Lick to Cuzco. A portion of the original track in French Lick and West Baden (between the West Baden Hotel and the Indiana Railway Museum) has been altered and expanded for a trolley service serving various locations of the French Lick Resort and the museum.
 * Orleans
 * Paoli
 * West Baden
 * French Lick

Mid-20th century passenger trains

 * Thoroughbred, train 5 southbound / train 6 northbound, daily from Chicago, Illinois (Dearborn Station) to Louisville, Kentucky (Union Station), via Monon, Indiana and Lafayette, Indiana.
 * Bluegrass, nos. 3/4, night train, with sleeping car service for the above Thoroughbred route.
 * Tippecanoe, nos. 11/12, daily from Chicago to Indianapolis' Union Station, via Monon and Frankfort, Indiana.
 * Hoosier, nos. 15/16, same route as the Tippecanoe.
 * Nos. 49/48, 57/56, daily Michigan City, Indiana to Monon, Indiana service.

The line today
The remains of the line are operated by CSX Transportation. Large segments have been abandoned in recent years: most of the line from Monon southeast to Indianapolis, the line north from Monon to Michigan City, and the line segment between Cloverdale and Bedford (this segment was abandoned due largely to a washout). A portion of the French Lick branch is now home to a railroad museum.

Between Bedford and Mitchell, CSX owned the line but did not operate any of its own trains. Until 2009, the only service came from trains of the Indiana Rail Road, which in 2006 purchased the former Latta Subdivision of the Canadian Pacific Railway that connected with the former Monon at Bedford. INRD operated over the old Monon from Bedford to Louisville through trackage rights negotiated by the Latta Sub's original owner, The Milwaukee Road, when the L&N took over the Monon. Those trackage rights went from the Milwaukee Road to its buyer, The Soo Line Railroad; a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 2009, INRD ended service and removed trackage from the former Monon junction in Bedford to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division west of Bedford. Consequently, CSX placed the ex-Monon line from Bedford south to Mitchell out of service.

CSX operated trains between Louisville and St. Louis, Missouri, over the Louisville-Mitchell segment; these trains had to make an unusual reverse movement to go from the Monon to the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line to St. Louis, owing to an unfavorable track arrangement at the crossing of the lines in Mitchell. As of 2009, CSX has stopped making regular movements over the line, with trains being shifted to the nearby Louisville and Indiana Railroad via a trackage rights agreement.

Amtrak's Cardinal train traverses the former Monon thrice weekly from Crawfordsville to the Indiana state line near Chicago. Station stops along the former Monon include Lafayette, Rensselaer, and Dyer.

The line through Lafayette was relocated in 2000 to an alignment along the Wabash River, parallel to the similarly relocated Norfolk Southern Railway line. Previously, the Monon Line ran down the middle of Fifth Street, with a hotel serving as its passenger station well into the Amtrak era.

The Monon Line has been abandoned in Hammond and Munster north of the junction with the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, but the corridor is planned to be rebuilt as the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District West Lake Corridor. Initially running as far south as Munster/Dyer Main Street, long-term plans would see services extend as far as Lowell and Valparaiso, Indiana.

Museums
The Indiana Railway Museum in French Lick operates trains south from French Lick to Cuzco, Indiana, out of the former Monon (Union) depot in French Lick, Indiana.

The Monon Connection, which opened in 2005. is on U.S. 421 north of Monon.

Located in a disused Monon railroad station, the Linden Railroad Museum is owned and operated by the Linden-Madison Township Historical Society. In 1852, the Michigan City, Salem and New Albany Railroad cut through Montgomery County. The old stage road between Crawfordsville and Linden was given to the railroad as an inducement to get it to build through Linden. 1852 also saw the building of the first Linden depot, on a site behind the present day post office. The building was moved to the current location in 1881 when the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad was built through Linden, crossing the Monon at this location.

The John Hay Center in Salem has the Depot Railroad Station Museum, honoring the Monon. It has also been the home of the Monon Railroad Historical/Technical Society since summer 2012.

The Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, Kentucky, displays Monon's Diesel Engine No. 32, an Electro-Motive Division (EMD) BL2 model, in its original black and gold paint scheme.

The French Lick West Baden Museum in French Lick acquired a major Monon Railroad Artifact collection in 2021 that is on display from November 2022 through mid-2023.

title: Monon Railroad


text:
User talk:Bobby Digital

I am a busy spelling bee

Linux
I reverted your changes because (1) you copyedited an exact quote from an email (2) you broke the URL to the email - please watch out for this!

And welcome to Wikipedia. We do need spelling correction all over :-) - David Gerard 13:12, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC) I will be more careful in future, thanks for the advice.

title: User talk:Bobby Digital


text:
Das Bild

Das Bild may refer to
 * Bild, a German newspaper
 * "Das Bild" (Schubert), a song composed in 1815

title: Das Bild


text:
Talk:Prittlewell

Untitled
Changed the line about 'many old public houses' in Prittlewell- I can only think of 4, The Spread Eagle, The Blue Boar, The Golden lion and the Railway, which isn't very historical. I suppose you could also count the Nelson (if you must...). And there is also the Bell on Prince Ave, but that isn't histoical at all...

quercus robur 22:06, 27 Sep 2004 (UTC)

7th(?) century arch in Prittlewell church
Pevsner and other sources accept the arch as 7th century. Does anyone know the source that raises the doubt about age reflected in the text? Rjm at sleepers (talk) 11:23, 22 November 2009 (UTC)
 * I have not found a source that casts doubt on the age of the arch, so I have removed the following: " is thought by some to be all that remains of the earliest stone building. However, there is opinion that the arch is of later construction, with that part of the current chancel dating from the early decades of the 11th century, having been built using materials from earlier constructions in the wider area of Prittlewell." Rjm at sleepers (talk) 09:31, 26 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Pevsner et al were probably wrong - I've updated this paragraph on the basis of a recent article in Medieval Archaeology. John O'London (talk) 13:23, 13 December 2019 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20050909212608/http://www.southendmuseums.co.uk/history/soshist/soshistory1.htm to http://www.southendmuseums.co.uk/history/soshist/soshistory1.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060517064835/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archive/exhibits/prittlewell/index.htm to http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archive/exhibits/prittlewell/index.htm
 * Added tag to http://www.molas.org.uk/pages/siteReports.asp?siteid=pr03&section=preface

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title: Talk:Prittlewell