Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers was commissioned by the Southport School in 2010 to honour the school’s respectful tradition of remembering the ‘old boys’ who served in WWI, WWII and the Vietnam War. The school has a close affiliation to the 39th Batallion. Sally Lockett, Head of Choral and Rob Cooke, Head of Music were both involved in Paul’s research.

More than 75% of the school enlisted in the Great War and 52 boys out of 300 never came home. The St Albans Church was erected in their honour and the names of these fallen soldiers line the entrance. A candle is lit every day in their memory. There is a memorial room in the school, where also every day the school captain opens the pages from a large book, each page the story of an old boy who sacrificed his life for freedom and country.

100_1071 NEWBand of Brothers is a stirring and emotional dedication to the Anzacs and is well suited to male choirs. It has been sung at various Anzac Day events in Australia and was the Southport School’s festival piece for their tour of Europe in 2012, chosen as the Finale to the Summa Cum Laude Festival in Vienna.

The piece is also scored for strings, percussion and brass. Contact Paul directly for any parts. The SATB version is essentially a TB version with treble.

An early performance of ‘Band of Brothers’ at the Southport School

 

Themes

Sing a choir favourite Sing a Finale Sing a history Sing a Jarman classic Sing a message Sing an Australian story
Duration 4:20
Key Eb Major modulating to F and G Major
Range Bb2 to G4 Standard ranges for Tenors and Basses. Treble version standard range.
More info Available with strings and small brass, percussion. Contact Paul directly for parts and scores.
Price AU$3.00 per copy

Lyrics

B A N D   O F   B R O T H E R S                        
 
By Paul Jarman
                       
Side by side forever young
Row on row our finest sons
Though you never came home
Your memory lives on

Every day we turn the page
Another hero proud and brave
For to honor your name
Lest we forget, we will remember

We belong to a band of brothers
Let he who merits bear the palm

There are no words to do you right
It’s in how we live this life
So we lead serving all
We walk in our hero’s light

Embrace this world with an open mind
Let our kindness stretch far and wide
Then united we stand
Brother for brother, man to man
	
We belong to a band of brothers
Let he who merits bear the palm
We belong to a band of brothers
Like you before our spirit shines

Stand your ground head held high
Last of your kind prepared to die
Laid your life on the line
No greater love can a brother find

We are a band of brothers

© Paul Jarman 2010