Under the Double Eagle

We decided to infuse our dulcimer club’s repertoire with some new tunes for gigs and jams, and started with ones which featured animals in either the title or lyrics. After some thought, we compiled a a list of 45 animal tunes! Too many to play in our club, but there are some interesting songs on the list. One tune which I’ve always wanted to learn is “Under the Double Eagle.” When I first listened to a You Tube recording of “Under the Double Eagle” as played by Roy Clark’s bluegrass band, I mused that it sounded alot alike a march. Even with Clark’s guitar rocking along, you could hear the march tempo. And indeed, as I researched this song, I found that it was composed by Josef Franz Wagner in 1893. He was an Austrian military bandmaster and composer, sometimes referred to as “The Austrian March King.” The song’s title refers to the double eagle in the coat of arms of the combined Austria-Hungary empire. You may recognize the tune as it is often played in circus routines and as well as during the Monty Python’s Flying Circus television show. I abridged the original march to make it similar to bluegrass versions and came up with a pleasing and moderately easy version for dulcimer.

About the tune

“Under the Double Eagle” was composed by Josef Franz Wagner (20 March 1856 – 5 June 1908). Wagner wrote over 400 compositions of which 250 were published. He was the bandmaster to three successive Austrian regiments in the service of the Habsburgs. The piece was the official regimental march of Austrian Artillery Regiment Number 2 until its dissolution in 2007.

Several of Wagner’s tunes include marches played by polka bands including “Tiroler Holzacker Bub’n,” which was recorded by polka bands under the titles, “Holzacker March,” and the “Jolly Lumberjack Polka.” His other well-known piece is the “Tyrolean Woodcutter March.” Wagner’s 1893 march, “Unter dem Doppeladler” (Op. 159) or “Under the Double Eagle” became his most famous march.

“Under the Double Eagle” probably made its way to this country with European immigrants with their brass and accordion bands. Inerestingly, it has become a country music classic, evolving into Bluegrass and Western Swing band repertoires. It was especially popular in Texas in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Earlier, American composer and bandleader, John Philip Sousa, liked the tune so much that his band recorded it three times. (Sousa is an American military composer who composed “Stars and Stripes Forever.”)

Abridged Version

Since “Under the Double Eagle” was first published in the United States in 1902 by a branch of Joseph Morris Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the tune falls into realm of the public domain. With a little searchng, you can find sheet music of the tune adapted for piano and other instruments. It is interesting to have the original versions as a reference point.

The song is a multi-part march, including both A and B parts. It is usually played A-B-A. Plus, the march includes an introduction. The song was written in the key of E flat major and modulates to A flat major for the “Trio.” Over the years, bluegrass and swing guitar players have abridged and modified the tune. Some of the bluegrass versions omit the introduction. Often the subtle key change is omitted.

Dulcimer Version

For the dulcimer, I made the arrangement in the Key of D using DAD tuning. I found that it was difficult to incorporate a key change into the tablature and still maintain the march tempo and strum on the dulcimer. So, I followed bluegrass versions and omitted the key change for the “trio.” In musical terms, what is a trio? It is a part written for three instruments. However, we’ll just play one instrument — the dulcimer. I liked the pickup notes in the A Part which I found in bluegrass versions (but not in the original sheet music) and kept these notes.

Since this is a march, it needs to have a steady beat and rhythm. When playing the dulcimer, I found that strumming across the strings to maintain the tempo was the best technique for me. Although you can pick some of the notes to fill to in places, this is not a gentle fingerpicked tune. I just don’t have the right wrist and thumb dexterity to flatpick, but it works for some folks and is more similar to the techniques used by guitar players in bluegrass bands.

I am enjoying my “abridged” version of “Under the Double Eagle.” It is peppy and not too dificult to play on the dulcimer. We can all pretend that we’re at the circus when playing the tune. Plus, we have many more animal tunes to share at some point in the future. Enjoy this energetic march!

Here’s a pdf file to download.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Philip_Sousa

https://www.naxos.com/Bio/Person/Josef_Franz_Wagner/22391#:~:text=Sometimes%20known%20as%20the%20Austrian,of%20which%20250%20were%20published

https://www.flutetunes.com/tunes.php?id=1053

https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Under_the_Double_Eagle