…Just an obscure question about the old Michael Caine movie Zulu, and some of the singing therein.
At one point, during a lull in the fighting, one of the British soldiers starts singing something that sounds, if anything, like the Christmas song “Deck the Halls.”
Now, a little digging has shown that the battle of Rorke’s Drift actually took place in late January, not December.
So, was there another “period” song that just happens to have the same tune as “Deck the Halls”? Was it just a flub by the filmmakers? None of the above?
Ranchoth is perfectly correct; I haven’t watched the film is about 5 years, but lord knows I’ve seen it enought times to remember it–there is a scene (shortly after the very first Zulu feint on the station, IIRC), where one exuberant 24th soldier breaks into song, and the tune is pretty much note-for-note “Deck the Halls.” All he sings is “Li-de-di-de-di-de-di-do” sort of thing.
The question here is, what is the history of the popular Christmas song “Deck the Halls,” was there an older song with the same tune, and did the director(s)/actor know about it or just wing it? They played pretty fast and loose with poor old Private Hook’s real history, after all…
Here’s a better cite: “Deck the Halls” is based on a Welsh melody first published in “Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards” by Edward Jones (1784). This tune is also used in a New Year’s song called “Nos galan,” popular in Wales."