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Military Taps
Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.
Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep.
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.
Love, good night,
Must thou go,
When the day,
And the night
Need thee so?
All is well.
Speedeth all
To their rest.
Fades the light;
And afar Goeth day,
And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well;
Day has gone,
Night is on.
Thanks and praise,
For our days,
'Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
'Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.
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| From the Desk of the Department Chaplain
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| Paul C. Rodriguez (512-28)
The American Legion
Department of California
Department Chaplain
email: PRBandit1@aol.com |
Articles of Interest:
The Story of "Taps"
No bugle call is so easily recognized or more apt to stir emotion than the call Taps. With its eloquent and haunting melody, the history of its origin is interesting and somewhat clouded in controversy.
Origins
Although Taps is generally attributed to General Daniel Butterfield (1831-1901), Butterfield did not compose Taps, but rather revised an earlier bugle call. By Butterfield's own account, Taps was a modified version of the call Tattoo. As a signal for end of the day, armies used Tattoo to signal troops to return to their garrisons and prepare them for bedtime roll call. It was sounded an hour before the final call of the day to extinguish all fires and lights. Butterfield wrote, "I could not write a note of music...", but "practiced a change in the call of Taps until I had it suit my ear."
Association with Funerals
The first use of Taps at a funeral was during the Peninsular Campaign of the Civil War, July 1862. A soldier of Captain John C. Tidball's Battery - A cannoneer of the 2nd Artillery - was buried at a time when the battery occupied an advanced position concealed in the woods. It was unsafe to fire the customary three volleys over the grave due to the proximity of the enemy, and it occurred to Captain Tidball that the sounding of Taps would be the most ceremony that could be substituted. The custom was taken up throughout the Army of the Potomac, and finally confirmed by orders.
The stirring melody of "Taps" that is now used at all military funerals.
It should be noted that there are other fanciful stories about the origin of Taps. Typically, they are highly romantic and not based on facts.
The Words
The words to Taps were originally "Go To Sleep, Go to Sleep." With time many more versions were created. This is the most popular version: "Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh."
"Although Butterfield merely revised an earlier bugle call, his role in producing those 24 notes gives him a place in the history of music as well as the history of war" - Jari A. Villanueva, USAF.
More about the history of Taps can be found at:
http://www.west-point.org/taps/Taps.html
Information courtesy of: http://www.west-point.org |
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