The melody has been traced back to the early 19th century.[4] The tune of "The Sash" was well known around Europe,[5] and before the lyrics were added, it was a love song that lamented the division between people. Instead of "it was old and it was beautiful", the lyrics were "she was young and she was beautiful" and is in Broadside Ballads (1787),[6] titled "Irish Molly O".[7] Another known printing of the tune is from 1876 including the words "The Hat My Father Wore".[8] The song is classified in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 4796.[9]
Lyrics
So sure I'm an UlsterOrangeman, from Erin's isle I came,
To see my British brethren all of honour and of fame,
And to tell them of my forefathers who fought in days of yore,
That I might have the right to wear the sash my father wore!
Chorus:
It is old but it is beautiful, and its colours they are fine
My father wore it as a youth in bygone days of yore,
And on the Twelfth, I love to wear the sash my father wore.
For those brave men who crossed the Boyne have not fought or died in vain
Our Unity, Religion, Laws, and Freedom to maintain,
If the call should come we'll follow the drum, and cross that river once more
That tomorrow's Ulsterman may wear the sash my father wore!
Chorus
And when some day, across the sea to Antrim's shore you come,
We'll welcome you in royal style, to the sound of flute and drum
And Ulster's hills shall echo still, from Rathlin to Dromore
As we sing again the loyal strain of the sash my father wore!
The Sash also been adapted by fans of Stockport County F.C., who call it "The Scarf My Father Wore" or simply "The Anthem".[11]
Liverpool F.C. supporters have incorporated the tune of The Sash in the song "Poor Scouser Tommy". The song has been sung since the 1960s, emerging during the Bill Shankly era, and is one of the most famous and iconic Liverpool songs.[12] The song is usually sung near the beginning of football matches, and particularly begins by the fans in the Spion Kop at Anfield.[13] Liverpool supporters also sing it at away matches. The song combines verses set to the American folk tune “Red River Valley” with a refrain beginning “I am a Liverpudlian” sung to the melody of The Sash.[14][15]
"The Sash My Father Wore" (1971) is a film short directed by history teacher Archie Reid.[16][17]
In the Channel 4 2018 sitcom "Derry Girls", which is set during the 1990s in Northern Ireland, the song is featured during the marching season.[25] Despite the character's Catholic background and the sectarian tensions depicted in the series, the character Orla McCool describes the melody of a passing loyalist band as a 'cracker tune'.
↑Thrills, Adrian (1998). You're Not Singing Anymore! A Riotous Celebration of Football Chants and the Culture that Spawned Them. United Kingdom: Ebury Publishing.
↑Loane, Terry (25 March 2005), Mickybo and Me, John Joesph Mcneill, Niall Wright, Julie Walters, Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Working Title Films, retrieved 21 January 2026
