A Lincolnshire Posy, considered Grainger's masterpiece, was composed for concert band in 1937. The work is composed of six movements, each adapted from folk songs that Grainger had collected on a 1905–1906 trip to Lincolnshire, England. Grainger maintained the personality and quirks of each singer he heard on his trip, creating a a musical portrait of the singer's personality and musical style.
 
Lord Melbourne is the 5th movement of Lincolnshire Posy and is a fierce and heavy war song. After the free opening, the movement alternates bewtween more lyric phrases of mixed meter sections interupted by returns to the heavy free time of the opening.