CLUCK OLD HEN [1]. AKA and see "Cackling Hen," "Chicken in the Barnyard," "Cluckin' Hen," "Hen Cackled," "Old Hen Cackled." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; West Virginia, southwest Virginia, western North Carolina, Kentucky. A Dorian or A Mixolydian (Phillips). Standard, DGDG (Harvey Sampson) or AEAE. ABB (Phillips): AABB. Charles Wolfe (1982) states the tune was popular with Kentucky fiddlers. Mt. Airy, North Carolina, fiddler Tommy Jarrell tells us that "Cluck Old Hen" is in the "old-timey tuning of A" also called the "sawmill key" (AEAE). Jarrell was inspired to learn the tune from a distant relative and musical contemporary of his father (fiddler Ben Jarrell), named Tony Lowe, who enphused the tune with an intricate routine which combined pizzicato "clucks" on the fiddle with elaborate gestures: "He'd swing the whole fiddle way out, and when he started back he'd pluck it in again and hit that with the bow, and all the while he'd never miss his time," said Jarrell (quoted by Barry Poss, 1976). It so happened that Russel County, southwest Virginia, musician Fiddlin' Cowan Powers was playing this tune on stage with the Stanley Brothers (Carter & Ralph) in Saltville, Virginia, when he had a fatal heart attack in the early 1950's.
***
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railroad men;
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes enough for the whole damn crew.
***
First time she cackled, she cackled in the lot,
Next time she cackled she cackled in the pot;
Cluck Old Hen, cluck and squall,
Ain't laid an egg since late last fall.
***
Cluck old hen, cackle and sing,
You ain't laid an egg since way last spring.
Cluck old hen, cackle and squall,
You ain't laid an egg since late last fall. (Johnson)
***
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railroad men;
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes three and sometimes four.
Sometimes five, sometimes six,
Sometimes seven and sometimes eight;
Sometimes nine, sometimes ten,
And thats enough for the railroad men.
***
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railroad men;
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes enough for the whole damn crew.
First time she cackled she cackled in the lot,
Next time she cackled she cackled in the pot;
Cluck Old Hen, cluck and sing,
Ain't laid and egg since late last spring.
***
My old hen, she won't do,
She lays eggs and 'taters too; (Frank Proffitt)
***
The old hen she cackled,
She cackled in the morn;
She cackled for the rooster
To come get his pecker warm. (Tom P. Smith, W.Va.)
***
Cluck old hen, cluck for your corn,
Cluck old hen, your winter's all gone.
***
Cluck old hen, cluck in a lot,
The next time you cluck, you'll cook in a pot.
***
I had a little hen, she had a wooden leg,
The best danged hen that ever laid eggs.
***
Laid more eggs than the hens around the barn,
Another little drink wouldn't do me no harm. (Tommy Jarrell)
***
Cluck Old Hen, cluck I tell you,
Don't lay an egg, I'm a-gonna sell you. (Joel Shimberg)
***
My old hen died, what'll I do
Guess I'll have some chicken stew (Neal Walters)
***
Cluck old hen, cluck all night,
Soon you will be Chicken Delight
***
Probable, possible. my fat hen.
She lays eggs in the relative when.
She might lay eggs in the positive now,
If only she could postulate how.
***
Cluck old hen, cluck I say,
The Dow-Jones average is down today.
Cluck old hen, cluck six-ten,
The Dow-Jones average is down again. (Neil Rossi)
***
Possible, probable my black hen
She lays eggs in the relative when
She can't lay eggs in the positive now
For she's unable to postulate how. (Spark Gap Wonder Boys)
***
Sources for notated versions: Jay Unger (West Hurley, New York) [Kuntz]: Charlie Higgins and Wade Ward (Va.) [Krassen]. Ken Kosek [Phillips]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 70. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 92 (appears as "Cackling Hen"). Johnson (The Kitchen Musician: Occasional Collection of Old-Timey Fiddle Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer, Fiddle, etc.), No. 2, 1982/1988; pg. 2. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 35. Kuntz (Ragged But Right), 1987; pg. 219-220. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 2, 1995; pg. 32. Warner (Traditional American Folk Songs), 1984; pgs. 292-293. Augusta Heritage Recordings AHR-004C, Harvey Sampson and the Big Possum String Band - "Flat Foot in the Ashes" (1986/1994. Learned by Calhoun County, W.Va., fiddler Harvey Sampson from his father and others). Bay 204, The Arkansas Sheiks- "Whiskey Before Breakfast." Carryon Records 007, The Renegades - "I Need to Find." Cassette C-7625, Wilson Douglas - "Back Porch Symphony." County 405, "The Hill-Billies." County 701, Kyle Creed & Fred Cockerham - "Clawhammer Banjo." County 745, John Ashby- "Down on Ashby's Farm." County 756, Tommy Jarrell- "Sail Away Ladies" (1976). Folk Legacy FSA 1, Frank Proffitt (1962). Folkways Records, Vester Jones - "Music of Carroll and Grayson Counties" (c. 1964). Gennett 6436 (78 RPM), 1928, G.B. Grayson (Va.). Heritage 080, Enoch Rutherford - "Old Cap'n Rabbit." In the repertoire of Fiddlin' Cowan Powers 1877-1952? (Russell County, Va.) and recorded by him for Edison in 1925. Recorded on a 78 by Grayson and Whitter. Rounder Records, "Spark Gap Wonder Boys" (1970). Voyager Records, Vivian Williams - "Winter Moon."
T:Cluck Old Hen
L:1/8
M:2/4
B:Kuntz - Ragged but Right
K:A
[Ae]a =g/a/g/f/|e/d/e/e/ df|[Ae]a =g/a/g/f/|e/c/B A2|[Ae]a =g/a/g/f/|e/d/e//e/ df|
[Ae]a =g/a/g/f/|e/c/B A2||
[Ae][Ae] [c>e>][ce]|[A/e/][B/e/][Ae] [=G>A>][GA]|[Ae][A/e/][B/e/] [c/e/][B/e/][c/e/]d/|
e/c/B A2|[Ae][Ae] [c>e>][ce]|[A/e/][B/e/][Ae] [=G>A>][GA]|
[Ae][A/e/][B/e/] [c/e/][B/e/][c/e/]d/|e/d/B A2||
I HAVE A WIFE OF MY OWN (Ta Bean Agam Fem). AKA - "I Hae a Wife o' My Ain." AKA and see "Beauteous Fair Molly," "Bless My Soul, Why Shouldn't I?" "Jack Won't Sell His Fiddle," "Ragged Lady," "Spatter the Mud." English, Scottish, Irish; Slip Jig or Country Dance Tune. England, Northumberland. Ireland, County Cork. E Dorian. Standard. AABB. A tune by the name was popular in the early 18th century in Scotland, and transported to the island of Whalsay in Shetland (Cooke). John Glen (1891) finds the earliest printing of the tune in Robert Bremner's 1757 collection (pg. 45) while another early Scottish printing can be found 1768 Gillespie Manuscript of Perth. Source for notated version: O'Neill later in life obtained this version of the tune from the manuscripts of Timothy Downing, a gentleman farmer of Tralibane, County Cork, who taught O'Neill the rudiments of the flute when the latter was a boy during the 1860's [O'Neill/Irish Folk Music]. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 1, 1799; pg. 16. Hall & Stafford (Charlton Memorial Tune Book), 1974; pg. 5. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 2; No. 315, pg. 34. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 450, pg. 88. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 129.
T:I hae a wife o' my ain
L:1/8
M:9/8
S:Gow - 1st Repository
K:E Minor
EFE ~G2A B3|EFE G2A BGE|EFE ~G2A B^cd|DED {^c}d2B AFD:|
g>ag fgf e3|EFE ~G2A BGE|g>ag fgf e3|DED {^c}d2B AFD|g>ag fgf e3|
EFE ~G2A BGE|g>ag fgf efg|DED DdB AFD||
JACK LIMBERLEGS. Old-Time, Song Tune (2/4 time, irregular measure at beginning). G Mixolydian. DGDG. One part. An American nonsense-type song, a take-off on the limberjack, a wooden doll with hinged limbs which 'dances' when place on a wooden strip that is then sprung. Lyrics to the tune go:
***
I went to the market sell some eggs,
There I spied Jack Limberlegs.
Twas limber legs and limber toes,
Two black eyes and a teapot nose.
***
Old Nan Tucker son-in-law
Biggest fool I ever saw.
He wore his shirt outside his coat,
Buttoned his britches up 'round his throat.
***
My gran-mammy lookin' like she been sheared,
'N gran-pappy he had a great ling beard.
He looked like his face was carved in stone,
He looked like a goat but he had no horn.
***
You talk about your honey but you ought to see mine,
She's humpbacked, bowlegged, crippled and blind,
She ain't so good lookin' but she dresses mighty fine,
Maybe some day she'll be divine.
***
I went to the market sell some eggs,
There I spied Jack Limberlegs.
'Twas limber legs and liber toes,
Two black eyes and a teapot nose. (Reiner & Ancik)
***
Source for notated version: Arthur 'Cush' Holston (Florida) via Lloyd Baldwin [Reiner & Anick]. Reiner & Anick (Old Time Fiddling Across America), 1989; pg. 118.
JACK WON'T SELL HIS FIDDLE. AKA and see "I Have a Wife of My Own."
LENNOX LOVE TO BLANTYRE. AKA - "Lennon's Love to Blaner." Scottish (originally), Canadian; Strathspey. Canada, Cape Breton. F Major. Standard. AAB. The title of the tune is the curious name given to a house and estate originally called 'Lethington,' located near Haddington in East Lothian, Scotland (now owned by the present Duke and Duchess of Hamilton). The name was changed when Frances Teresa Stewart (Stuart), Duchess of Lennox and Richmond (b. 1647), bequeathed it to her nephew, requesting that its name be changed to "Lennox Love" as a token of her love and in memory of her husband. A slightly different story (told by Alison Kinnaird) has it the local lairds of East Lothian frequently dined together at their various estates in the county, and that Lord Blantyre often joined them, though he owned no lands in the region. The Duke of Lauderdale often remarked on this circumstance and fascitiously offered to sell Lethington to Blantyre, knowing that the latter was without sufficient funds for the purchase. Frances was Blantyre's cousin, and hearing of his predicament advised him to accept the next time Lauderdale offered, and sent him the money for the transaction in a casket, along with "the Duchess of Lennox's Love." Blantyre made the purchase and changed the estate's name to Lennoxlove in tribute.
***
Frances was known as "La Belle Stewart," according to Neil (1991), and was a great beauty, one of king Charles II's favorites. Her facsimile appeared on British coinage in the latter 17th century as part of the emblem of "Britania." The casket which held the money she gave to Blantyre was a gift to her from Charles II, and supposedly still is in the possession of the Hamilton family at the estate.
***
The melody can be found (incomplete) in the Margaret Sinkler MS, 1710, as "Lennox Love to Blanter," though John Glen (1891) found its earliest appearance in print a bit later, in Robert Bremner's 1757 collection (pg. 17). See also Alburger's note for "How Can I Keep My Maidenhead" and "Braes of Auchtertyre." The directions for the country dance to this tune, but not the melody, appear in the Holmain Manuscript, 1710-50. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 1, 1799; gp. 29 (appears as "Lennox's Love to Blantyre"). Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 3; No. 154, pg. 18. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 4, pg. 7. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 140. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 204. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. NMAS 1972, Natalie MacMaster - "Fit as a Fiddle" (1993).
T:Lennoxlove to Blantyre
L:1/8
M:C
R:Strathspey
B:The Athole Collection
K:F Major
C|F2 F>G A>GF>A|GGA>c d>cd>e|f>gf>d c>AF>A|B>GA>F D2D:|
f|c>df>g a>gf>a|g>fg>a g>fd>f|c>df>g a>gf>a|g>fb>a g2 f>d|
c>df>g a>gf>a|g>fg>a g>fd>f|~c>df>g f<g a>g|f>cb>a g2f||
NIGHT BEFORE LARRY WAS STRETCHED, THE (An Oidce Roime Crocad Lamrais). AKA and see "To the hundreds of Drury I write." Irish, Air (9/8 time, "with spirit"). G Dorian. Standard. AB. The song is a member of a group of Execution Songs written in the 1780's in Newgate (prison) Cant or Slang Style in the 1780s. It begins:
***
Oh the night before Larry was stretched [i.e., hanged]
The boys they all paid him a visit,
A bait [food] in their sacks too they fetched,
For they sweated their duds [pawned their clothes]
till they ris it [rose it, i.e., got the money].
For Larry was ever the lad
When a boy was condemned to the squeezer [noose]
Would fence [sell] all the duds that he had
For to help his poor friend to a sneezer [drink?]
and warm his gob [mouth] 'fore he died.
***
There were numerous other satirical or comical ballads written to the tune. O'Neill (1850), 1979; No. 39, pg. 7.
T:The night before Larry was stretched
S:Frank Harte
M:6/8
L:1/8
Z:transcribed by Paul de Grae
K:DDor
c2 B|ADD DED|C3 z EG|ADD DEG|Ac2-c2 B|
ADD DED|C3 z EG|ADD EDC|DD2-D2 G|
Add ded|c3 z GG|Add ded|cAc-c2 G|
Add ded|c3 c2 B|ADD DEG|Ac2-c2 z|
PETER'S PEERIE BOAT (Peter's Little Boat). AKA and see "Hooper's Jig." Shetland, Jig. D Major. Standard. AA'B (Hunter): AABB (Anderson). Composed by Tom Anderson in 1949 in honor of Peter Leith, the first pianist of the Islesburgh Scottish Country Dance Band (of which Anderson was the leader). The pianist was a very keen sailing enthusiast and loved boats, one small (peerie) one of which he was trying to sell. Anderson "used to complain that he thought more about the boat than about the piano accompaniments--so he wrote a tune about it!" (Hunter, 1979). This tune was first used by Jimmy Shand and his Band in the early 50's for the dance 'Hoopers Jig,' and has been played on the radio by most leading Scottish Dance Bands. Anderson (Ringing Strings), 1983; pg. 26. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 297.
PRICE OF MY PIG, THE. Irish, Double Jig. A Minor. Standard. AB (Darley & McCall): AABB (Cranitch).
***
In the year twenty nine when the weather was fine
I first made me way to the sweet fair of Trim
For to sell a fine swine it was my design
She was plump fat and fair and complete in each limb
This pig was as mild as a lamb or a child
You could whip her all over the world with a twig
And the truth for to tell, I sold her quite well
Two pounds ten was the price that I got for my pig
***
I slapped the cash to me thigh saying "I'll drink by and by"
Down the street I did fly, like a sporting young buck
When a handsome young dame who belonged to the game
She right up to me came to be sure for good luck
She gave me a wink to go in for a drink
Inveigled me up to dance Hennessy's Jig
Twas at the wheel round she slipped her hand down
And then left me quite scarce of the price of my pig!
***
Like a man in despair when I missed me fair share
I went tearing me hair seeking her up and down
Every corner and lane I did search out in vain
But a sprig of this dame sure could never be found
Meet her well I will or I surely will kill
This I swear by the hair on Lord Norbury's wig
Till the day that I die my revenge I will try
On the dame that did rob me the price of me pig
***
On to Navan next day sure I then took me way
For I heard people say that this dame had been seen
But when I got there, having some time to spare
I wetted me care with a drop of poteen
The first to come in, it was Tatterjack Flynn
And we danced a few steps of a nice double jig
Thinking, aye, be-and-by that I'd soon set me eye
On the dame that did rob me the price of me pig
***
Oh by Tara by Skreen, by the Bog of Armeen
By John Paddy McGee by the high Hill of Howth
By the Church, by the bell , by the great Book of Kells
Fort to swear anymore, do you know that I'm loath!
If the Lord of Mayo he but heard of me woe
I'm sure he would come in a chaise or a gig
And he'd search the land round till this dame would be found
And be clattered in pound for the price of me pig
***
Now that it's so, its homeward I'll go
My shuttle I'll throw and from drink I'll refrain
I'll stick to me loom while my youth is in bloom
And I'll never be caught by a strumpet again
Sincerely I swear and I swear I'm sincere
Not a week will go by or a month or a year
That upon that transaction I'll have satisfaction
All on that bad action that lost me me pig!
***
Source for notated version: Mr. T.L. O'Callaghan, bandmaster of Reformatory (Philipstown, King's Co., Ireland) [Darley & McCall]. Cranitch (Irish Fiddle Book), 1996; No. 7, pg. 127. Darley & McCall (The Darley & McCall Collection of Traditional Irish Music), 1914; No. 40, pg. 17.
T:Price of my Pig, The
L:1/8
M:6/8
Z:transcribed by Jürgen Gier
K:AMin
EAA AGA|~B3 GAB|~c3 ~B3|AGE E2D|\
EAA AGA|~B3 GAB|eBc ~B3|AGE E2D:|
|:efe ded|~c3 ~B3|~c3 ~B3|AGE E2D|\
EAA AGA|B/c/dB GAB|eBc ~B3|AGE E3:|
RATTLING, ROARING WILLIE. AKA and see "Rantin' Roarin' Willy," "Mr. Robertson of Ladykirk's Delight," "The Mitford Galloway," "Tom Noke's Jig," "Come Open the Door Sweet Betty". Scottish, English; Slip Jig. England, Northumberland. A Mixolydian (Gow, Hunter, Kerr): D Mixolydian (Alburger, Vickers): G Mixolydian (Neil, Stokoe & Bruce). Standard. One part (Alburger, Neil): AB (Stokoe): AABB (Gow, Hunter, Kerr): AABBCC (Vickers). The tune is old, appearing in the Blakie Manuscript (1692). It was supposed to have been composed by John Cowan, who, according to Robert Riddell (d. 1794) was : "a very noted performer on the Fiddle, at Newton Stewart in Galloway. He died (as I have been informed,) before the middle of the present Century, having obtained longevity in its plentitude. Old Peter MacNaughtan Fiddler at Monniehive [Moniave] told me he was taught by John Cowan about the year 1725, and he was then an old man" (Alburger, 1983). Directions for the dance to this tune were written down by John McGill in 1752, dancing master in Girvan, for his students. Robert Burns wrote the words for the tune which appear in Johnson's Scots Musical Museum and tell the tale of a protagonist who is claimed to be the same character who is the subject of the Border ballad entitled "Rattlin' Willie". The air he collected is from Atkinson's 1694 manuscript.
**
Rattlin' Roarin' Willie
O he held tae the fair
An for tae sell his fiddle
And buy some other ware
But partin wi' his fiddle
The salt tear blin't hie e'e
And rattlin roarin Willie
Ye're welcome hame tae me.
**
Rattlin' Willie was a wandering fiddler famous as both a musician and as a brawler in the Jedburgh (Jeddart) area, whose "sword-hand was dreaded as much as his bowing arm was admired". He fell out with another fiddler named Robin Rool (Robin of Rule Water) after an argument over their respective musical abilities and in the fight that ensued Robin was killed. His death was avenged at the hands of two of the Elliots, who in turn slew Willie. Scott alludes to Rattlin' Roarin' Willie (described as "the jovial harper") in his The Lay of the Last Minstrel, noting that he was a real person. Other accounts say that Willie, still a 'rantin', roarin' lad, lived in the 17th century and did business in the Hawick and Langholm districts, until, having had the misfortune to murder a brother in trade who passed by the name of 'Sweet Milk', he was executed at Jedburgh. Neil (1991) quotes the following verse:
**
The Lasses of Ousenam Water
Are rugging and riving their hair,
And a' for the sake O' Willie-
They'll hear his sangs nae mair,
Nae mair to his merry fiddle
Dance Teviot's maidens free;
My curses on their cunning
That gar'd sweet Willie dee!
**
The title ("Ranting Roaring Willie") appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800, though Stokoe & Bruce (1882) say that the tune is better known to Northumbrian pipers as "The Mitford Galloway". They continue: "(The melody) is of English parentage, as it can be traced to the year 1669, where it appears in the first edition of Apollo's Banquet as 'Tom Noke's Jig'. Afterwards, it is to be found in the ballad operas of Flora, 1729; The Cobbler's Opera, 1729; and Achilles, 1733, in each of which works it is called 'Come Open the Door Sweet Betty'. Under this title many popular ballads were written to it. The time, indeed, is different--it is in 6/8 time; but it is virtually the same tune. The writer of the ballad, 'The Mitford Galloway', was Thomas Whittle, an eccentric and ingenious poet, who lived at Cambo in the beginning of last century [i.e. 18th]. The song is a description of the adventures of a whirligig maker or wood turner in the pursuit of a runaway galloway or pony, and the ingenious way in which the names of the different localities are interwoven with the story reveal a marvellous command of the rhyming faculty. Whittle died in indigent circumstances at East Shaftoe, and was buried at Hartburn on the 19th April, 1731. His poetical works were published in 1815 by William Robson, schoolmaster, Cambo" (Bruce & Stokoe). Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1983; Ex. 86, pg. 139. Bruce & Stokoe (Northumbrian Minstrelsy), 1882; pgs. 189-190 (appears as "Rantin' Roarin' Willie"). Carlin (Gow Collection), 1986; No. 371. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 302. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 3; No. 216, pg. 25. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 29, pg. 37. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987; No. 286 (appears as "Rantin' Roaring Willy"). Criona - "The Old Man's Teeth."
T:Rantin' Roarin' Willie
T:The Mitford Galloway
L:1/8
M:9/4
S:Bruce & Stokoe
K:G
e2|dcBABG d4 G2 Bc d2e2|=f2 gfed f2c2A2 c4 e2|
dcBABG B4 G2 Bc d2 ef|efefge g2d2B2 d4 ef|
gfefge g2d2B2 d2c2B2|c2B2A2=f2c2A2 cBcdef|g4d2e4d2 gfefge|
dcBcdB c2A2F2G4||e2|G2 BcdB d2 BcdB G2 BcdB|
F2 ABcA =f2 c2A2 c4e2|G2 BcdB d2 BcdB G2 BcdB|
g2 BcdB d2 BcdB d4 ef|g2 BcdB d2 B cdB g2 BcdB|
c2 ABcA =f2 c2 A2 cBcdef|g4d2 e4d2 gfefge|dcBcdB c2A2F2 G4||
SPAILPÍN FÁNAC(H), AN. AKA and see "As Slow Our Ship," "Brighton Camp," "The Girl I Left Behind Me," "The Rambling Labourer," "The Wandering Labourer." Irish, Slow Air (4/4 time). G Major. Standard. One part.
***
AN SPAILPÍN FÁNACH
***
Go deo deo arís ní raghad go Caiseal
ag díol ná ag reic mo shláinte,
Ar mhargadh na saoire im shuí cois balla
nó im scaoinse ar leataoibh sráide;
Bodairí na tíre ag tíocht ar a gcapaill
á fhiafraí an bhfuilim híreáilte;
'Téanam chun siúil, tá an cúrsa fada!'
-seo ar siúl an spailpín fánach.
***
Im spailpín fánach a fágadh mise
ag seasamh ar mo shláinte,
Ag siúl an drúchta go moch ar maidin
ag bailiú galair ráithe;
Ní fheicfear corrán im láimh chun bainte,
súist ná feac beag rámhainne,
Ach colours na bhFrancach os cionn mo leapa
is pike agam chun sáite.
***
Go Callainn nuair théim 's mo hook im ghlac is
mé ansúd i dtosach gearrtha,
Is nuair théim go Dúilinn 's é clú bhíonn acu
'Seo chúibh an spailpín fánach!';
Cruinneoidh mé ciall 's triallfad abhaile
is cloífead seal lem mháithrín,
's go bráth arís ní ghlaofar m'ainm
sa tír seo 'an spailpín fánach'.
***
Mo chúig chéad slán chun dúthaigh m'athar
'gus chun an Oileáin ghrámhair,
's chun buachaillí na Cúlach ós dóibh nár mheasa
in aimsir chasta an gharda ann;
Ach anois ó táimse im thráill bhocht dhealamh
i measc na ndúthaí fáin seo,
Is é mo chumha croí mar fuair mé an ghairm
bheith riamh im spailpín fánach.
***
I gCiarraí an ghrinn do gheofaí an ainnir
go mb'fhonn le fear suí láimh léi,
'na mbeadh lasadh trí lítis 'na gnaoi mar eala,
is a cúl fionn fada fáinneach;
A cruinne-chíocha riamh nár scaipeadh,
's a mala chaol mar shnáthaid,
's mór go mb'fhearr í ná sraoill ó Challainn
'na mbeadh na céadta púnt le fáil léi.
***
'S ró-bhreá is cuimhin liom mo dhaoin' bheith sealad
thiar ag Droichead Gáile,
Faoi bhuaibh, faoi chaoirigh, faoi laoigh beag' geala
agus capaill ann le háireamh;
Ach b'é toil Chríost gur cuireadh sin astu
's go ndeaghamar i leith ár sláinte,
Is gurbh é bhris mo chroí i ngach tír dá rachaim-
'Call here you, spailpín fánach!'
***
Dá dtigeadh an Francach anall thar caladh
is a champa daingean láidir,
'gus Bóic Ó Gráda chúinn abhaile
is Tadhg bocht fial Ó Dálaigh,
Do bheadh barracks an rí go léir á leagadh
agus yeomen 'gainn á gcarnadh,
Clanna Gall gach am á dtreascairt-
sin cabhair ag an spailpín fánach!
***
This is taken from Nua-Dhuanaire, Cuid III. A Connaught version is also
cited, and the following verse quoted:
***
Tá na Franncaigh anois istigh i gCill Eala
agus béidhmuid go leathan láidir;
Tá Bonaparte i gCaisleán an Bharraigh
ag iarraidh an dlighe a cheap Sáirséal;
Béidh beairicí an ríogh is gach éan-oidhche thrí lasadh
agus yeomen againn á gcarnadh;
Puiceanna an Bhéarla go síorruidh d'á leagan-
sin cabhair ag an Spailpín Fánach.
***
THE ROVER (George Sigerson)
***
No more, no more in Cashel town
I'll sell my health a-raking,
Nor on days of fairs rove up and down
Nor join the merry making.
There, mounted farmers come in throngs
To seek and hire me over,
But now I'm hired, and my journey's long,
The journey of the Rover.
***
I've found, what rovers often do,
I trod my health down fairly;
And that wand'ring out on morning dew
Will gather fevers early.
No more shall flail swing o'er my head,
Nor my hand a spade-shaft cover,
But the banner of France will float instead,
And the Pike stand by the Rover!
***
When to Callan once, with hook in hand,
I'd go for early shearing,
Or to Dublin town-the news was grand
That the "Rover gay" was nearing.
And soon with good gold home I'd go,
And my mother's field dig over,
But no more-no more this land shall know
My name as the "Merry Rover!"
***
Five hundred farewells to Fatherland!
To my loved and lovely Island!
And to Culach boys-they'd better stand
Her guards by glen and highland.
But now that I am poor and lone,
A wand'rer-not in clover-
My heart it sinks with bitter moan
To have ever lived a Rover.
***
In pleasant Kerry lives a girl,
A girl whom I love dearly;
Her cheek's a rose, her brow's a pearl,
And her blue eyes shine so clearly!
Her long fair locks fall curling down
O'er a breast untouched by lover-
More dear than dames with a hundred poun'
Is she unto the Rover!
***
Ah, well I mind, my own men drove
My cattle in no small way;
With cows, with sheep, with calves, they'd move
With steeds, too, west to Galway.
Heaven willed I'd lose each horse and cow,
And my health but half recover-
It breaks my heart, for her sake, now
That I'm only a sorry Rover.
***
But when once the French come o'er the main,
With stout camps in each valley,
With Buck O'Grady back again,
And poor brave Tadhg Ó Dálaigh-
Oh, The Royal Barracks in dust shall lie,
The yeomen we'll chase over;
And the English clan be forced to fly-
'Tis the sole hope of the Rover!
***
Ó Canainn (Traditional Slow Airs of Ireland), 1995; No. 94, pg. 81. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 972, pg. 167.
T:Spalpeen Fanach, The
T:Spailpín Fánach, An
L:1/8
M:C
R:Set Dance
S:O'Neill - 1001 Gems (972)
K:G
gf|efed B2A2|GABG E2 EF|G2 GF GABc|dedc B2 gf|
efed B2A2|GABG E2G2|FGAF DEFA|G3 G2:|
|:GA|Bdef g2 fg|agfe d2 Bd|edef gfed|e2f2g2 fg|efed BcBA|
GABG EDEG|FGAF DEFA|G3G2:|