The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #10740   Message #1472018
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
27-Apr-05 - 02:38 AM
Thread Name: What sang Sir Lancelot?
Subject: RE: What sang Sir Lancelot?
Guest is essentially correct. Shakespeare wrote it tirra-lyra. Fife-Geoffrey used it as the sound of a lark before him, as tirali (in the OED as Tiralee).
So, was Tennyson inferring that Sir Lancelot sounded like a lark?

("Toora-loora-loora, toora-loora-lay; just an Irish ....")