The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #20109   Message #1815732
Posted By: Malcolm Douglas
21-Aug-06 - 11:05 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Blackwaterside
Subject: RE: Origins: Blackwaterside
"The odd one out" only in the sense that it wasn't adopted much by Revival singers. As we've seen, Paddy Tunney got his set from Paddy Doran. Peter Kennedy recorded the Doran set, and also one from Winnie Ryan; it was, apparently, the latter set which Isla Cameron learned. Likely, Liam Clancy learned it from her. Cameron and Clancy both seem to have made changes to Winnie Ryan's melody, which resulted in the form that we're now familiar with, and which has since been sung by everybody and his or her dog.

Some alterations were also made to Winnie Ryan's text at quite an early date, if it was indeed the source of the Revival form. Even if it wasn't, it's pretty clear that all examples of the well-known form (including the Cameron and Clancy recordings, and the later Altan arrangement) derive from a single source; and not so very long ago.

The song group (Roud 564, Laws P18) is reasonably large, but the Irish "Blackwater" localisation is rare in tradition, and seems to have been introduced from other "Blackwaterside" songs on different subjects. As to other songs sung to the Doran/Tunney tune, I don't know at the moment; but I'll post the melody here as abc as soon as I have time; perhaps it will be helpful to others.