The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #13133   Message #2664576
Posted By: MartinRyan
25-Jun-09 - 02:57 PM
Thread Name: Origins: facts behind 'Roddy McCorley'
Subject: RE: Origins: facts behind 'Roddy McCorley'
Hi Roy

Nice to meet you! I've no intention of trying to have you deleted - on the contrary, my comment was made in the hope that you WOULD supply a name and not fall foul of the "no anonymous postings in threads" rule around here. This is pretty strictly applied in threads with political content and less strictly in those that stick to music. That's all.

So - back to the music. I have a particular interest in the Carrickfergus/Do bhí bean uasail song, the earliest evidence for which seems to be a 19C. broadsheet song called The Young Sick Lover. This has verses in English alternating with verses in (phonetically rendered) Irish. The verses are not translations of each other.

If you know of any evidence for the Carrickfergus set on its own, before, say, mid 19C. - I'd be very interested in seeing it. Equally, I'd love to see a set in Irish pre-dating the Young Sick Lover date. I've seen no trace of it. I have absolutely no idea which, if either, came first - and I doubt if anyone else does.

Like most singers, I also have met the sort of ignorant comments you encountered. My usual reaction is to wait for an opportunity to slip in a song that shifts their perspective on a familiar one.

Regards