Lyr Req: The Man from the Daily Mail

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Man from the Daily Mail
From: Gabriel
Date: 14 Jan 17 - 01:32 PM

"The Man From The Daily Mail" was written by the Irish playwright Sean O'Casey. He published the song in 1918 in the first of only two editions of an eight page pamphlet of his songs. The pamphlets were published by Furgus O'Connor of Dublin, were titled "Songs Of The Wren" and sold for one penny. O'Casey not only wrote songs but also performed them and, of course, included them in his plays. On the title page he gives his name in its Irish form, Sean O'Cathasasigh.

Subject: Lyr Add: BALLAD OF BALLINAMORE / THE MAN FROM RTE
From: Noel P.
Date: 04 Nov 99 - 12:39 PM

Another take on this song is called THE MAN FROM RTE or THE BALLAD OF BALLINAMORE. As can be seen many of the lines are similar. Enjoy!

THE BALLAD OF BALLINAMORE.
OR THE MAN FROM RTE.

'Leitrim is a very funny place, sir, a strange and troubled land.
All the boys are in the IRA, sir, all the women in Cumann na mBan.
Every tractor has a Nicky Kelly sticker, displayed for all to see.
Sure it was no wonder that the Gardaí made a blunder,'
Says your man from RTE.

CHORUS:
'Every bird, upon my word, is singing, "I'm a rebel," sir up in Mohill sir,
Every hen is laying hand grenades, I do declare, sir, in Dromahair, sir.
Every crock of a Leitrim cock is longing to be free.
Even sheep are advisin' there'll be another rising'.
Says your man from RTE.

'Today Tonight went to Ballinamore, sir, they were briefed by the Gardaí.
On a video they showed to me the Provies 'ating curry and drinkin' tea.
They were all wearin' Russian balaclavas, each carried an RPG.
British scalps around the tummy, pockets full of stolen money'.
Says your man from RTE.

Chorus:

Leitrim is seething with sedition, it's Sinn Fein through and through.
All the task force have joined the local unit, the post office is the GHQ.
They've a racetrack underground for training Shergar, "no commint" they say to me.
Subversion here is bubblin', oh please take me back to Dublin,
Says your man from RTE.

Note: This song was written by Fintan Vallely and is to the same air as 'The Darlin' Girl From Clare'. It was written to commemorate a "Today Tonight" team visit to Ballinamore in Co. Leitrim some time in the 1980's. The racehorse Shergar, (a Derby winner) was owned by the Aga Khan and was kidnapped by the IRA in 1983 and a ransom was demanded. RTE, an Irish television station had sent a team from their current affairs program "Today Tonight" to get a story. "No comment" was all they could get from the locals! Mohill and Dromahair are towns in Co. Leitrim. The song was recorded by Christy Moore.

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 11-Jul-02.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Man from the Daily Mail
From: Stewie
Date: 18 Oct 99 - 12:20 AM

Sorry, I failed to correct the spelling of Granuaille in the Blackthorn one.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MAN FROM THE DAILY MAIL
From: Stewie
Date: 18 Oct 99 - 12:15 AM

Cripes, this takes me way back to the 70s when I was immersed in Irish rebel songs and presenting workshops with titles like 'The Boyne, Belfast, Bombs and Bigotry' and 'The Bloody Red Hand'. I recall that we couldn't get any definitive answer as to whether the bloody red hand of Ulster was a left hand or a right hand. Anyhow, I remember 'The Man from the Daily Mail' was always popular with audiences. I have a note (but no source) saying that it was originally written in the early 1920s and referred to the Troubles then. I have 3 versions from 1970, 1972 and 1974. I have altered the rather strange Crilly and Grogan transciption ('hen and egg', for god's sake!) to give the 3 versions. Trusting they are of interest, cheers Stewie.

Well Ireland is a very funny place, sir
It's a strange and a troubled land
And the Irish are a bloody funny race, sir
Every girl's in Cumman na bBan
Every doggie has a tricoloured ribbon
Tied firmly to its tail
And it wouldn't be surprisin if there'd be another Risin
Says the man from the Daily Mail

Refrain: Every bird, upon me word, is singing treble
"I'm a rebel!"
Every hen and jay are laying hand grenades over there, sir
I declare, sir
And every cock in the farmyard stock
Crows a triumph for the Gael
Well if you tried to show them, they would shoot you as a yoeman
Says the man from the Daily Mail

Well the other day I travelled down to Clare, sir
And I spied at an old boreen
Such a squad of right and busy ganders there, sir
Dressed in orange, white and green
They marched to the German goosestep
As they whistled Granuaille
O I'm shaking in me shoes as I'm sending out the news
Says the man from the Daily Mail

Oh the place it is seething with sedition
It's Sinn fein through and through
All the peelers they are joining local units
And the password's "Sinn Fein" too
Every doggie has a tricoloured ribbon
Tied firmly to its tail
And to cause you some more sorrow, sure they'll change within the morrow
Says the man from the Daily Mail

Repeat refrain.

Source: singing of Fee McGorman on 'Songs of the Irish Republic' Outlet BOL 4005 (1970)

Oh Ireland is a very funny place, sir
It's a strange and troubled land
Oh the Irish are a bloody funny race, sir
Every girl's in Cumann na mBan
Every doggie has a tricoloured ribbon
Tied firmly to its tail
And it wouldn't be surprisin' if there'd be another risin'
Said the man from the Daily Mail

Refrain:
Every bird, upon my word, is singing treble
"I'm a rebel!"
Every hen and jay are laying hand grenades over there, sir
I declare, sir
And every cock in the farmyard stock
Is crowin' for the Gael
And it wouldn't be surprisin if there'd be another Risin
Said the man from the Daily Mail

Oh the other day I travelled down to Clare, sir
And I spied in an old boreen
Such a bunch of Fenians there, sir
Dressed in orange, white and green
They were marching to the German goosestep
And whistling "Granuaille
Oh I'm shaking in me shoes as I'm sending out the news
Said the man from the Daily Mail

(Refrain )

Oh the country is seething with sedition
It's Sinn Fein through and through
All the people they are joining the Provisionals
And the password's "Sinn Fein" too
The IRA has sent me a time bomb in the mail
So bejeesus and begorrah, I'll be getting' out tomorrow
Said the man from the Daily Mail

(Refrain)

(First stanza repeated)

(Refrain)

Source: The Battering Ram 'The Battering Ram' Rounder LP 4002 (1972)

Now Ireland is a very funny place, sir
It's a strange and a troubled land
And the Irish are a bloody funny race, sir
Every girl's in the Cumann na mBan
Every doggie has a tricoloured ribbon
Tied firmly to his tail
And it wouldn't be surprisin' if there'd be another risin'
Said the man from the Daily Mail

Refrain:
Every bird, upon me word, is singing treble
"I'm a rebel!"
Every hen and jay are laying hand grenades over there, sir
I declare, sir
And every cock in the farmyard stock
Crows a triumph for the Gael
And it wouldn't be surprisin' if there'd be another risin'
Said the man from the Daily Mail

Well the other day I ventured down to Clare, sir
And I spied in an old boreen
Such a squad of right and busy ganders there, sir
Dressed in orange, white and green
They marched to the German goosestep
And they whistled "Grainne Bhail"
O I'm shaking in me shoes as I'm sending out the news
Said the man from the Daily Mail

(Refrain)

Well, the whole place is seething with sedition
It's Sinn fein through and through
All the Paras they are joining local units
And the password's "Sinn Fein" too
Every doggie has a tric
oloured ribbon
Tied firmly to his tail And it wouldn't be surprisin' if there'd be another risin'
Said the man from the Daily Mail

(Refrain twice)

Source: Blackthorn from Various Artists 'The Lid of Me Granny's Bin' Derry Records DBL 502 (1974)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Man from the Daily Mail
From: Philippa
Date: 16 Oct 99 - 01:41 PM

to the same air The Darlin' Girl From Clare

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Man from the Daily Mail
From: paddymac
Date: 27 Aug 99 - 04:47 PM

If I remeber correctly, the original "Barleycorn" recorded a great version of this song. They no longer exist as a group, but the founder, banjo player and tenor (all in the one man) John Delaney now has "The New Barleycorn" with Alex De Gabrielle. Both are superb musicians, and they sing with great harmonies. Enjoy!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Man from the Daily Mail
From: Wolfgang
Date: 27 Aug 99 - 12:36 PM

Philippa, thanks for that great link!!

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Man from the Daily Mail
From: Philippa
Date: 27 Aug 99 - 10:37 AM

An anachronism in my rendering of the text: "reading out the news" should be "sending out the news"; this would be a song from around 1916. Crilly and Grogan's page shows a question mark instead of 'Cumann na mBan'- the women's league (of the IRA); the B shows the derivation of the word, but is not pronounced. They also don't spell "Grainne Mhaol"(also known as Granuaile and Grace O'Malley; the Mh has a w sound) correctly. I still can't remember any details about the predecesor of this song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Man from the Daily Mail
From: Philippa
Date: 27 Aug 99 - 10:27 AM

Lyrics and sound sample are at Crilly and Grogan Go to the bottom of their page and click onthe appropriate title

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Man from the Daily Mail
From: GeorgeH
Date: 27 Aug 99 - 10:03 AM

As a great fan of The Daily Mail I'm longing to hear the rest of this song - which is new to me. And does anyone know anything of its origins??

A great insult I heard recently was "he's reached an age where he starts believing what he reads in the Daily Mail". (US readers might note that that's not necessarily ageist; fortunately many of our good folk never reach that age. It's a variant of "Disgusted, Tunbridge Wells".)

G.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MAN FROM THE DAILY MAIL
From: Philippa
Date: 26 Aug 99 - 06:55 PM

I'll start you off - my memory is getting stuck onthe verse about "the whole place is seething with sedition; it's Sinn Féin through and through..."

Oh Ireland is a very funny place, sir;
It's a strange and a troubled land
And the Irish are a very funny race, sir;
Every girl's in a Cumann na mBan.
Every dog wears a tricoloured ribbon
Tied firmly to his tail
And it wouldn't be surprising
if we had another rising,
Says the man from the Daily Mail

(chorus)
Every bird,upon my word, is saying,
"Treble, I'm a rebel"
Every hen indeed is laying hand grenades, sir,
Over there, sir, I declare sir,
And every cock in the farm yard stock,
Sings a war cry of the Gael,
And I'm shaking in my shoes
as I'm reading out the news,"
Says the Man from the Daily Mail

I'm also trying to remember what older song this one was a take off on. And I think a newer one, the Man from the KGB has also been composed. Anybody know more about those songs?

Subject: The Man from the Daily Mail
From: Anna
Date: 26 Aug 99 - 05:47 PM

I'm also looking for another song by the Battering Ram.

Thank you