Songs about Molly Maguires

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: Bennet Zurofsky
Date: 04 Sep 02 - 06:33 PM

McParlan, the great villain of the piece from my point of view, was also a great hero to many. There was quite a bit of pulp fiction about him. The reputation of Pinkerton's as THE private detective agency (especially if you require goons and ginks and company finks in connection with a labor dispute) is largely owing to his pernicious work. McParlan was not only a major figure in the eventual hanging of the Molly Maguires in Pa., he was also the principal "framer" of the trumped-up case against Big Bill Haywood and others in Couerdelaine (sp?), Idaho, when a terrorist bomb blew up the governor. McParlan was one busy fellow.

I am pretty sure that McParlan's work inspired a series of pulp detective novels in which he was the star. He was certainly a great hero to the capitalist class who seem to have done their best to propagandize his virtues.

I expect there is a great deal of folk-loric type material about him, other than the negative references that appear in a couple of the songs set forth above. In the Sean Connery movie (which was pretty damned good, considering), he was ambiguously (perhaps realistically) portrayed as something other than villain but somehow less than a hero.

Does anyone have some interesting songs and stories about McParlan, rather than than about his victims? I would be interested in the positive ones as well as the negative ones (in the interest of impartial science).

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,P.Miller
Date: 16 Sep 02 - 04:47 PM

Why the name Molly Maguires? Was this a real person? please reply. Thank you, Priscilla Miller,My husband is an Irishman ,father,grand and great grandfathers all miner's.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: masato sakurai
Date: 17 Sep 02 - 10:26 AM

Opinions seem to differ on the origin of that name:

(1) The name is something of an enigma. Multiple sources say it stems from the isle of Eire. When absentee English landlords put an Irish Protestant, Scot, English, or Welshman in their place, cutthroats which rebelled against them took this name. Molly Maguire is said to have been an actual woman, a widow, who would not leave her cottage when Protestant Irish, English, Welsh, or Scottish attempted to remove her for her Catholicism. These were dark times of persecution for Irish Catholics and were not to get better by crossing the Atlantic. Eventually, the English made a motion that would not allow Catholics to hold land. The Irish were hopelessly shut out. A cross-dressing trend among angered Irish land tenants was born. "Take that from a son of Molly Maguire!" was often heard before an offensive person of authority was bashed accordingly. With the potato famines of the 1840s, it mattered little whether they were persecuted; no violent retaliation would stop the suffering of starvation. The influx of Irish Catholics in America rose in a J curve. (From THE MOLLY MAGUIRES (1970))

(2) Original "Mollie" a Woman. - Authorities claim that a rather ferocious woman by the name of "Mollie Maguire" had killed several of the hated agents of the landlords. Subsequently a body of men formed a society ostensibly for the purpose of "eliminating" the agents by murder. The "ideals" of the organized murderers coinciding with those of Mollie Maguire's, they dubbed themselves, or were thus named by others "Mollie Maguires." (From The Molly Maguires)

(3) This organization of Irish miners was dubbed the "Molly Maguires," after a group of Irish peasants who dressed up as women to antagonize their landlords. This group was infamously known as murderers and assassins and the press and police in America applied the name to the Irish miners. The label was used by both the press and the owner-operators of the mining companies to their distinct advantage. They called anyone who was pro-union a "Molly," inferring that they were criminals at best. This helped to subdue, even if only slightly, uprisings in the work place. (From The Molly Maguires)

~Masato

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: ard mhacha
Date: 17 Sep 02 - 05:04 PM

Thanks Masato, I remember reading a book on the Mollies some fourty years ago. Masato`s thread answers most of the questions on the Mollies. Ard Mhacha.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,fan of Bob
Date: 24 Oct 02 - 11:02 PM

Just wanted to pass on a link to a website of a great irish singer who sings a song called "Sons of Molly" along with many other great irish tunes. His "Sons of Molly" is very good. Does any one know who wrote this song? check out this singers site www.bobreeder.com

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Aria Grant
Date: 30 Oct 02 - 09:11 PM

I just wanted to check out this site as Mike Harris is dating a Maguire (Laura or Linda) or maybe both. Anyway after reading this information it is self evident that he has really hit the coal pits. I hope I spelled that right.

Anyway I new he was sinking but how deep is this mine anyway.


He such a handfull

Subject: Lyr Add: MOLLY MAGUIRES (Rick Boyle)
From: O'Boyle
Date: 03 Jan 03 - 02:50 AM

Hello Mudcatters,

It's been a while since I posted anything to Mudcat. I wnet back to this old thread and thought I'd update it with the song I eventually finished and recorded on a self produced CD titled "From Hell to Breakfast." Here is the song, of course all copyrights would apply, but permission to use it is normally granted to those polite enough to ask.

MOLLY MAGUIRES
(Rick Boyle)

My father died in a workhouse.
My mother slowly starved away at home
From a mudfloor cottage in the hills of Donegal,
My brother, sister and I set out to find the world alone.
My sister took a boat to Scotland
My brother and I a ship to Amerikay
Now my sister's a whore in GlasgowTown
And my brother died along the way.....to Amerikay...

No work or prospects, I landed in New York
No freinds or family a stranger on your shore
When a Dublin man came up and offered me a job
To wear a Union army uniform
They gave me a gun and a shovel
Taught me how to march in a straight line
On a sunken road on a farm in Maryland
They sent me out to die.....They left me there to die...

So, I came here to Pennsylvania.
Came here to work at picking coal.
Sorting shale by hand in a hole a mile deep
Waist deep in water as black as my soul
For fifteen years I work down in their mines
Spent half my life bringing up their iron ore
Paid a slave wage for a ton of coal today
In script that went back to the company store

I saw good men die of black lung
I saw strong men crushed like coal
I saw the company repay their greiving wives
By evicting the widows and children from their homes
Then all the anger boiled over
Repaid the bosses with a hail of rifle fire
Some call me damned, some call me a murderer
Some call me Molly MacGuire

So now I sit here in this prison cell
Condemned to die with the coming of the morn
They say confess, or I'm sure to burn in hell
Well, I've been in hell since the day that I was born
I left my soul down in the coal mine
There's nothing left to burn in the heat of satan's fire
They'll forget my name and the names of those who died
But remember Molly MacGuire




Hope it lives up to Mudcat standards.

Rick Boyle

my webpage

Subject: Anybody else know this song?
From:
Date: 09 Feb 03 - 02:47 PM

My grandfather was a coal miner in Western PA and my father (Steel mill worker) used to sing us this song. I was wondering if anyone knew the origins or had heard it before.

I am the son of a miner
And my father's father was a miner too.
There's jobs a whole lot finer
But that's the only job I ever knew.

We go down, down, down,
Digging deeper every time
With pick and shovel always in your hand.

And it's work, work work
Just to give a brighter light
To those who live upon the land.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From:
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 11:26 AM

With all respect to Chuck Rodgers and his abundent talent no one does
"THE SONS OF MOLLY" like the Donegal Weavers

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: mmb
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 07:16 PM

I will have to go back through some of our old 78 rpm records to see if any of the mining songs specifically mention the Molly Maguires.

What I can contribute at this point is that I was born in Shenandoah, PA, in 1940, when it was still very much a mining town. My grandmother spoke frequently of the secret societies of the mines, including the Mollies and the Black Hand (I never knew if they were the same, or different, groups). She spoke of how the parish priest spoke from the pulpit forbidding his miner-parishioners (who were either not there or congregating at the back door out of earshot) to join these groups, and of his peeling off his collar on the main street to knock some sense into those he met who were ignoring his admonitions.

Author Darryl Ponicsan who wrote "Cinderella Liberty" was two years ahead of me in high school. He also penned a novel named "Andoshen, PA" an anagram of Shenandoah, which contains references to the Mollies.

Finally, an earlier posting mentioned the movie called "The Molly Maguires" and cites Richard Harris in the cast, but doesn't mention Sean Connery's role, which was equally, if not more, central to the story about the mine bosses hiring a Pinkerton detective to infiltrate the miners. Although it came out in 1970, the film can still be rented in many video stores.

Now, off to check those 78's . . .

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,RJS
Date: 12 Aug 03 - 09:04 AM

"Sons of Molly" was written by Bobby Rogers of the "Irish Balladeers" from Scranton, PA

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 12 Aug 03 - 01:43 PM

As mentioned earlier in the thread, "Sons Of Molly" was written by CHUCK Rogers of the Irish Balladeers from Scranton, PA.
He has written a few other great coal-mining songs and Cvil-war songs too.

Seamuas

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about? -- Correction
From: GUEST,RJS
Date: 22 Aug 03 - 08:47 AM

Seamus is (of course) correct. It was indeed CHUCK (not Bobby)Rogers who wrote "Sons of Molly." I didn't read down the thread far enough to see that he had already responded to the question. My apologies to both Chuck and Seamus (and many thanks to "[e-mail]" for his/her comment about The Donegal Weavers rendition of the song.)

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,RJS
Date: 22 Aug 03 - 09:24 AM

Patrick:

Try adding a "Cm" in the second half of the second line of the verses to "Lament for the Molly Maguires." (The chorus doen't have a minor.) I'm not particularly fond of the "slant" in the lyrics of the last verse where Jake McParlin "...ended the hate."

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: Ray
Date: 22 Aug 03 - 01:59 PM

We took great liberties with the song
"Lament for the Molly MaGuires," to make
it more palatable for those of us who
descended from Pennsylvania anthracite
coal miners, i.e. we "deranged" the last
verse from:

But terror ends as it hadn't begun,
Jake McParlin, he ended the run.
He left as a Molly and he brought their fate.
After many years he ended the hate.

to:

But the era ended as it hadn't begun,
Jake McParlin, he ended their run,
But they could not kill what the Mollies began,
A dawning of freedom for the working man.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Joe McParland
Date: 23 Sep 03 - 10:22 PM

Changing the words of the song is in line, of course, with the recent revisionist trend to try to re-write the history of the Molly Maguires. For anyone who actually knows the history, it is utterly foolish to equate the Molly Maguires with "a dawning of freedom for the working man." The Mollies' defense lawyers tried to paint their clients as union men, but the real miners union in Pennsylvania (the WBA founded by John Siney) did everything it could to disassociate itself from the Molly Maguire violence and condemned the Mollies at every turn. The Mollies were hanged for cold-blooded murder, not for organizing strikes. It is a pity so many coal miners have identified themselves with a group of Irish saloonkeepers running their own little version of a Murder, Inc.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Liz in Michigan
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 11:27 PM

hi all,
I am a college student in Michigan and I am taking a terrorism course this semester and our big essey is on the Molly McGuires. I found this page very intriging in that so many people know about them when I have only just learned they existed, after spending 4 years as a history major in America!! From everything I have researched so far I have a picture of the Mollies as being a labor movement that used very violent means to achieve what they wanted/needed. Thanks for all the extra insight!!
Liz

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 12:26 PM

Joe:

If ever there was an episode of "revisionist history" it was the myths that surround the Molly Maguires, however they are generally recognized by historians as representing the "dawning" of organized labor in the U.S. The term "Molly Maguire" was used by the mine bosses to villify any miner who who fought back or spoke out against the discrimination and injustices of the day. Just the label "Molly Maguire" was enough to hang a man.   

The trumped-up or fabricated charges, the kangaroo courts run by the mining company, and the sadistic executions (short rope strangulations)created a public outrage which brought about changes in the way the coal companies treated the miners and led to the formation of miner's unions.

There are hundreds of books and articles about the Mollies that characterized them from sadistic terrorists to heroic martyrs. Much of what has been written is subjective, however you might want to read "Hard Coal Dockets" by Carbon County Judge John P. Lavelle who wrote:

"A private corporation initiated the investigation through a private detective agency. A private police force arrested the alleged defenders, and private attorneys for the coal companies prosecuted them. The state provided only the courtroom and the gallows."


Liz:

You have a tough assignment. Perhaps you could share the results of your research with us and help sort the fact from fiction. I think you'll find that the miners were more victims that terrorists.

- Ray

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Sheila
Date: 02 Nov 03 - 10:57 PM

I just recently got a version of the "Ghost of the Molly Maguires" from a celtic mp3 newsletter I subscribe to. The band, Hair of the Dog, does an excellent job on it. Here is a link to download it:

Here

I'd suggest checking it out. I came to this site from Google, looking for the lyrics to the song and found this great thread. Hope I've added something valuable to it. Slainte!

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Nov 03 - 04:32 PM

in the song "sons of Molly", the name of the hanged is Edward Kelly, not Everett. Edward was hanged when he was just 18 years old along with Alex Campbell, John "YellowJack" Donahue and Michael Doyle on June 21, 1877 at the Old County Jail in Mauch Chunck (Jim Thorpe) PA.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Nov 03 - 04:49 PM

There are many different theories about the killings by the Molly Maguires. Some say the murders were staged by the mining companies to lead a revolt against the "terrorist" group Molly Maguires who only wanted fair pay. Irish were looked down upon in the 1800's, many could not get jobs anyplace else that the mines, and the mine companies were well aware of that. Consider the juries in all of the trials: They consisted of no Irishmen, but Welsh and English, Ireland's enemies, and German settlers that barely understood English. Mock trials have been staged with different outcomes and numerous pardons have officially been given to Molly Maguires and their descendants by the state of Pennsylvania, proving that the trials were unfair.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Hagbarthr
Date: 20 Nov 03 - 05:07 PM

MUFF LAWLER THE SQUEALER

When Muff Lawler was in jail right bad did he feel
He thought devil the rooster would he ever heel
"Bejabers," says Lawler, "I think I will squeal."
"Yes, do," says the judge to Muff Lawler.

It was down in the office the lawyers did meet,
"Come in, Mr. Lawler"; they gave him a seat.
"Give us your whole history and don't us deceive."
"Bejabers, I will," says Muff Lawler.

"There are some o' thim near," he says, "and more of thim far;
There are some o' thim you'll never catch I do fear."
"If they are on this earth," he says, "we'll have them I'm sure."
"Yes, but bejabers they're dead," says Muff Lawler.

"It's the live ones we want, not the dead ones at all;
"If you want the whole history, you'll have to take the dead ones
and all."
"Come out with your history or quickly we'll plant
You back in your cell, Mr. Lawler."

"Now I'll commence," he says, "me whole story to tell
When I go back to Shenandoah, I'll be shot sure as hell."
"We'll send you to a country where you're not known so well."
"Bejabers, that's good," says Muff Lawler.

DT #710
Laws E25
@mining @law @America
From Korson, Pennsylvania Songs and Legends
Michael "Muff" Lawler was tried in 1876 Schuylkill county Pennsylvania as
an accessory to murder and turned state's evidence.
filename[ MUFFLAWL
TUNE FILE: MUFFLAWL
CLICK TO PLAY
SOF
oct96

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Feb 04 - 01:19 PM

great sone called "The Ghost of Molly McGuire" performed by Donny Brook Fair. They haven't been a band however for quite some time. It's too bad because that was one of favorite songs.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,TJChurch
Date: 15 May 04 - 04:27 AM

I found this site searching for lyrics for "Sons Of", which is often performed around town & at family functions by my Uncle. His name is Bill Davis. He performs in the Ohio/PA area in Irish-music groups, as well as having put out a CD made of both covers & originals.

Subject: Lyr Add: ALEXANDER (Adrian M. Bianconi)
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 16 May 04 - 12:39 AM

Another song about the Molly Maguires is called "ALEXANDER" by Adrian M. Bianconi, who performs under the name Dr. B. He is from Wilkes Barre, Pa. and this song appears on his album "A Pennsylvania Homecoming". It is about Alex Campbell, one of the Mollys who was hung in the old Jail at Mauch Chunck (now Jim Thorpe). Unlike the others, he protested his innocence to the very end. He placed his hand print on the wall of cell #17 which he occupied and it remains there to this very day, despite the efforts of 4 successive wardens to plaster it over and eradicate it. Here are the lyrics.

I'm an immigrant here from Ireland
And on this wall I will lay my hand
As long as these prison walls will stand
You'll gaze upon my mark
It's a curse I place right before your eyes
It's my protest to my hanging high
I'm innocent of this heinous crime
My mark is your disgrace

(CHORUS) It doesn't matter if I live or die
What really matters is the reason why
I'm innocent and I'll tell no lie
You've made a big mistake
There's more to this than can meet the eye
I swear to you I have an alibi
'Cause I've been framed by another guy
And now my life you'll take

Alexander Campbell is my name
A poor saloon keeper is my fame
I started off in the mining game
A slave of your embrace
I never heard of this man named Jones
I swear it to you upon my bones
Why don't you leave me all alone
I pray for God's good grace

My legacy will live on and on
You won't forget me the day I'm gone
I curse this county that did me wrong
And this I do decree
I love my wife who did love me long
I grieve for her because I am strong
I'll face your gallows with this song
Good-bye cell seventeen

The music and lyrics were both written by Adrian Mark Bianconi and copyrighted by him in 1997. The sheet music and recording is available from Morning Lace Music Publishing Company at 1091 Scott Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18705. Phone is [phone] or you can e-mail him at [e-mail] SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,kristen
Date: 08 Jul 04 - 12:48 AM

I've been reading everyones thoughts on the molly maguires and they were not terriorists as some would believe or even killers.they were men with famlies to feed and went down in the mines before daybreak and came home at dusk it was a hard life. Coal miners were paid an average of 400 dollars a year and owed most to the company store. I live only 5 miles away where the molly maguires from Eckley PA were arrested and hung and where the movie "The Molly Maguires" was filmed.I also am a coal mining reenactor in Eckley and want everyone to know that these men were treated as if they were (pardon my wording) white slaves!They were acting as they did to try and gain some of their freedom and dignity back.

       Thanks for reading.    kristen

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 08 Jul 04 - 05:33 AM

But their greedy bosses labelled them terrorists for trying (and daring!) to fight back. They were 'freedom fighters'.

But if you start thinking that way, you may find yourself doubting people like Bush who are telling you that some modern people labelled terrorists are not 'freedom fighters'...

Robin

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 08 Jul 04 - 01:04 PM

Kristen, As a bus tour operator, I visit the area frequently and I must say that I enjoy the re-enactments at Eckley immensely. They do paint a very true picture of what life was like for the miners back in those days. However, to my knowledge there were no Molly's that were hung in Eckley. The trials took place in Mauch Chunk which today is called Jim Thorpe and the hangings took place in the jail there, 3 blocks up the hill from the courthouse, where the gallows are still visible. My source is Howard T. Crown who authored a book on the Molly's and serves as my tour guide when I bring bus groups to the area. SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 08 Jul 04 - 01:22 PM

Robin, I am not a great fan of President Bush, but I think you do a great disservice when you compare the Molly Maguires to modern day terrorists. I consider the Molly's true freedom fighters. They were POOR, downtrodden people who were being exploited by very rich coal barons who profited off their labor and could not care less about their squalid inhuman working conditions. They fought back the only way they could and knew how to. Osama bin Laden on the other hand is very RICH and probably has more money to his name than all of the Mudcatters on this forum combined. His aim is to enslave the whole world to his warped vision of Islam and to kill as many people in the process to get his message across. I would hardly define him as a freedom fighter. If you look at the society that he created in Afghanistan under Taliban rule (particularly the plight of women), you will see where I am coming from. I would put him more in the category of the opressor rather than the opressed. SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Mountain Tyme
Date: 08 Jul 04 - 02:07 PM

Having stumbled upon this thread after recently relocating to Hazleton PA (the epicenter of the subject matter of this thread) my intent here is to extend my humble current local observations from ground zero possibly of interest to the researchers/posters above. Years ago I used to drive quickly thru this very depressing area with its mountains of tipple (waste coal and slag) while reflecting upon the horrid lives these people must have lived. I now find that the history of this company store coal region continues as nearly an every day experience even to only a casual observer. Local (very local because of the mountains) TV actively promotes organizations and historical societys dedicated to preserving the sorrid past. Nearby Eckley Miners Village (where the Molly movie was filmed) is a well maintained exposition of the original class separate dwellings, churches and company stores. Villagers in period dress still live here. Tours can be taken weekends during each summer with this summer including special celebrations of the villages 150 year existance. Excellent concerts and stage presentations run thruout the winter months. A newly built museum houses multitudes of local relics from the past and a plush theatre where presentations of songs mentioned in this thread are performed by local musical groups. The awsome "breaker" overshadowing the village is a large beam construction elevated conveyor where children worked twelve hour days sorting out coal/ tipple/slag. The existing breaker was built especially for the Molly movie. It suggests the awsome reality of the period! The village is presently trying to raise $200,000.00 for needed repairs to the aging breaker. VHS tapes of the Molly movie are for sale in the museum store.
Just down the road is the village of Latamer with a historical plaque at its entrance recalling the Latamer Massicre for all to see. This was another unionizing effort by the fed up miners who while retreating were shot dead in their backs by the local Company Store controlled authorities.
For additional reading/research I have found web links profuse just using some of the keywords i've used above.
cheers ? :)
MT

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Sandy Dawson
Date: 06 Sep 04 - 01:37 PM

My husband and I perform in a Celtic band in which we sing a couple of Molly McGuire songs....."Ghost of the Molly McGuires" and "Make way for the Molly Mcguires".
We would be really keen to do some more songs if we could have the words and music. So if anyone can help us we'd be really greatful.
I am especially interested in Rick Boyle's song, "TheMolly McGuires". Rick, if you read this, would you please allow us to have the music and permission to perform (not record) your song?

I have been enthralled with all the info. I have gained from all the above mail. It seems there are differences of opinion as to the motives of the "Molly's". As a "Mugwump" (a fence sitter) I wonder if they could not have started with all good intentions but ended up running foul of the law because of their convictions. Whatever their reasons, there was certainly need for radical change in the mining conditions at the time.

Hope to hear from someone

Sandy Dawson

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 06 Sep 04 - 01:49 PM

If you travel into the area like I have done, you can purchase many song books, & CDs at the various museum gift shops in Scranton, Eckley, Jim Thorpe,& Ashland (all in Pennsylvania). That is where I have learned the many songs about the Molly's that I know from. SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Julia
Date: 06 Sep 04 - 10:21 PM

I just read a bit about Molly Maguires, and was wondering if there was any relation to Molly Dancing? Maybe no, just a thought.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From:
Date: 21 Sep 04 - 03:33 PM

The Irish Rovers sing "Lament for the Molly McGuire's" on their CD "Upon A Shamrock Shore: Songs of Ireland and the Irish". A good tune the lyrics can be found on this site:

http://members.cox.net/irishpubsinger/songbook/irish/L.htm

Scroll down and you'll find the lyrics.

A good, bouncing tune which paints the "Molly's" violence as necessity.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From:
Date: 11 Nov 04 - 01:12 PM

I have been looking for the email address or website of a vendor who sells only Molly Maguire Shirts and Sweatshirts at various events. The last time I saw him he was in Wildwood NJ for Irish Weekend. Does anyone have this information?

Thanks
Kathleen

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 17 Nov 04 - 03:33 PM

Sandy:

I play with "The Donegal Weavers" out of Mountaintop. We do both traditional Irish Folk and Irish immigrant mining music from the early Anthracite era -- including a few Molly Maguire songs. I'm not sure who you play with, but we'd be happy to share anything we have with you. We'll be doing a performance at The Anthracite Museum at McDade Park on January 23. If you're free that day, please stop by and say "hello." You can contact me at [e-mail].

- Ray Stephens

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 17 Nov 04 - 04:26 PM

Ray,
      I have your album which I purchased on my last visit to the museum. Can you please post the lyrics to the song "When The Breaker Comes On Full Time" from it on this forum ? That song gives an excellent view of the miner's hopes and aspirations during the Molly Maguire era. Thanks
                                                 SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 27 Dec 04 - 11:11 AM

Hi Sol:

We took some liberties with the song "When the Breakers Go Back on Full Time" whick I believe is included in the George Korson book "Minstrels of the Mine Patch."    Our friends "The Irish Balladeers" kept closer to the original lyrics, but we opted for a more "politically correct" version.

I understand that the original was written as a conversation between two miner's wives discussing the rumor of a return to full time work, to wit: "...Me calico skirt I will trow in the dirt..."

Our version goes:

Chorus:
And it's ah, sure if the news is true,
Me store bill's the first thing I'll pay.
A stuffed parlor suite and a lounge I will buy,
And an organ for Celia(1), hurray!
Me calico shirt I will t'row in the dirt,
In a silk one won't I cut a shine?
And the very first chance, we'll put Patrick (2) in pants,
When the breaker goes back on full time.

Our troubles are o'er Mr. Murphy,
For the ditchman next door tells me straight,
That the mines will start full time on Monday,
That's phat he tells me t'any rate.
Sure the boss he says told him this mornin',
As he was 'bout entrin' the mine,
That the coal is quite scarce around Philly,
So the rumors is work full time.

(Chorus)

I'll ne'er stick me fist in a washtub,
The Chinee man he'll have me trade,
I'll ne'er pick the coal off the slate bank,
We'll buy everything ready made.
We'll dress up our children like gentry(3),
We'll build up a house big and fine,
And we'll move away from our shanty,(4)
When the breakers go back on full time.

(Chorus)

(1) "Celia" is my mother
(2) "Patrick" is a band member's son.
(3) Originally "fairies"
(4) Originally "the Roundheads"

We also omitted the verse:

The Roundheads won't work with me, Paddy,
They say "Too much no good dis place."
They always lose time after payday,
"Tis meself sure that ne'er like that race.
They won't load their cairs off the livel,
They want runnin' chutes, do ye mind?,
But we'll chase them away to the divil,
When the breakers go back on full time.

I've also heard it sung "The Hungaries won't work wit me Paddy..."

We'll be performing at The Anthracite Museum at McDade Park in Scranton at 2:00 on January 23rd to commemorate the 45th annivesary of the Knox Mine disaster. Hope you can make it.

- Ray

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 27 Dec 04 - 01:56 PM

Thank you for posting the song Ray. Not being familiar with all the lingo and curious, I am not familiar with the exact meaning of the word "Roundheads". The first time I heard it was on the Irish Balladeers album. I assume that it has a pejorative meaning or connotation. What exactly does it mean or refer to ?   

                                                 SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 28 Dec 04 - 12:23 PM

Sol:

Good question. It's been a topic of debate for some time. As I understand it, the derrogatory term "roundhead" was applied to newly arrived Eastern European immigrant miners. I've heard it applied to Hungarians, however I suspect that the term is more generic. Perhaps we can get a more definitive answer from another "mudcatter." In the meantime, I'll check with the Irish Balladeers.

- Ray

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Guest, David Cort
Date: 11 Mar 05 - 12:51 AM

My great Aunt Mary used to tell my father about the "freedom fighters" -- the Molly Maguires. She talked of the near slavery of our people, permenantly indebted to the company, and how the Mollys were fighting to lift us out of that slavery. Auntie was from St. Clair, near Pottsville, and her father had died of black lung when she was ten. She was raised by her uncle, who had friends who were Mollys.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Guest - Andy
Date: 04 Apr 05 - 12:42 AM

I'm sure there are many meanings for "roundhead"...the one I grew up with and, perhaps, of historical note is "roundhead" - a Protestant of Irish or English background, a supporter of Oliver Cromwell, a term used during the English Civil War

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From:
Date: 24 Apr 05 - 12:55 AM

I'd like to use the deranged last verse of the Irish Rovers' Lament for the molly Maguires in a program I'm singing for a dance comapny that's been commissioned to perform in Jim THorpe, PA on July 23, 2005. My I have your name so that I may credit you in the program? If you live in PA, come see the show. Also, do you know which Irish Rover wrote the song so that I can give him credit too? Thanks Kathy Cowan

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,Bill A
Date: 04 Feb 07 - 03:26 PM

Does any one have the sheet music for The Sons of Molly MaGuire?
or please tell me where I can purchase the same.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,David C.
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 07:53 PM

Here's a bit of help with the lyrics:

....bold recruits and UNDAUNTED

Subject: Lyr Add: THE GHOST OF MOLLY MAGUIRE
From: Chip2447
Date: 11 Feb 07 - 01:38 AM

I don't have any background or cooyright information, but here are the Lyrics as sung by "Hair of the Dog at the Parting Glass" by Hair of the Dog

THE GHOST OF MOLLY MAGUIRE

The wind blows cold at night,
The brave are melancholy.
If you stand in the dark
with your ear to the wind
You'll hear the sound of Molly.
Deep in the dark of that old mine shaft
you smell the smoke and fire
and the murmur low
in the mine below
is the ghost of Molly Maguire.

Let me tell you me boys
(Michael Toil) is my name
I come from (Corbin) county
I shot the boss of the Wexford mine
My soul is up for bounty.
And I will die with my head held high
I fought for the men below.
The men who work and fight and die
Down in that black hellhole.

Well, I'll tell you my boys Michael Finnegan's my name
I'm hanging high in the morning.
But I shot Jack Jones for (stealing) my bones.
(I kept the sound from Molly)
And I will die with my head held high
I fought for the men below.
The men who work and fight and die
Down in that black hellhole.

Well I tell you me boys (Alex Scaple)'s my name
No pistol did I fire
And I will fall from the gallows wall
for being a Molly Maguire
Yes I'll die with my head held high
I fought for the men below.
The men who work and fight and die
Down in that black hellhole.

The wind blows cold at night,
The brave are melancholy.
If you stand in the dark
with your ear to the wind
You'll hear the sound of Molly.
Deep in the dark of that old mine shaft
you smell the smoke and fire
and the murmur low
in the mine below
It's the ghost of Molly Maguire
It's the ghost of Molly Maguire.


Chip2447

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Apr 07 - 12:01 AM

In reference to the post from C. Adams regarding the song by the Irish Rovers, The Lament of the Molly Maguires I was able to clarify the one word he didn't know. "Five gossoons and a scrawny wife". A gossoon is a boy.

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,a. rees
Date: 29 May 07 - 05:28 PM

i,ve just named my daughter molly her surname is mcguire so it was interesting finding this web site she is 4wks if i had know this she would have a different name

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: GUEST,bulik
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 01:28 PM

The following is the real deal -- it was among papers seized by the Royal Irish Constabulary in an October 1845 raid on a meeting of Molly Maguires in a County Cavan pub:

A New Song on Molly Maguire
To the tune of Betsy Baker

You persecuting landlords now in time give your attention
Likewise you tyrant agents, all to what I'm going to mention
You persecuted peasantry, it will please your hearts desire
To hear the plan that is begun by the famous Molly Maguire
There was McCloud so big and Proud I think it fit to mention
to put men in jail and take no bail it was his whole intention
till liberty as you may see some persons did inspire
to lay him down the dirty hound they say it was Molly Maguire
And Galagher to that you all know he was another villin
To execute his masters plan he always was quite willing
To distrain every poor man it was his whole desire
Till he was laid flat by a o from a Son of Molly Maguire
Likewise Both Bell was sent to hell for his one-side Legislation
The Castle Spy now low does ly and in his destination
the poor orange boys to hear there cries for him they did admire
he was the boy that would destroy the Sons of Molly Maguire
So if any man should take your land or dare to disposess you
dont be Melincoly but send to Molly and soon she will redress you
or if you be wronged by any man she will do what you require
no right well he'll be sent to hell by a o from Molly Maguire
But you Gentry who's kind and free you Kneed feel no alarm
for Molly's Sons are just and true and will do you no harm
its the oppressors of the poor gainst whom hey do conspire
to lay them down in every town is the plan of Molly Maguire
So you tyrants all on you I call to do no further harm
Let the poor man do the best he can and keep his little farm
if you persever I do declare she will haver her desire
by led or steel to make you feel she is famous Molly Maguire
now to conclude and make and end sure you have not objection
may caution always guide her sons may nature them inspire
till we get relief from every thief success to M Maguire

Subject: RE: Molly Maguires: Songs about?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 02:27 PM

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