She Moved Through The Fair

Subject: She Moved Through The Fair
From: GloriaJ
Date: 20 Feb 13 - 06:09 AM

There was an interesting programme on BBC Radio4 yesterday in the series "Soul Music" which looked at this song.Sinead O'Connor and others spoke eloquently of their feelings about singing it.There was a lovely story from a man who went into a hospital to visit a woman who had been traumatised in some way and couldnt speak.He held her hand and sang the song and she said "thank you" and began to communicate again.
The slight drawback to the programme,unlike most others in this series, was that they had clearly consulted no-one who really knew anything about the song and its history.They persisted in saying how "ancient" it was.As everyone knows, it cant be more than about 100 years old as most of it was written by Padraic Colum.There were precursors,like Paddy Tunney's "Eastersnow" but She Moved Thro The Fair is an obviously literary and poetic creation.
Its a song you hear a lot,of course - but terribly difficult to do well.To me,there has to be a kind of restraint.Its so often overdramatised and over-ornamented.Sinead O'Connor's version is pretty good though.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qm2fw

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 20 Feb 13 - 07:34 AM

Very confused and jejune programme, I thought. No credit to any of the singers except Van Morrison that I heard; no continuous performance of the song straight through: I felt that anyone who didn't know it at the beginning of the broadcast wouldn't really know any more about it - its lyric, theme, content, story - than they did before. Some of the diction was terrible.

~M~

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: s&r
Date: 20 Feb 13 - 07:58 AM

Collected by Padraic Colum in 1909 in Donegal and published seven years later in a book of his poetry. Published before that by Boosey & Hawkes in London in a work entitled Irish Country Songs in 1909 Written by Padraic Colum and Herbert Hughes.

Stu

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: GUEST,John Moulden
Date: 20 Feb 13 - 08:07 AM

Part heard in Donegal, adapted and added to. There is detailed discussion of this song elsewhere on mudcat.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: MartinRyan
Date: 20 Feb 13 - 09:26 AM

Click here and

click here for the main Mudcat discussions on the origins of the song.

Regards

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: Bob the shantyman
Date: 20 Feb 13 - 04:54 PM

Check the BBC iplayer - there was a fabulous programme about this song in the series "Soul Music" broadcast today (20-02-13)at about 11.00
It's worth digging it out!
Bob

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 20 Feb 13 - 05:03 PM

Bob the shantyman ~ Wake up! That is what this thread is about ~~ a repeat of the programme which the OP referred to, which I replied to in the second post. You will note that I by no means agreed with your opinion of the programme's quality.

~M~

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 20 Feb 13 - 08:22 PM

I suspect that they'd think of one hundred years old as being ancient history.

Infants...

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: Peter the Squeezer
Date: 23 Feb 13 - 01:49 PM

For parodies by Les Barker & Sid Kipper see post dated 31 Aug 2006 on

thread.cfm?threadid=94253

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 24 Feb 13 - 05:37 AM

Maybe a decade ago a bunch of us did a live CD in aid of the Clare Cancer Centre.

On the night Áine Ui Cheallaigh sang a most wonderful version of the song. One quite different, in many ways, from the usual done to death version.

I have put it on-line for a few days for the purpose of a discussion elsewhere but it's probably worth linking it here as well.

I'll take the MP3 down in a few days but for the moment it's here

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: GUEST,Audtimer
Date: 24 Feb 13 - 06:16 AM

Thanks - Guest Peter Laban, a very moving and enjoyable recording, that rekindled my longing for some "real" music.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: Lighter
Date: 24 Feb 13 - 07:59 AM

Lovely! Wonderful!

It made me purchase the album version! Thanks!

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: Phil Edwards
Date: 24 Feb 13 - 09:14 AM

Many thanks, Peter - great singing and a great song. It's not a variant I've seen or heard before, but it's quite close to the song in Sam Henry's collection that is variously known as "Our Wedding Day" and "Out of the window". I recorded OOTW here. For my money Aine's version has a nicer tune, as well as a better singer.

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: Phil Edwards
Date: 24 Feb 13 - 06:41 PM

The link to my recording of Out of the Window went to the wrong song. It's now been fixed:

Out of the Window

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: JHW
Date: 25 Feb 13 - 03:34 PM

I feel I might rather have heard some of the readings that were in the background and talked over .
Sinead O'Connor (I'm guessing) rather shouted. My singing teacher certainly would have told me don't shout. But the guy with the guitar really irritated me with his breaking up the text with irrelevant pauses
ie
Then she moved a_
Way from me

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: GUEST,me too
Date: 26 Feb 13 - 08:50 AM

folks still persist with the notion of 'Celtic'.....

Subject: RE: She Moved Through The Fair
From: GUEST,David E.
Date: 26 Feb 13 - 06:39 PM

"... folks still persist with the notion of 'Celtic'..."

As John Renbourn has said: "I thought I was a blues guitarist until someone invented Celtic music." Always liked that.

David E.