Lyr Req: Kerry Woman's Lament (Junior Crehan?)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Kerry Woman's Lament (Junior Crehan?)
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 01 May 18 - 08:35 PM

There is a thirty second clip of the start of the story (doesn't tell much)
here
"Maidir leis an rian seo
Cumadóireacht
Kerry Woman's Lament
Oirfidigh
Junior Crehan (Fiddle)
RithimChat/AirMaidir le:
1970s
EnsembleSoloRé Taifeadta1970sEochairfhocail
Tada fós"
https://archive.comhaltas.ie/compositions/4157#/tracks/12404

And a cd to purchase, 10.00 here
(Bobby Casey, Joe Ryan, John Kelly, Junior Crehan, and Patrick Kelly)
http://www.coisnahabhna.ie/shop/product/cd/279/ 

A Spotify track with Gavin Pennycook playing it on an "octave fiddle"
https://open.spotify.com/track/7feuCMHsPxsMYEGACpxiHY

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Kerry Woman's Lament (Junior Crehan?)
From: michaelr
Date: 30 Apr 18 - 01:15 AM

So, will someone please post the lyrics?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Kerry Woman's Lament (Junior Crehan?)
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 29 Apr 18 - 10:09 AM

Hi, I have come across this thread when looking up about the 'Kerry woman's lament'. I know this is an old thread but i though id post the information i have about it. On an album called 'Ceol an Clar' which features the clare fiddlers Bobby Casey, Junior Crehan, Joe Ryan, Patrick Kelly, and John Kelly, there is a track on it called the kerry womans lament and the narrator (possibly junior crehan) says that story behind the air is the cannibalism story. The narrator also says there was Irish lyrics to the song but that he did not know them but he knew the air and the air is then played.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Kerry Woman's Lament (Junior Crehan?)
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 15 Oct 09 - 02:33 PM

Junior didn't write the tune, but he had a story attached to it.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Kerry Woman's Lament (Junior Crehan?)
From: GUEST,Suegorgeous, away in France
Date: 15 Oct 09 - 01:42 PM

Link works for me...

Sheila's original post implies she had English words... or have I misunderstood?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Kerry Woman's Lament (Junior Crehan?)
From: michaelr
Date: 14 Oct 09 - 09:13 PM

The link, she is no good...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Kerry Woman's Lament (Junior Crehan?)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Oct 09 - 02:35 PM

Celtic Grooves is advertising a 2-CD album by Junior Crehan (1908-1998) called "The Last House in Ballymakea" which contains AIR: CAOINEADH BEAN UI CHIARRAI (THE KERRY WOMAN'S LAMENT). I assume this is a fiddle tune, not a song. It's not clear to me whether Crehan wrote the tune.

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: Áine
Date: 28 Mar 00 - 01:43 PM

Thank you, Martin, for making the attempt. Has anyone queried the IRTRAD folks for any information on this air?

-- Áine

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 28 Mar 00 - 01:37 PM

A quick check at the weekend with some fiddling singers/singing fiddlers failed to turn up anything on this one.

Regards

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: Wavestar
Date: 23 Mar 00 - 12:42 PM

I've heard of this, and I think there are words that go to the air as well, but I have no idea what they are... I have a small kicking in the back of my brain telling me I've seen a verse somewhere in a book... a novel, or something similar. It's unlikely I'll remember it, but I hope that's encouraging, anyway...

-J

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 23 Mar 00 - 04:33 AM

If its really a Junior Crehan tune, it shouldn't be too difficult to find out about it. For those who don't know of him: Junior was one of the father figures of Irish fiddling in the Clare style. He died last year at an advanced age. Up to a year or two ago he waas a regular tutor at the WIlly Clancy Summer School in Clare.

Regards

p.s. the reference to canniblaism was, of course, to "Billy Boy".

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 23 Mar 00 - 01:57 AM

Well the tune was easy to find via ABC TuneFinder but apart from attributing it to Junior Crehan I could find no other notes re its origin. A search of The Fiddlers Companion (and the other one whatever it's called) had no mentions at all amongst the 30,000 tunes in hundreds of tune books that they have referenced.

I haven't posted the tune! It is so highly ornamented that after a quick listening I couldn't easily pick out the main tune.

I'll keep trying. Regards, John

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 08:28 PM

I usually take keen interest in songs about Kerry because that's where my paternal grandfather was born. The name of this song plus the reference to cannibalism now has me doubly intrigued. Unlike Martin this theme rings no bells at all with me, but I'll start by searching for the tune. Regards, John

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 08:04 PM

There's a little bell ringing in a remote corner of my mind. The usual boat/cannibalism story is "Bill boy" under various names/guises (there's a few in the Digital Tradition database). I don't recall any particularly Irish variants. Did this question come up before?

"slow airs" are usually associated with songs, alright.

Regards

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: Áine
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 07:25 PM

I'm in Texas, in between Dallas and Ft. Worth.

-- Áine

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: GUEST,Sheila Hogg
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 07:11 PM

Hello Áine: an Irish musician at University here in Rhode Island says its a slow air but had the fragment of a story with it. They at first asked me if I knew the song, then said later it was a slow air. Not sure where they got the reference to it. Where are ye located Áine?

Síle

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: Áine
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 06:22 PM

Dear Síle,

Where did you hear of this song? Was it on a recording? If so, what artist/tape/CD? Is there someone you could ask if it has another name? Any additional info you could provide might help one of us find what you're looking for.

-- Áine

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: skarpi
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 05:35 PM

Dear sile , I know a song called " Bantry Girl´s Lament " song about a farmer ( johnny ) who goes to fight in spain. I asked an Irish woman who lives not far from me about Kerry´s woman Lament and she cannot remember anything about this name,sorry but the Bantry song is an slow air and sung by The Dubliner, it´s a good song. I will ask around though,all the best skarpi Iceland.

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: GUEST,Sheila
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 04:25 PM

I'm told this may be a slow air. Interesting that it has a 'sceal' or 'udar', e.g. story, attached to it.

Whatever people can find, it would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Sile

Subject: RE: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: Amos
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 04:05 PM

Hi, Sheila -- I don't know the song, but we'll keep the thread active and sooner or later someone will.

Welcome to Mudcat!

A

Subject: Kerry Woman's Lament
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Mar 00 - 02:35 PM

Hello Cafe Denizens! Does anyone know of this song? Does a version exist in the Irish language or only in English? Any information about recorded and/or printed sources would be greatly appreciated.

Gist of story is about three men who go out in a boat and become stranded and hungry and er...cannibalism, you know.

Thanks,

Sheila M. Hogg Orwig Music Library Brown University email: [e-mail]