Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare/Majella O'Hare

Subject: Lyr Add: Majella O'Hare-uncivil war song
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 10:52 AM

This powerful sung came to mind this morning as I was looking at a photograph of a burnt Iraqui child in a hospital in Bagdad after another night's bombing. The song actually came out of the uncivil war of Northern Ireland but it's unfortunately more universal be it Bosnia, Rwanda, Eritria, Los Angeles. I don't know anything about the songwriters and would like to know more (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 for chord placement):

MAJELLA O'HARE

(By Ken Graydon & John McFaddian
©1981    Sherman Oaks, CA
Tune: after "Nell Flarety's Drake")

C—F---C----------F--C-----------------------F
Not thir-teen years old on the day she was mur-dered,
--------C--------------G--C---------G-C---------------Am
On her way to Com-mu-nion with a small group of friends,
---C---------Am--C------------------------F
Ma-jel-la O'Hare was shot down in the road-way,
----C-----------------------------G--C----G7-C
And try though I might, I can not com-pre-hend;
------------------F--------------C-----------Am
She's mere-ly a vic-tim, not one of ye'r mar-tyrs,
--------G------C----------G----C-------------------Am
Though she'll do just as nice-ly, now that she's gone,
-----C-------------F—C------------------------------F
But I just can not fa-thom which way has more hon-or:
---C---------------------------------G—C----G7-C
To make war on chil-dren, or to use them as pawns.


I can not respect you, ye'r self-righteous warfare,
Though ye try to explain it in phrases so grand,
For eight hundred years now and more ye have battled,
And ye've slaughtered each other in ye'r greed for the land;
And ye've plowed it with cannon and sowed it with morters,
With each of ye claiming the soil as ye'r own,
And ye've left poor Majella and others just like her
To harvest the terrible seeds that ye've sown.

And now ye point fingers, each one towards the other,
And ye say "It's too bad" and ye say "It's a shame";
And ye both raise a clamor in praise of ye'r virtue,
And loudly protest "'Tis the other to blame";
And ye blew up Montbatten and machine-gunned Ms. Devlin,
And ye've taken Majella O'Hare now as well;
So when ye ask my support, and request understanding,
I can only reply – "Ye can both go to Hell!"


Charley Noble

---

Spelling corrected from "Mahala," per Charley's request.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare
From: belfast
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 12:20 PM

Well, it's another "a plague on both your houses" song. The message is that the prods and the taigs are equally guilty and between them they have caused the death of a young girl. However, Majella O'Hare was killed by British soldiers. While the sentiment of the song may be valid (and it is certainly respectable and popular) it is perhaps not quite proper to use the killing of a young girl by paratroopers to propagate that point of view.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 01:08 PM

Belfast-

Thanks for the additional information. There's probably room to include in this song's introduction that it's another "a plague on ALL your houses" which is especially easy to say if you're currently not within any of the relevant houses. Of course, I'm sitting in the middle of the world's must conspicuous glass house right now, unfortunately unstoned...

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare
From: belfast
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 07:42 AM

It's hard to find a house of stone, brick or wood these days. Glass seems to be the only construction material left. All that bright light makes stone throwing so much easier. I assume the writers of this song saw the name "Majella" and gave it a Spanish pronunciation. Here it would be pronounced with a hard "J". But I fear this is not their only misreading.

I am guessing here, but I would imagine the family, friends and neighbours or Majella O'Hare would be Nationalists/Republicans. They might think it bizarre (or even incredibly offensive) that they have been held responsible for her killing. They might even think it odd that their Protestant/Unionist neigbours are also being held responsible.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 07:50 AM

Belfast-

I'll post a note for a Joe Clone to correct the spelling of "Majella." My Michigan friend who gave me the song back in the 1980's transcribed it from a tape but the songwriters were from California so that's probably where the Spanish pronouciation came from.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare
From: Wolfgang
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 09:14 AM

Majella O'Hare (link to the CAIN website's coverage)

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare/Majella O'Hare
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 12:10 PM

Thanks for the link, Wolfgang.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare/Majella O'Hare
From: ard mhacha
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 04:26 PM

Belfast you are certainly right, the O`Hare family would not be pleased.
Thanks Wolfgang for the link, I have the book associated with this murderous act. Ard Mhacha.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare/Majella O'Hare
From: belfast
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 11:33 AM

I'm glad I'm not on my own on this one. Not that I would deny anyone the right to compose or sing any song and I have no doubt that the writers of this song were inspired by the most decent and humane of motives. I just think we should be clear about what the song is saying. And it is strange that a song would berate anyone who might use the death of a child to make a political point and then proceed to do just that.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare/Majella O'Hare
From: GUEST,Francois
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 12:51 PM

I would hate to sing this song in front of a 'belfast' audience.
I can imagine the response.
Very, very polite.
Very, very chilly.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Mahala O'Hare/Majella O'Hare
From: Charley Noble
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 03:58 PM

It's a little late but I wonder if the California songwriters are aware of the follow-up reports. I would imagine they were working from an original wire service report.

I do appreciate the tact with which this song is being discussed, and I'm convinced now that the "facts" do not correlate with the song's powerful message. I guess there are still new lessons to be learned from this old song, and different ones than I was first thinking when I posted it.

Charley Noble