Rafters Ring _ meaning

Subject: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: cujimmy
Date: 31 Dec 05 - 09:47 PM

I love singing "Dublin in my tears" which is a wonderfull song, but what does " its just the rafters ring " mean. It seams to refer to the river,(liffey) can anyone enlighten me, ps - Happy New Year everyone - jimmy

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: GUEST,jp2
Date: 31 Dec 05 - 10:01 PM

Rafters are the longtitudinal bits of wood that make up part of the ceiling of a room.Ergo,if you are singing,or playing,loudly the rafters ring.Q.E.D.
JP2

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: cujimmy
Date: 31 Dec 05 - 10:08 PM

thanks guest. that was quick - have a nice new year.

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: curmudgeon
Date: 01 Jan 06 - 05:41 PM

"And when we've caught that whale me boys, it's homeward we will steer,
And make those rafters for to ring, , a-drinking of strong beer."

If you're ever near the New Hampshire seacoast on the third Saturday of the month, come by the Press Room in Portsmouth. If all the regulars from that pub are joined by the Portlanders and the Gloucester crew, you'll be able to witness this kind of event - Tom

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 01 Jan 06 - 06:17 PM

And often in the ailhouse we would make the rafters ring when every soldier in the house would lift his glass and sing...fare thee well Enniskillen fare thee well for a while. mg

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: GUEST, Topsie
Date: 02 Jan 06 - 07:07 AM

If you go to a Frankie Armstrong workshop you'll reall y know what 'rafters ring' means.

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Jan 06 - 05:45 PM

Curmudgeon-

At the Press Room it's more likely that our singing would dislodge a ceiling tile rather than ring a rafter, but it is a great place to sing and a fine crowd to sing with,

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: Peace
Date: 02 Jan 06 - 05:54 PM

I saw the title of this thread and thought of Tom and Huck hitting a bell while floating down the Mississippi.

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: John O'L
Date: 02 Jan 06 - 11:44 PM

I have wondered in the past about rafters ringing, but never bothered to look into it until now. It seemed wrong to me - it should be 'it's just the rafters ringing'.

So I went searching and here is the explanation.

Note the third para regarding the toono, and then scroll down to where the toono is described. Scroll down further and you will find that the toono, (or the rafters' ring) is a hole to let the smoke out. It strikes me as being a lovely piece of imagery when juxtaposed with the remmembered voice of Big Jim Larkin.

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: mack/misophist
Date: 03 Jan 06 - 11:06 AM

An older version is "make the welkin ring", the welkin being the dome of the heavens. Now that's a voice.

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: Amos
Date: 03 Jan 06 - 11:57 AM

Making the rafters to ring is the established notion; I don't think smoke-holes or yerts had much to do with it. It refers to loud singing making the roof-beams resonate.

A

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: Paul Burke
Date: 03 Jan 06 - 12:07 PM

I assumed it was some sort of uncomfortable condition, due to sitting too long on the wet logs of the raft...

Is Dublin in my Tears related to the Holy Ground, where rafters didn't ring but IIRC roared?

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: michaelr
Date: 03 Jan 06 - 09:37 PM

In "The Holy Ground" it's:

We will drink strong ale and porter
And we'll make the rafters roar
And when our money it is all spent
We'll go to sea once more

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 03 Jan 06 - 11:01 PM

It's a fairly common image in English language folksongs, and in modern songs based on the idiom.

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: John O'L
Date: 04 Jan 06 - 12:45 AM

We were talking about 'Dublin Through My Tears', weren't we? It's got nothing to do with singing, shouting, drinking, dancing, raising the roof, making the rafters roar, ring or go rat-a-tat-tat.
It's about memories. Sad, melancholy reminiscences; fleeting, transient, like smoke.

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: Joybell
Date: 04 Jan 06 - 12:59 AM

We'd sit around and sing and we'd make the rafters ring
And the rats in the ceiling sang in tune
The possums on the rails would hang by their tails
And the old dog howled at the moon.

From "This Song is a Cross" by the late Mike O'Rouke.

Subject: RE: Rafters Ring _ meaning
From: JennyO
Date: 04 Jan 06 - 08:42 AM

Then there's "raise the rafters".

Raise the rafters, raise the rafters
Raise the rafters, we don't care
If the roof's beyond repair

From "Unison in Harmony" by Jim Boyes