29 Sep 98 - 06:56 AM (#39874) Subject: Lyr Add: THE OLD ALARM CLOCK (Dubliners) From: Wolfgang Hell As an offshot from the Corries thread here's a song I know from a Dubliners LP. I think I got the lyrics nearly correct but I can't be 100% sure. It's a song from bygone days when the Anglo-Irish conflict was fought with wrong sentences, guns and bombs, means of conflict management we haven't heard of for at least four weeks. Wolfgang
THE OLD ALARM CLOCK
1. When first I came to London in the year of '39
2. Oh next morning down by Marlborough street I caused no little stir,
3. And says I to him, "Your honour, if you give me half a chance,
4. Said the judge, "Now listen here, my man, and I'll tell you of our plan.
5. Now this lonely Dartmoor city would put many in the jigs. |
29 Sep 98 - 07:19 AM (#39876) Subject: RE: ADD: The old alarm clock From: Wolfgang There's one more song using this tune I know of. It's called "The pigeon". I know it from the Scottish group The Exiles but I do not understand enough of it to do a decent transcription. But one verse should give you an idea of the story and perhaps someone else can add more:
...At the court on monday morning I faced the magistrate |
29 Sep 98 - 07:50 AM (#39879) Subject: RE: ADD: The old alarm clock From: Martin Ryan On a minor geographic point: Marlborough Street is in Dublin. "Marylebone Street" is in London - and has a courthouse! Its pronounced, roughly, "Mar-i-bon" street, curiously enough. (See other threads for French-English_French migration of words!)
Regards |
29 Sep 98 - 08:27 AM (#39884) Subject: RE: ADD: The old alarm clock From: Wolfgang Martin, thanks for the correction. (Smiling:) I see, there's still room for the improvement of my transcription abilities. Wolfgang |
29 Sep 98 - 09:59 AM (#39898) Subject: RE: ADD: The old alarm clock From: Martin Ryan Wolfgang
You should have seen my attempts at German, many years ago!
Regards |
30 Sep 98 - 06:53 PM (#40065) Subject: RE: ADD: The old alarm clock From: Ewan McV Dominic Behan recorded the Old Alarm Clock back in about 1957, by the way, and indeed sang Marylebone. As I recall the associated story, in 1939 the IRA were hampering the British war effort as best they could. Germany had a lot of Eire sympathisers then, on the basis that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. |
03 Oct 98 - 10:38 AM (#40273) Subject: RE: ADD: The old alarm clock From: skw@ Ewan, is there more to the 'associated story'? Was the song written about a particular incident? And is it true it was written by Dominic Behan? - Thanks, Susanne |
05 Oct 98 - 10:50 AM (#40366) Subject: RE: ADD: The old alarm clock From: Martin Ryan Skw@ Ewans mejssage put it very neatly! Also: It may well be true that Dominic Behan wrote it - I'll check later. Regards |
06 Oct 98 - 02:52 PM (#40584) Subject: RE: ADD: The old alarm clock From: Martin Ryan I expecterd to find this in Behan's "Ireland Sings" book - but it ain't there! Regards |
15 Nov 16 - 03:52 PM (#3820806) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Old Alarm Clock (The Dubliners) From: GUEST,Jon Thanks for the transcription! I've never heard of gelignite before, and so I was confused as to why anyone would be arrested for owning an alarm clock. For anyone who find this thread in the future, the IRA were making improvised explosives from alarm clocks and gelignite (a high explosive made from a gel of nitroglycerine and nitrocellulose). |
16 Nov 16 - 03:55 AM (#3820884) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Old Alarm Clock (The Dubliners) From: Dave Hanson You don't make explosives from alarm clocks, the clock was used as a timer to detonate the bomb. Dave H |
16 Nov 16 - 10:20 AM (#3820970) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Old Alarm Clock (The Dubliners) From: Keith A of Hertford Gelignite is the English name for dynamite. |
18 Nov 16 - 02:40 PM (#3821402) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Old Alarm Clock (The Dubliners) From: Jim Dixon From Wikipedia: Gelignite (/ˈdʒɛlɪɡnaɪt/), also known as blasting gelatin or simply jelly, is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or gun cotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpetre (sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate). |
26 Feb 19 - 07:21 AM (#3979139) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Old Alarm Clock (The Dubliners) From: GUEST,aussie_lefty Perhaps this thread is too old for an addition to be of any interest or use, but it occurred to me that Thomas Keneally's novel "Woman of the Inner Sea" has a character called "Jelly" because of his association with gelignite. I've sung "The Old Alarm Clock" for decades but was (embarrassingly) unaware of the connexion with Behan. Thanks for the thread, the information, etc. (Bob in Queensland) |