Les,

The idea that they had of the agricultural year was that after the harvest was in and the fields were bare, that was the start of the year. It went from the dark and emptiness of winter, into the rebirth of spring, the bright growing days of summer, and finishing with the harvest.

Similarly with the day, starting at sunset, through the dark and cold of the night, into the dawn and the brightness, before coming to end with the following sunset again. It's the same principle as the Jewish way of looking at it, but that's coincidence - no lost tribes here!

There's another celebration associated with the harvest, and it's known in the Isle of Man as the meillea or mhelliah (pronounced MEL-yer). That was originally the finish of the harvest, was applied to the harvest home or harvest supper, and is now applied to social events in pubs and clubs when items donated are auctioned off. Originally it would have been produce, but now includes whatever people donate of any sort. Money goes to charities. It's a sort of recycling of tradition, so the mhelliah is still a living tradition in the Island.

Fliss,

The song you sang was called "Fairies' Dance" and came from Manx National Songs, published 1896 by Boosey & Co, London and New York, the final one in a series of songs from parts of the British Isles and Ireland. The songs were arranged by William Henry Gill, who also wrote the Manx National Anthem, 'O Land of our Birth'.   Material was collected by Dr John Clague, W H Gill and Gill's brother, John Frederick Gill, mainly in the early 1890s.

Though there were, in a number of cases, lyrics in Manx Gaelic to the tunes, they decided not to use those, but to provide lyrics in English so that the songs could be taken up by the British musical public. Even where there were full lyrics in Manx, the songs in Manx National Songs rarely reflect the content of them. With a race on to get Manx material out before another publication, W H Gill also wrote some lyrics, his brother J F Gill supplied one set, some friends and acquaintances of W H Gill in London supplied others, amongst whom was the well-known Irish lyricist, A P Graves, who supplied thirteen, with poems by Sir Walter Scott and Thomas Hood to fill an odd gap.

Clague and W H Gill were amongst the founder members of the English Folk-Song Society, of which Gill was also a member of the first committee.

At the top of the page there's the name of the tune on which the song is based, which is 'Juan y Jaggad Keeir', Juan (a Manx name pronounced JEW-un) of the Grey Jacket. It's originally a children's mocking song for a cry baby.

Lhig y bullad veih'n heear
As woaill eh Juan y Jaggad Keeir
Ren eh howley gollrish creear
As Juan y Quirk va keayney.

The bullet shot from the west
And struck Juan of the Grey Jacket
It holed him like a seive
And Juan y Quirk (a Manx surname) was crying.

This particular set of lyrics is by Edward Oxenford, whom W H Gill knew from his London connections, and who supplied three sets of lyrics. This one is awfully twee.

With regard to the largest contributor of lyrics, Arthur Percevel Graves, he described himself as 'almost a Manxman'. His parents met in Castletown, then the capital of the Isle of Man, and were married by Rev William Gill, the uncle of W H Gill and J F Gill, at Malew Church in the Isle of Man.

Sorry to waffle on. I get carried away - or perhaps ought to be.


Shoh slaynt,

Bobby Bob