Hello,

I have been looking for a definitive and correct version of this song and I am struggling. The version I am looking for is the "It was early, early in the spring" version listed under 'Croppy Boy' in Mudcat and not the "Good men and true in this house who dwell" one listed as 'Croppie boy'. My mother used to sing the latter when I was a child and apart for some reference to Geneva Valley seems to be fairly ok.

The problem I have is with the "Croppy Boy" lyrics. I have scoured the Internet and every version seems to start with the same verse.

"It was early, early in the spring
The birds did whistle and sweetly sing,
Changing their notes from tree to tree
And the song they sang was Old Ireland free."

No problem there but then things get a bit confused. One problem seems to be that people have been adding verses, changing lines and swapping names. Another problem is that the verses in many versions seem out of sync. The order doesn't make much sense.

Then there is the sudden movement from Wexford to Dungannon. That would have been some trick in 1798 Ireland.

I think it is cerain that this is a Wexford song and Dungannon can go fish. The Croppy Boy was incarcerated in the British Fort in Duncannon, with a 'C'. This still exists and is or was until recently owned by the Irish Defence Forces and you could actually visit the Croppy Boy cell. I did so as a youth during a scout camp in Duncannon, which is in the west of County Wexford on the River Suir estuary.

A problem with a fantastic resource like Mudcat is that many sites just copy lyrics from it as they find them here and incorrect versions get propogated. Checking various versions on Youtube has just added to the confusion.

I would really appreciate it if someone could check out their old song books and check the lyrics for the Croppy Boy if they have them. I would suggest that pre-internet books would be more likely to be accurate. I have some but a recent house move means they are in boxes that I can't get at.

Sorry for being so long winded.