The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #14957   Message #132132
Posted By: Wolfgang
05-Nov-99 - 09:49 AM
Thread Name: Origins: Donal Og (Young Donald)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Donal Og (Young Donald)
Stewie, no this verse is not in my printed version. My one version is a xerox from a record cover without further information and only few verses, the other version is in Jake Walton, Keltische Folksongs, which seems to be a reliable source, as far as I can tell. The notes say Copyright Seamus Ennis, tune (and Gaelic lyrics): trad. The book gives two further recordings, The Fureys on 'A dream in my hand' and Ray Fisher (no title).
I have no idea, whether additional verses have been added to the translation or whether all versions we have are just subsets of the original translation.
My version from the book has this order of verses: Verse 1 (your version), verse 7, my additional verse, verse 4, verse 5, verse6, verse 8.
None of these verses are identical to the ones you posted, but mostly the differences are minor. The largest difference is in your verse 7, my verse 2, which would make no sense at position 2 with O'D's words. Jake Walton prints:

Well I saw you first on a Sunday evening,
down at the altar as I was kneeling,
about Christ's passion that I was reading,
but my eyes were on you and my poor heart bleeding.

Isn't that a fine variant?
Philippa (above) has given links to Gaelic lyrics (the first link leads to the tune in ABC). I'd love to see here a verbatim translation.

Wolfgang