The FolkTrax recording was made in 1967. Tom Munnelly recorded the song again from John Reilly in 1969, and this time John remembered more (assuming that the Kennedy issue is not edited); this appeared on The Bonny Green Tree: Songs of an Irish Traveller (Topic 12T358, 1978). Rather than guess at corrections to the above, I'll post the whole thing here as Munnelly transcribed it for the Topic record.


What Put the Blood?

Oh, what put the blood on your right shoulder?
An' son come tell it unto me, to me.
An' son come tell it unto me.

Oh, that is the blood of a hare, Mama,
An' who may pardon me, me
An' who may pardon me.

Sayin', that is the blood of your youngest bretheren,
An' son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

What a-kem between you an' your youngest bretheren?
Son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

It wall from the cuttin' of a hazel rod
That never will grow a tree, a tree
Oh, that never will grow a tree.

Sayin', what will you do with your lovin' wife?
An' son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

She will leave her foot upon a shipboard
An' she'll sail all along with me, with me
She'll sail all along with me.

Sayin' what will you do with your two grand children?
Son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son, come tell it unto me.

I'll give one to my daddy an' the other to my mammy
An' they'll keep them company
An' they'll keep them company.

What will you do with your lovin' house?
An' son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

I will leave it there for the birds of the air
To mourn an' sing for me, for me
For to mourn an' sing for me.

Sayin' what will you do with your two race horses?
An' son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

I will take the bridles off their heads
An' they'll race no more for me, for me
An' they'll race no more for me.

Sayin' what will you do with your two greyhounds?
An' son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

I will take the straps off their two necks
An' they'll hunt no more for me, for me
An' they'll hunt no more for me.


A full transcription is in Tom Munnelly, 'John Reilly, The Man and His Music', in Ceol: a journal of Irish Music vol IV no 1, Dublin, 1972. I don't know if there are transcriptions anywhere of the earlier recording.