The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #28589 Message #2066981
Posted By: Malcolm Douglas
03-Jun-07 - 03:04 AM
Thread Name: Origin: She Moved Through the Fair
Subject: RE: Help: She Moved Through the Fair
One thing you could do would be to read the other discussions here on the song (see links above). I appreciate that that might be onerous and confusing, though, given the amount of rubbish that people have posted here on the subject over the years. You will also find comments that, though they seemed reasonable at the time, have proved to be wrong (such as my own suggestion that it was Margaret Barry who introduced 'dead love' to the song).
Have a look at the DT file OUR WEDDING DAY. This is copied from the Sam Henry collection. Unfortunately, the DT transcriber has given it the wrong title (Henry called it 'Out of the Window') and hasn't bothered to credit the singer, who was James Lafferty of Doaghs, Magilligan. His version was printed in The Northern Constitution, 24 July 1926.
You'll recognise the first two verses. The third is the usual conclusion, while the others are 'floating' verses that occur in many songs. There is another version in Henry, 'Our Wedding Day' ('collected' in 1934), which appears to derive from Colum's re-write. That is not quoted here. There are further references to two versions in Paddy Tunney's repertoire if you have the stamina to wade through the other threads mentioned, and the wit to learn to use the search engine.
Good luck.