The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #27705 Message #2292465
Posted By: GUEST,Bob Coltman
19-Mar-08 - 06:15 AM
Thread Name: Origin: I'll Tell Me Ma
Subject: RE: Help: I'll Tell Me Ma
But I'm betting "written by Francie McPeake" applies only to the local variant.
It all hinges on who Francie McPeake is. If it's Francis McPeake Sr. of the famous McPeake Family of Belfast (famous for introducing "Will Ye Go Lassie Go"), he was born in 1885 and his street singing years can't have started much before 1890. By a mere four years after that, the song was published in versions collected all over England -- too soon by far for him to be its sole source.
All honor to the great Francis and his grand music, but this implies to me that "Tell My Ma" is a street song going much further back in time and tradition, to which McPeake added a few local references, including the name Johnny Murray, which occurs only in some of the versions.
On the other hand, if Francie McPeake was his mother ...
Maybe somebody can furnish better info on that than I.
Bob