The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #19103   Message #2453006
Posted By: Jim Dixon
29-Sep-08 - 01:10 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Phil the Fluther's Ball (Percy French)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Phil the Fluther's Ball (Percy French)
PHIL THE FLUTER'S BALL (note spelling) can be found, without attribution, in Irish Song Book, No. 1. New York: Wehman Bros. 1909, page 113, which is viewable with Google Book Search.

Lyrics are identical to the version lately posted by Joe Offer EXCEPT:

Verse 1 line 3: he just sent out a notice
Verse 1 line 8: battherin' the flure (as already pointed out by Snuffy)
Verse 2 line 8: The flower of Adrumgullion (which I suppose is a deliberate mispronunciation)
--plus various spelling differences, which I haven't bothered to enumerate.

It's the earliest version I can find with Google Book Search, but, I don't have any faith that it's the authoritative original version.