The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #152099   Message #3555873
Posted By: Betsy
03-Sep-13 - 06:16 PM
Thread Name: Irish? Sez who? and why?
Subject: RE: Irish? Sez who? and why?
Sometime in the early 70's ( could have been late 60's) I had the pleasure to be taken for a pint the night after I'd sang at the Adelphi Folk Club in Leeds. With me was Helen and Bob Spray and Jill and Jules Pidd. They introduced me to "the Professor". The Professor (Geoff Woods) was affectionately named, because he knew more about traditional Folk music than any of the rest of us.
He was a lovely entertaining and informative bloke - and he gave me the words to the "Lish Young Buy-a-Broom " which he said he had collected around 1947, all of which "pans-out" with MtheGM's Posting above.
The only contention I have, is, I would have thought that the song is from Westmorland and not from Cumberland, as, the place names Kirby Stephen and Kendal are clearly originally Westmorland although I fully understand the originator was from Cumberland.
Talk about splitting hairs !!!. I'll get me coat
Anyway back to the Subject Matter - One of the greatest Irishmen singers / performers Luke Kelly was a great Anglophile in his music choices especially Ewan McColl and later John Connolly / Bill Meek and it's possible that the less knowledgeable have formed their views listening to Dubliners CD's etc.
A Dutch couple in the North of Holland a had a pub called Fiddlers Green. They wouldn't believe it wasn't an Irish-written song, and, let's say, I wish I hadn't brought it to their attention. Some things are best left unsaid !!!!