Hi, Ellie - I'm the music editor, so I have magic powers to move you over to this thread, which already has extensive discussion of this song. Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song. Note that the 1947 date is the earliest entry among the books indexed by the Ballad Index, which emphasizes books published in the U.S.
Donall Og (Young Donald)
DESCRIPTION: Gaelic or English: Singer tells her lover Donal to take her with him, that he'll be well taken care of. She reproaches him for breaking his promise; he says she has ignored him. She says that he is always in her mind, and has taken her past and her future
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1947 (Hoagland)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Gaelic or English: Singer tells her lover, Donall Og (young Donald) to take her with him on his travels, that he'll be well taken care of (and sleep with the Greek king's daughter). She reproaches him for breaking his promise; he replies that she has rejected and ignored him. She says that he is always in her mind, even in the church where she should be thinking of Christ's passion. She says he has taken her past and her future, and perhaps will even take away God himself
KEYWORDS: hardheartedness love request rejection farewell parting travel abandonment lover foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Kennedy 31, "Donall Og [Young Donald]" (1 text in Irish Gaelic + translation, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 238-240, "Donall Oge: Grief of a Girl's Heart" (1 text, translated by Lady Gregory)
Donagh MacDonagh and Lennox Robinson, _The Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1958, 1979), pp. 106-108, "Donal Oge: Grief of a Girl's Heart" (1 text, translated by Lady Gregory)
Roud #3379
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Donald Og
Donal Og
Donal Ogue
NOTES: A personal note: Kennedy calls this "one of the most intense love songs in the Irish language." Or in English; I can testify that if you are carrying a serious torch for someone, this song can bring you to tears every time. - PJS
It's pretty strong even if you *aren't* carrying a torch. The English version is reported by Norman Buchan (notes to the recording "The Fisher Family") to have been translated by Frank O'Connor. (The translation by Lady Gregory quoted by Hoagland and MacDonogh/Robinson is very different, and hardly even poetry; I doubt anyone will ever sing it.)
The text sung by Joyce Fisher omits the references to promise-breaking, making the song a lost love song rather than a betrayal song. The Fishers reportedly had it from Bob Clancey.
Seosamh O Duibhginn devoted a monograph to the variant texts of this song; according to Kennedy, it contains nearly every version ever collected. - RBW
File: K031Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song ListGo to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or DiscographyThe Ballad Index Copyright 2014 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.
Here's the rather cryptic entry from the archive of Peter Kennedy's folktrax.org:
DONALL OG - "Young Donald" - Irish Gaelic - O DUIBHGINN 1960 many variant texts - KENNEDY FSBI 1975 # 31 Rodgers -- Kitty RODGERS rec by Noel Hamilton, Baile Thior (Torre Island) 1967: FTX-003 - Sheila GALLAGHER rec by PK, Co Donegal 1953 - Maire AINE NI DHONNCHADHA, Connemara: CLADDAGH CC-6 1970 - Seamus ENNIS: GAEL-LINN CEF-009 [nd] - O BOYLE Family: CEOLTA GAEL OSS-2 1971 on d/cass 0938-C60
DONALL OG - ("Charming Cailin Ruadh") - Song in English - Traveller finds a maid complaining - the bugle sounds and she bids adieu - (transl from Gaelic by Frank O Connor) -- Michael CRONIN of Macroom Co Cork rec by Alan Lomax, Dublin 1951: 7"RTR- 0587 - Kate MAUDE rec by PK, London 1968 tape - Joyce FISHER (voc/ gtr): TOPIC 12-T-137 1966 - Paddy TUNNEY: TOPIC 12-TS- 264 1975 - Roger NICHOLSON (dulc): LEADER LER-2094 1976 tune only Instrum - CHIEFTAINS 2: TARA (CLADDAGH) TA-4 cass - Instrum DAMBUSTER DAM-006/ CASS-0350
As Stewie says in the first message, there's an entire book published in 1960 titled Dónall Óg, edited by Seosamh Ó Duibhginn (1914–94) - see the note in the Ballad Index entry about Seosamh Ó Duibhginn.
You may also have already checked the Website of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, www.itma.ie - but it's more fun to go there in person. It's worth a trip to Dublin.