DANIEL O'CONNELL
as sung by O.J. Abbott 1957
'Traditional Singsers and Songs from Ontario' pp50-51;171
Collected by Edith Fowke
Musical Transcription by Peggy Seeger


Oh, you lovers of mirth, I pray pay attention
and listen to what I am going to relate
concerning a couple I overheard talking
As I was returning late home from a wake.
As I roved along I espied an old woman
Who sat by a gap all a-minding her cow.
She was jigging a tune called 'Come haste to the Wedding,'
Or some other ditty i can't tell you now.
She was jigging a tune called the 'Bouchahil Dhoun,'
Or some other ditty I can't tell you now.

So in looking around I espied a bold tinker
Who only by chance came strolling the same way.
The weather being warm he sat down to rest.
"Ah, what news,honest man?" the old woman did say.
"Then it's no news at all, ma'am," replied the bold tinker,
"But there's one and I wish that he never had been;
It's that damnable rogue of a Daniel O'Connell
He's no making children in Dublin by steam."

"Ah, children, aroo," replied the old woman.
"O hainm an diabhail, is he crazy at last?
Is there sign of a war or a sudden rebellion
Or what is the reason he wants them so fast?"
"Then it's not that at all, ma'am," replied the bold tinker,
"But the children of Ireland are getting so small,
It's O'Connell's petition to the Lord High Lieutenant
To not let us make them the old way at all."

"Oh by this pipe in my mouth" replied the old woman,
"And that's a great oath on my soul for to say,
I only a woman but if I were near him,
I'll bet you my life it is little he'd say.
Sure the people of Ireland, it's very well known,
That they give him their earnings, though needing it bad,
And now he is well crecompensing them for it;
By taking what little diversion they had!"
*I am an old woman that's going on eighty,
And scarcely a tooth in me head head to be seen,
If the villain provokes me I'll make better children
Than ever he could produce with his steam!"

"Oh, long life to you, woman," replied the bold tinker
"And long may you live and have youth on your side.
For if all the young girls in old Ireland were like you
O'Connell might pitch his steam engine one side"

"I think every woman that is in this country
Should begin making babies as fast as they can
So if ever Her Majesty calls for an army
We'll be able to send her as many as Dan"




*the ninth line of verse 4 begins at the upbeat into bar 10


In the notes are included: "O'Conell was the kind of man who inspired legends, and many equally fantastic tales were told about him thorughout the Irish villages. He was also the subject of innumerable broadsides:...no less than three dozen mentioning him in their titles,..."

and "The reference to "Her Majesty" in the last stanza indicates that this ballad must have been composed between 1837 when Queen Victoria came to the British throne and 1847 when O'Conell died - but it is hard to understand why an Irish patriot would have been so anxious to raise men bor a British sovereign."

"Although Mr. Abbott knew no Gaelic, his ear was so good that he reproduced the phrases accurately enough for them to be easily translated some seventy years afdter he had heard the song from Johnny Hopewell in south March."


X:1
T:DANIEL O'CONNELL
Q:1/4=85
I:abc2nwc
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:C
z3(G3/2 A/2) B|c C C E2E|G G G G E G|F F F E G (E/2 D/2)|
C E G A2G|c2c/2 c/2 E D C|C E G G E C|C F F E G E|
D2C/2 C/2 C2G2|G2A3/2 c/2 c2c|e3/2 c/2 c B A G|G d3/2 d/2 d c d|
e c c c2c/2 c/2|d/2 e3/2 d c A G|A c A G/2 E3/2 C|C E F E/2 G3/2 E|
D C3/2 D/2 C2c/2 c/2|d/2 e3/2 d c A G|A c A (G/2 E3/2) C|C E F E/2 G3/2 E|
D C3/2 D/2 C3
w:Oh,_ you lov-ers of mirth, I pray pay at-ten-tionand lis-ten to what I am_
w:going to re-late con-cern-ing a coup-le I ov-er-heard talk-ing As I was re-turn-ing late
w:home from a wake. As I roved a-long I spied an old wo-man Who sat by a gap all a-
w:mind-ing her cow. She was jig-ging a tune called 'Come haste to the Wed-ding,' Or some oth-er dit-ty i w:can't tell you now.She was jig-ging a tune called the 'Bouch-a-hil Dhoun,'_Or some oth-er dit-ty I
w:can't tell you now.