Lyr Req: The Emigrant's Letter (Percy French)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Emigrant's Letter (Percy French)
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Jun 11 - 10:51 AM

the word forenst is still used by some old people. I was in Rathvilly Co Carlow some years ago looking for a place and an old man I asked told me I'd find it forenst the pink house.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: CupOfTea
Date: 04 Jun 11 - 12:00 PM

A version of this song is one of the first Irish songs that seeped into my consciousness as a child, from the 1955 album of "Arthur Godfrey Presents Carmel Quinn." A couple years back, while on jury duty, I met a man who knew Carmel Quinn & he got me a CD of that album as well as some holiday songs recorded from TV specials. She does just two verses, and shifts the gender, changes some words. I've put the changes IN CAPS BELOW:

Dear Danny,
I'm takin' the pen in me hand,
To tell you I'M just out o' sight o' the land;
ON A grand OCEAN liner I'M sailin' in style,
But we're sailin' away from the Emerald Isle;
And a long sort o' sigh seemeS to COME OVER ALL
As the SHIP SEES the last bit of ould Donegal.
Och! it's well to be you that is takin' yer tay
Where they're cuttin' the corn in Creeshla TODAY.

Good-bye to you DanNNY, there's no more to be said,
And I think the salt wather's got into me head,
For it dreeps from me eyes when I call to mind,
The friends and the GOSSUN I'm leavin' behind;
BUT STILL HE MIGHT wait; whin I bid HIM good-bye,
There was just the laste taste of a tear in hIS eye,
And a break in her voice whin HE said "You might stay,
But plaze God you'll come back to ould Creeshla some day."

Gave me an excuse to dig this old chestnut out and listen!

Joanne In Cleveland

Subject: Lyr Add: THE EMIGRANT'S LETTER (Percy French)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 04 Jun 11 - 08:08 AM

From Gather Round Me: The Best of Irish Popular Poetry by Christopher Cahill (Boston: Beacon Press, 2004), page 31—but see my footnote.


THE EMIGRANT'S LETTER
Percy French

Dear Danny,
I'm takin' the pen in me hand,
To tell you we're just out o' sight o' the land;
In the grand Allan liner we're sailin' in style,
But we're sailin' away from the Emerald Isle;
And a long sort o' sigh seemed to rise from us all
As the waves hid the last bit of ould Donegal.
Och! it's well to be you that is takin' yer tay
Where they're cuttin' the corn in Creeshla the day.

I spoke to the captain—he won't turn her round,
And if I swum back I'd be apt to be drowned,
So here I must stay—oh! I've no cause to fret,
For their dinner was what you might call a banquet.
But though it is 'sumpchus,' I'd swop the whole lot,
For the ould wooden spoon and the stirabout pot;
And sweet Katty Farrell a-wettin' the tay
Where they're cuttin' the corn in Creeshla the day!

There's a woman on board who knows Katey by sight,
So we talked of old times 'til they put out the light.
I'm to meet the good woman tomorra' on deck,
And we'll talk about Katey from here to Quebec.
I know I'm no match for her – oh! not the leesht,
With her house and two cows and her brother a preesht.
But the woman declares Katey's heart's on the say
And mine's back with Katey in Creeshla the day.*

If Katey is courted by Patsey or Mick,
Put a word in for me with a lump of a stick,
Don't kill Patsey outright, he has no sort of chance,
But Mickey's a rogue you might murder at wance;
For Katey might think as the longer she waits
A boy in the hand is worth two in the States:
And she'll promise to honour, to love and obey
Some robber that's roamin' round Creeshla the day.

Good-bye to you Dan, there's no more to be said,
And I think the salt wather's got into me head,
For it dreeps from me eyes when I call to me mind,
The friends and the colleen I'm leavin' behind;
Oh, Danny, she'll wait; whin I bid her good-bye,
There was just the laste taste of a tear in her eye,
And a break in her voice whin she said "You might stay,
But plaze God you'll come back to ould Creeshla some day."


* This verse is given in Ireland: The Songs, Book 4 by Mel Bay Publications Inc (1995), page 42, but it's not in any other book that I've been able to find. I suspect it's a "folk" accretion to French's original. The rest of the lyrics have the look of being taken down from someone's singing.

The Mel Bay book also gives the music and chords.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: MartinRyan
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 04:47 AM

Which said, what French actually wrote was:
"And sweet Katty* Farrell a-wettin' the tay"

Regards

She becomes "Katey" in the next verse, in my copy of his poems!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: MartinRyan
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 04:44 AM

Usually spelt "fornenst". Scots and NE England dialect word, I think. Dunno about Shakespeare - but it's in Joyce! Sense is usually "opposite" or "facing" as GUESTloan_stranger says. Pretty common still throughout the northern parts of Ireland.

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: GUEST,loan stranger
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 04:29 AM

Daniel and Bridie are singing "and Katie fornenced me awetting the tay", which translates accurately as "and Katie Beside me awetting the tay", (Fornenced) is a very old English word, said to have been used by Shakespeare in one of his plays, unknown to me, meaning any of the following, Against, Opposite, Beside.
Good Luck from Donegal

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: Gutcher
Date: 19 Jan 10 - 05:34 AM

First heard "Cuttin The Corn" on a R.E. program in the early 50s
   this program ran from 10 to 11pm on Saturday nights & was called
   "The Ballad Makers Saturday Night". Anyone remember it?
   Here in SouthWest Scotland we had good reception & the name of
   the young lady I have is Katie Fernensby. When in Ireland I have
   checked the telephone directory & Fernensby is not there.
   Joe.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Jan 10 - 03:53 AM

The lyrics on the internet show the line ;

"And sweet Katie Farrell awettin' the tay"

But listening to DanielO'Donnell and Bridie Gallagher versions the name sounds totally different- what is this different bit?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: GUEST,Warsaw Ed
Date: 14 May 02 - 01:57 AM

Alison: Many thanks to you for posting the verses of :The Emigrants Letter" [Warsaw is in Virginia-notPoland]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: alison
Date: 14 May 02 - 12:50 AM

just a little note.... Creeslough is a pretty little village on the way up to one of my favourite places in Donegal......used to go up there to Dunfanaghy pretty often..... lovely part of the world...


slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: masato sakurai
Date: 14 May 02 - 12:49 AM

Posted by alison HERE.

~Masato

Subject: LYR ADD - emigrants letter
From: alison
Date: 14 May 02 - 12:48 AM

a supersearch for "creeslough" found it

doesn't seem to have made the database but it is in this thread

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: alison
Date: 14 May 02 - 12:44 AM

it is called "the emigrants letter" and is probably in the database.. I'll have a look... if not I'll post it


slainte

alison

Subject: Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today
From: GUEST,Warsaw Ed
Date: 13 May 02 - 07:07 PM

I am looking for the suceeding verses to the song "Cutting the Corn Around Creeslough Today" [attributed to Percy French] I have the first Verse. Recorded by Sean O'Neil Band [Irish Sing-a-long Favorites.