Lyr Req: Buried in Kilkenny (Child#12, June Tabor)

Subject: Lyr Req: june tabor's buried in kilkenny #12
From: Roberto
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 03:25 PM

I need someone to check this transcription. It is not been difficult to get the general structure of the text, because I have Paddy Reilly and Mary Delaney's recordings of the song. But I'm not sure I always get exactly what June Tabor sings. Thank you. R

Buried in Kilkenny
June Tabor, Always, record A (fist of four), Topic TSCD558, 2005. June Tabor says: "Mike Yates collected it from a Traveller at a Traveller's camp under the Westway (in West London)".

I think the singer she refers to should be Paddy Reilly. R

"What had you for your dinner now
My own darling boy?
Oh, what had you for your dinner
My comfort and my joy?"
"I had bread, beef and cold poison
Mother, dress my bed soon
I have a pain into my heart and
Wouldn't I long to lie down"

"What will you leave your father now
My own darling boy?
Oh, what will you leave your father
My comfort and my joy?"
"I will leave him a coach and four horses
Mother dress my bed soon
I have a pain into my heart and
Wouldn't I long to lie down"

"What would you leave your mother now
My own darling boy?
Oh, what would you leave your mother
My comfort and my joy?"
"I will leave her the keys of all treasure
Mother, dress my bed soon
I have a pain into my heart and
Wouldn't I long to lie down"

"What will you leave your children now
My own darling boy?
Oh, what will you leave your children
My comfort and my joy?"
"They can follow their mother
Mother dress my bed soon
I have a pain into my heart and
Wouldn't I long to lie down"

"Where will you be buried now
My own darling boy?
Oh, where will you now be buried
My comfort and my joy?"
"I will be buried in Kilkenny
There I'll take a long night's sleep
With a stone to my head
And a scra to my feet"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's buried in kilkenny #12
From: sapper82
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 03:39 PM

Am I the only one who thought this song was ABOUT June Tabor being burried in Kilkenny?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's buried in kilkenny #12
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 04:05 PM

No. I rushed to see who would have done such a thing and why.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's buried in kilkenny #12
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 26 Jun 05 - 04:25 PM

Paddy Reilly's set was recorded by Jim Carroll and Pat Mackenzie, not Mike Yates. Whoever wrote June Tabor's sleeve notes has got the ascription wrong. Mike recently wrote to Musical Traditions to point that out.

The Reilly set can be heard on From Puck to Appleby: Songs and stories from Jim Carroll's and Pat Mackenzie's recordings of Irish Travellers in England (MTCD325-6, 2003):

http://mtrecords.co.uk/articles/puck.htm

The link is to a copy of the notes accompanying the recording, which include a transcription of Paddy Reilly's text. That should make clear any difficulties arising from June Tabor's sometimes rather odd enunciation. In fact, your transcription appears to be almost identical, with no significant differences beyond perhaps the addition of a few extra words of no consequence; though "scra" is rendered as pronounced, rather than as "scraith" as in the Carroll/MacKenzie transcription.

Since you presumably already have a copy of that, I'm not sure what the problem is.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's buried in kilkenny #12
From: Roberto
Date: 27 Jun 05 - 03:37 AM

The problem is that I'm not sure of these two lines:

What will you leave (etc): it seems as though June sings another word before "will".

I have a pain into my heart: I'm not sure if she says "into" or something else.

R

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's buried in kilkenny #12
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 27 Jun 05 - 05:31 PM

I've died on my arse in Galway, buried in Kilkenny sounds about right.