Lyr Add: The Kellys

Subject: Lyr Add: THE KELLYS
From: Wolfgang Hell
Date: 07 Jan 99 - 12:08 PM

On the Moloney, O'Connell, and Keane CD "Kilkelly" there's a medley titled "Green fields of America". Here's my transcription of one of the song in that medley. Any corrections are invited. The song sounds like US-1920s to me. Am I far off?

Wolfgang

THE KELLYS

Three weeks ago last Tuesday, well, I left me home in Cork
To find me Uncle Martin Kelly living in New York.
When I landed in Hoboken and began without delay
To find me uncle's residence located in Broadway.
I went to their directory me uncle for to find,
But I found so many Kellys there that I nearly lost me mind.
Well, I went and asked directions from a friendly German Jew,
But he says, "Please, excuse me, but me name is Kelly too."

And there's Kelly, the barman, Kelly the carman,
Kelly the sailor who came from Donegal,
Kelly from Derry, Kelly from Kerry,
But the Kelly I was looking for, I could not find at all.

I travelled up to Boston, that city of great fame.
I heard the Kellys living there had made themselves a name.
The Kellys run the statehouse. The Kellys run the banks.
The police and fire department, sure, the Kellys fill the ranks.
Dan Kelly runs the railroad. John Kelly runs the seas.
Kate Kelly runs the suffragettes and she looks right good to me.
Well, I went and asked directions from a naturalized Chinese,
But he says, "Please, excuse me, but me name it is Kell Lee."

And there's Kelly from Dublin, Kelly from Sligo,
Little Mickey Kelly who came from the County Clare,
Sure, Kelly built the pyramids with good old Galway granite,
And when Kelly discovered the North Pole, sure, he found Pat Kelly there.

Subject: RE: The Kellys
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 28 Feb 02 - 02:05 PM

"The Kellys" also appears on a CD by Ruby Murray called "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling/Irish and Proud of It" (2 LPs were reissued as one CD.) There it is called "traditional."

It looks like AMG classifies everything as "rock" by default if they don't have a clue what it really is!

Subject: RE: The Kellys
From: alanabit
Date: 28 Feb 02 - 02:23 PM

Wolfgang, the title of this thread nearly gave me a heart attack. I feared it was going to be about the Kelly Family!

Subject: RE: The Kellys
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 28 Feb 02 - 05:36 PM

At least they're out of the European Song Contest, Alan! And were pictured in my local paper (the national contest was held in my hometown, of all places!) rather shell-shocked by their reception.

Now, back to the REAL Kellys ...

Subject: RE: The Kellys
From: Wolfgang
Date: 01 Mar 02 - 07:39 AM

Since a couple of days ago we have several requests from GUEST, kelly family like e.g. here. And now this old thread comes up. Coincidence?

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: The Kellys
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 01 Mar 02 - 07:47 AM

Would there be an Australian version so they could include perhaps the most famnous Kelly of them all, Ned?

Subject: RE: The Kellys
From:
Date: 01 Mar 02 - 09:08 AM

Hi.

No coincidence. Just a rather fecund surname!

My kin trace themselves back to the Newfoundland mines of the last century. When I moved from Boston to NYC, my grandma Kelly asked me to look up some distant Kelly relations in NYC just to say hi.

When I asked her for specific names, she couldn't remember any and told me to just check the phone book!