Lyr Req: Darling Girl from Clare (Percy French)

Subject: Girl from Clare
From: bklaph
Date: 02 May 99 - 10:33 AM

I am looking for the lyrics to a song whose last line is, "I'll be married to the girl from Clare." I think the first line is, "We were sitting on the water 'pon a Sunday."

Subject: Lyr Add: DARLING GIRL FROM CLARE
From:
Date: 02 May 99 - 11:13 AM

DARLING GIRL FROM CLARE
(Traditional)

We were sitting on the wall upon a Sunday
To watch the girls go by
And thinkin' we'd be marrit to one one day,
When Kate Flynn caught our eye.
Oh, man, she had the makin's of a fairy
And it made each boy'o swear!
There's not one girl in the wide wide world
Like the girl from County Clare.

And every man had got the finest plan
Ye ever see now - barrin' me now.
Ev'ry day there's one of them would say
That she'll agree now - you'll see now.
All night they'd fight as to which o' them was right
In the colour of her eyes and hair;
But not a word from me was ever heard
About the Darling Girl from Clare.

I never said a single word about her
But I met the girl that day,
I told her I could never live without her,
An' what had she to say?
She said that I might go and see her father,
I met him then and there,
An' in less than an hour we were fightin' for the dower
Of the Darling Girl from Clare!

So every man had got the finest plan
Ye ever see now - barrin' me now,
Ev'ry day there's one of them would say
That she'll agree now - you'll see now.
But late last night when the moon was bright,
I axed her if she'd share
Me joy an' me sorra' an' begorra! On tomorra'
I'll be married to the Girl from Clare


Enjoy,

SingsIrish

Subject: RE: Girl from Clare
From: bklaph
Date: 02 May 99 - 02:54 PM

Thanks for the super fast reply, SingsIrish, I appreciate it very much.

Subject: RE: Girl from Clare
From: SingsIrish Songs
Date: 02 May 99 - 02:59 PM

No problem bklaph. It was just recntly I finally found the name to the tune after purchasing The Irish Tenors cd...Luckily the ones released in the States include all the lyrics.

Sláinte!

SingsIrish

Subject: RE: Girl from Clare
From: GUEST,jamac
Date: 16 Oct 00 - 06:46 PM

There's more verses to this than the Irish Tenors sing. I have a friend from Dublin who kind of knows them but I was hoping to find something a little more complete. It's awfully short this way.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE GIRL FROM CLARE
From: Frank Maher
Date: 16 Oct 00 - 08:14 PM

We were sitting on the wall upon a Sunday
To watch the girls go by,
And thinking we'd be married to one, one day,
When Kate Glynn caught our eye.
Oh, man, she had the makin's of an angel,
And it made one boy swear,
That there's not one girl in the wide, wide world,
Like the girl from the county Clare...

Now, every man had got the finest plan.
You ever see now, barrin' me now,
Every day there's one of them would say
That she'll agree now, you'll see now.
All night they'd fight as to which of them was right,
In the color of her eyes and hair,
But not one word, from me was ever heard,
About the darlin' girl from Clare....

Says Fagan, "'Tis the father I'll be pleasin'.
I'll tell him of the land I've tilled.
I'll tell him of the cattle I have greasin',
And the house I mean to build,
And when he sees the arable and pasture,
And the fat stock feedin' there,
And the hens and the chickens, you may go to the dickens,
For the girl from the county Clare....

I never said a single word about her,
But I met the girl that day.
I told her I could never live without her,
And what has she to say?
She said that I might go and see her father.
I met him then and there,
And in less than an hour, we were fightin' for the dower,
Of the darlin' girl from Clare....

Subject: RE: Girl from Clare
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Oct 00 - 01:58 PM

By the way, its not traditional. It was written by Percy French, 1854-1920.

Tom

Subject: RE: Girl from Clare
From: GUEST,George Henderson NSC
Date: 17 Oct 00 - 06:13 PM

There is an excellent recording of this Percy French song on our CD - Nenagh Singers Circle - sung by Jim (o' the mills) Ryan from Upperchurch Co. Tipperary.

Cd is available at $15 from me.

[e-mail]

Subject: Lyr Add: DARLING GIRL FROM CLARE
From: Quincy
Date: 20 Mar 01 - 08:16 AM

Hi guest..is this what you're after?

DARLING GIRL FROM CLARE

We were sitting on the wall upon a Sunday
To watch the girls go by
And thinkin' we'd be marrit to one one day,
When Kate Flynn caught our eye.
Oh, man, she had the makin's of a fairy
And it made each boy'o swear!
There's not one girl in the wide wide world
Like the girl from County Clare.

And every man had got the finest plan
Ye ever see now - barrin' me now.
Ev'ry day there's one of them would say
That she'll agree now - you'll see now.
All night they'd fight as to which o' them was right
In the colour of her eyes and hair;
But not a word from me was ever heard
About the Darling Girl from Clare.

I never said a single word about her
But I met the girl that day,
I told her I could never live without her,
An' what had she to say?
She said that I might go and see her father,
I met him then and there,
An' in less than an hour we were fightin' for the dower
Of the Darling Girl from Clare!

So every man had got the finest plan
Ye ever see now - barrin' me now,
Ev'ry day there's one of them would say
That she'll agree now - you'll see now.
But late last night when the moon was bright,
I asked her if she'd share
Me joy an' me sorra' an' begorra! On tomorra'
I'll be married to the Girl from Clare


best wishes, Yvonne

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: darling girl from clare
From: wes.w
Date: 20 Mar 01 - 08:17 AM

Percy French? If no catters have links, I think I have this at home.

Subject: Lyr Add: DARLING GIRL FROM CLARE
From: wes.w
Date: 21 Mar 01 - 08:16 AM

Yvonne - we crossed in replies, but there are two more verses. You have given the first and last, and their choruses. Here are the two central verses and chors:

2.Says Fagin, 'Tis the father I'll be plazin',
I'll tell him of the land I've tilled
I'll tell him of the cattle I have grazin'
And the house I mean to build
And whin he sees the arable and pasture
And the fat stock feedin' there
An' the hens an' the chickens
You may go to the dickens
For the girl from County Clare

Chorus2:
So every man had got the finest plan
.. as before..
That she'll agree now - you'll see now.
Thinks I 'Well then now
Though I haven't ere a cow
Of brass I've got my share
And so I know the way they ought to go
About the darlin' girl from Clare

3.Sez Sharkey 'She'll be coming to the shop there
To buy some sort of thing
I'll ax her if she has a mind to stop there
And should I buy the ring
An' whin she sees the curtains on the window
An' the old clock on the stair
Keepin' time to the minit
No one else will be in it
With the darlin girl from Clare

Chorus3:
So every man had got the finest plan
..as before ...
That she'll agree now - you'll see now.
Thinks I 'Ye may stop
Till yer dead in yer shop
An' not a hair she'll care
Wid all yer gold
Ye'll never hold a hold
Upon the darlin' girl from Clare

Written and composed by Percy French (1854-1920). There is also a female version he composed for his singing partner of later years, Mary Laffan.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: darling girl from clare
From: Quincy
Date: 21 Mar 01 - 10:14 AM

Glad you posted Wes....wasn't too familiar of the song myself so it was just a cut n paste job!

best wishes, Yvonne

Subject: RE: Girl from Clare (Percy French)
From:
Date: 01 May 03 - 08:40 AM

Tks for the words..
where might i find the sheet music for this song, as well as other percy french songs. any help would be appreciated.

matthew surapine
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Girl from Clare (Percy French)
From: Tiger
Date: 02 May 03 - 07:05 AM

And from that Irush Tenors album, Anthony Kearns goes a great job with this song.

Subject: RE: Girl from Clare (Percy French)
From: Aidan Crossey
Date: 02 May 03 - 07:51 AM

Check out Dick Hogan's version on his "Wonders Of The World" album where he also gives two superb accounts of other Percy French songs - "McBreen's Heifer" and "Tullinahaw".

French sort of fell out of favour for a few years, but I think he's experiencing something of a revival of interest.

Personally I think he was a great lyricist and if some of the stuff was a bit "B'Jaysus" for some tastes, in his defence it has to be said that he wrote with a great deal of understanding and compassion.

I still think "Eileen Óg" is one of the most poignant lost-love songs of his generation.

Subject: RE: Girl from Clare (Percy French)
From: ard mhacha
Date: 02 May 03 - 01:46 PM

You could also add, "Gortnamona", French when he wrote this song, had the terrible experience of suffering the sad death of his young wife in childbirth.
Brendan O`Dowda had Phillip Green write the music to accompany this beautiful, though sad song.
French was a genius, unrecognised by our old friend ,the musical snob. Ard Mhacha.

Subject: Tune Req: The Darling Girl from Clare (French)
From: Celtaddict
Date: 22 Aug 07 - 05:42 PM

I have found the words but am looking for the melody to this song. Does anyone have an mp3 or, ideally, sheet music?
Thanks so much!

---

I moved you to an existing thread on the song - we try to keep all info on a song together - lyrics, tune, chords, tab, history, etc. I e-mailed a scan of the tune to the address on your Mudcat registration.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Girl from Clare (Percy French)
From: Celtaddict
Date: 22 Aug 07 - 09:27 PM

Thanks, Joe, I had searched but found only words; guess I should have revived the thread to ask for tune.
Thank you for the tune but I did not receive it; will PM my address.
Thanks, Guest George; we met when I was privileged to attend the Nenagh Song Circle, though it was enough years ago I have the cassette, not the CD, so will have to go searching for it!

Subject: Lyr Add: THE DARLIN' GIRL FROM CLARE (Percy French
From: Joe Offer
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 03:22 AM

So, this is a composite from the typing of SingsIrish, Frank Maher, Wes W., and Quincy - as I found the lyics in The Songs of Percy French, selected and edited by James N. Healy, Ossian Publications, 1996.

THE DARLIN' GIRL FROM CLARE
(Percy French)

We were sitting on the wall upon a Sunday
To watch the girls go by,
And thinking we'd be marrit to one, one day,
When Kate Flynn caught our eye.
Oh, man, she was the makin's of a fairy,
And it made each boy-o swear!
There's not one girl in the wide, wide world,
Like the girl from the County Clare.

CHORUS
And every man had got the finest plan,
You ever see now - barrin' me now,
Every day there's one of them would say
That she'll agree now, you'll see now.
All night they'd fight as to which of them was right,
In the colour of her eyes and hair,
But not a word from me was ever heard,
About the darling girl from Clare.

Says Fagin, "'Tis the father I'll be plazin',
I'll tell him of the land I've tilled,
I'll tell him of the cattle I have grazin'
And the house I mean to build;
And whin he sees the 'arable' and 'pasture'
And the fat stock feedin' there,
And the hens and the chickens,
Ye may go to the dickens
For the girl from the County Clare.

CHORUS 2
And every man had got the finest plan,
Ye ever see now - barrin' me now,
Every day there's one of them would say
That she'll agree now, you'll see now.
*Thinks I, "well then now,
Though I haven't ere a cow
Of brass I've got my share,
And so I know the way they ought to go
About the darling girl from Clare.

Sez Sharkey "She'll be coming to the shop there
To buy some sort of thing
I'll ax her if she has a mind to stop there,
And should I buy the ring
An' whin she sees the curtains on the window
An' the old clock on the stair
Keepin' time to the minit
No one else will be in it
With the darling girl from Clare!"

CHORUS 3
So every man had got the finest plan
Ye ever see now - barrin' me now,
Every day there's one of them would say
That she'll agree now, you'll see now.
Thinks I, "Ye may stop
Till yer dead in yer shop,
An' not a hair she'll care,
Wid all yer gold
Ye's never hold a hold
Upon the darlin' girl from Clare."

I never said a single word about her,
But I met the girl that day,
I told her I could never live widout her,
And what had she to say?
She said that I might go and see her father.
I met him then and there,
An' in less than an hour,
We were fightin' for the dower,
Of the darlin' girl from Clare.

CHORUS 4
So every man had got the finest plan
Ye ever see now - barrin' me now,
Ev'ry day there's one of them would say
That she'll agree now - you'll see now.
But late last night
When the moon was bright,
I axed her if she'd share
Me joy an' me sorra'
An' begorra! on tomorra'
I'll be married to the Girl from Clare.


*original lines were:

Thinks I to meself
Though I haven't got the pelf

---

The tune, as printed, didn't sound right to me until I went up half a step on "watch the girls" to B-flat. The MIDI is my (edited/corrected) version.

Click to play

---

Written and composed by Percy French (1854-1920). There is also a female version he composed for his singing partner of later years, Mary Laffan.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Darling Girl from Clare (Percy French
From: Celtaddict
Date: 23 Aug 07 - 12:27 PM

Wonderful! Thank you so much, and for the PM as well!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Darling Girl from Clare (Percy French)
From: GUEST,brioc
Date: 22 Oct 11 - 11:39 AM

Hi there, I'm searching for the musical notation to this song. Anyone have it. Or a MP3 version even?!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Darling Girl from Clare (Percy French)
From: MartinRyan
Date: 23 Oct 11 - 09:02 AM

You can hear a version HERE

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Darling Girl from Clare (Percy French)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 27 Jul 13 - 02:14 PM

Click for an MP3 of the McNulty Family singing this song, from the Internet Archive.