Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green

Subject: Lyr Add: THE FORGER'S FAREWELL / ERIN THE GREEN
From: Fergie
Date: 22 Jul 08 - 05:42 PM

I have transcribed these lyrics from the singing of Dolores Keane on her album 'Night Owl'

THE FORGER'S FAREWELL.

Farewell lovely Erin I'm bound for to leave you,
May peace be on your daisy clad hills.
In wild foreign lands I'm bound for to praise you,
And I'll sing of your sweet winding rills.

My parents for my welfare they did their endeavour,
As parents will do for any son,
They bound me in my early days to be an engraver
But alas by that art I'm undone.

I set out the plates for forging notes and that I'll ne'er deny,
Drawn on the Bank of Scotland and that company I defy,
They traced me unto Belfast all through a hired spy,
Which parted me from my Sweet Erin the Green.

It was not for murder that I received my sentence.
I ardently loved all mankind.
Through the naked I clothed I made the acquaintance,
Of friendship sincere and sublime.

When my enemy assaileth me no dagger I drew
He was of a savage temper, with a smile I did subdue
The noble bonds of charity I held all in my view,
From my childhood with Sweet Erin the Green.

Now alas in that sweet harbour of commerce and pleasure
William Hill now he bids you farewell.
You're the sweetest in the North for talent and treasure.
And may peace and content with you dwell.

While though the cruel ocean, between us now does roll
My heart shall be as true as the needle to the pole.
A poor convict I remain, my sad spirits to condole,
Far away from you, my Sweet Erin the Green.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell (Erin the Green)
From: GUEST,kenny
Date: 23 Jul 08 - 08:22 AM

Recorded a good few years ago by the great Donal Maguire.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell (Erin the Green)
From: MartinRyan
Date: 23 Jul 08 - 08:29 AM

I thought we had a set of this on Mudcat before - but I'm damned if I can find it. Great song which I recall first hearing in the early '70's from Tony Holleran and Pauline Sweeney in the Athlone Folk Club. I seem to remember that John Moulden traced some newspaper reports referring to the case on which the song was based.

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell (Erin the Green)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 23 Jul 08 - 11:47 PM

Martin, I also thought we had a thread on this, but it took a lot of looking to find it. Turns out we had a thread (click), but no lyrics were ever posted. Fergie, bless you for remedying that.

The Folk Music Index says an alternate title is "Adieu Lovely Erin," recorded in 1979 by Donal Maguire, and in 1986 by John Faulkner. The Keane recording (issued 2000) calls it traditional.

---

Fergie, I edited one word into your transcription. Can I ask you to listen again and see if you agree? If you disagree, I'll remove it. Here's what I hear on the Keane recording:

When my enemy assaileth me no dagger I drew
He was of a savage temper, with a smile I did subdue
The noble bonds of charity I held all in my view,
From my childhood with Sweet Erin the Green.

I don't know that I would accept "Erin the Green" as a legitimate alternate title - where'd that come from? The usual Erin the Green is a completely different song.

-Joe-

Subject: Lyr Add: THE FORGER'S FAREWELL / ERIN THE GREEN
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 24 Jul 08 - 03:31 AM

The song, aka Erin the Green, was originally recorded from Robert Cinnamond of County Antrim, Northern Ireland by Sean O'Boyle in 1955. So far as I know his is the only version which has ever come to light.

Cinnamond sang it to a version of the tune which is usually associated with The Napoleonic song, The Green Linnet, as four eight line verses:-

The Forger's Farewell (Erin the Green)

Farewell lovely Erin I'm bound for I'm now going to leave you,
May peace be with your daisy clad hills.
In wild foreign lands I'm bound for to praise you,
And tell the perfection of your sweet winding rills.
Your sweetest of liberties and merits I'll reveal,
And I'll tell the perfection of your sweet winding vales.
A shamrock I will wear. I'll teach strangers for to heed thee,
When far from you lovely Erin the Green.

My parents for my welfare they did their endeavour,
As parents would do for a son,
They bound me in my early days to be an engraver
But alas by that art I'm undone.
I set the plates for forging notes and that I'll ne'er deny,
Drawn on the Bank of Scotland and that company I defy,
Till I was traced all unto Belfast all through a hired spy,
Which parted me from you lovely Erin the Green.

It was not for murder that I received my sentence.
I ardently loved all mankind.
Through the naked I clothed I made the acquaintance,
Of friendship sincere and sublime.
When my enemy assailed me no dagger I drew
He was of a savage temper, with a smile I did subdue
The noble bonds of charity I held all in my view,
From my childhood in lovely Erin the Green.

Belfast, that sweet harbour of commerce and pleasure
William Hill now he bids you farewell.
You're the sweetest in the North for talent and treasure.
May peace and content with you dwell.
And though the cruel ocean, between us does roll
My heart will be as true as the needle to the pole.
A poor convict I remain, my sad spirits to condole,
When far away from you, my Sweet Erin the Green.


The song became popular after John Faulkner learned it from a recording of Cinnamond, and it is presumably from John that Dolores Keane learned it. I'd guess it was also John who put the air to it with which it is now usually sung.

BTW, the above text was transcribed by me from a very bad copy of a tape of Robert Cinnamond, so there's a good chance I made one or two errors. However, the only major variance between his version and the way Dolores Keane sings it is that she has missed the last four lines of the first verse.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell (Erin the Green)
From: MartinRyan
Date: 24 Jul 08 - 03:47 AM

Thanks, Joe - at least I wasn't imagining it. I had been searching on fragments of the lyrics - so no wonder I didn't find the thread!

I may have a copy of John Moulden's pamphlet on the incident, somewhere - I'll have a hunt.

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell (Erin the Green)
From: MartinRyan
Date: 24 Jul 08 - 03:54 AM

p.s. As Fred says, the song is commonly known as Erin the Green or Sweet Erin the Green

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell (Erin the Green)
From: Fergie
Date: 24 Jul 08 - 05:43 AM

Hi All

Thanks everbody for your contributions

Yes Joe your alteration is correct.

Fergus

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: Fergie
Date: 23 May 10 - 10:29 AM

Gleaned from website Irish Convicts to NSW

Irish Convicts to New South Wales 1788-1849

William Hill

Details

Religion: Protestant
Age on arrival: 47
Marital status: Married
Calling/trade: Calico printer engraver
Born: 1779
Native place: Belfast Antrim Co
Tried: 1825 Antrim
Sentence: Life
Former convictions: None
Ship: Regalia (1826)
Crime: Forgery

I'll dig a little deeper and see what else I can turn up.

Fergus

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: Old Folker
Date: 17 Aug 14 - 04:34 PM

Hi Martin,
I originally heard this song being sang in Ma Flannery's Folk Club in Tullamore back in the early-mid seventies, It would have been sang by John Faulkner, this was the first time that we had heard him.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Aug 14 - 05:11 PM

He still sings it occasionally, here in Kinvara!
Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 18 Aug 14 - 04:31 AM

Gotta feed this phone a cookie sometime!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: MartinRyan
Date: 09 Oct 14 - 11:15 AM

There's a live recording of this by Patricia Flynn in the Goilin Song Project at the Irish Traditional Music Archive:

Click here

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: GUEST,Kevin
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 03:04 PM

Does anyone know where I could find the Cinnamond recording of this one? I'm interested in folksong that refers to printing and the related arts and can't find his version anywhere. It seems that the CD is long out of print and I can't find a used copy either.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: cnd
Date: 17 Sep 23 - 11:55 AM

Good luck -- the Folktrax cassettes/CDs are infamously hard to find or track down. People ask a couple times a year for help locating one for sale or digitized and as far as I'm aware it rarely turns up positive.

Don't mean to rain on your parade, but just cautioning against getting your hopes up too high.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: GUEST,John Moulden
Date: 22 Sep 23 - 06:15 AM

If you contact me through my website http://moulden.org I will be able to send you a file in MP3.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: GUEST,Kevin
Date: 16 Sep 23 - 03:04 PM

Does anyone know where I could find the Cinnamond recording of this one? I'm interested in folksong that refers to printing and the related arts and can't find his version anywhere. It seems that the CD is long out of print and I can't find a used copy either.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: GUEST,John Moulden
Date: 22 Sep 23 - 06:15 AM

If you contact me through my website http://moulden.org I will be able to send you a file in MP3.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Forger's Farewell / Erin the Green
From: cnd
Date: 17 Sep 23 - 11:55 AM

Good luck -- the Folktrax cassettes/CDs are infamously hard to find or track down. People ask a couple times a year for help locating one for sale or digitized and as far as I'm aware it rarely turns up positive.

Don't mean to rain on your parade, but just cautioning against getting your hopes up too high.