Lyr Req: Young Cassidy

Subject: Lyr Req: Young Cassidy
From: GUEST,Iona
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 02:34 AM

I haven't the slightest idea who wrote it, and I can't find the lyrics to it anywhere. But you can hear it HERE , and if anybody's got the lyrics, I'd be grateful. :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8_dppISrf0

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Young Cassidy
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 03:24 AM

I wonder if it's related to the film of the same title, Young Cassidy. TCM.com says this:

Rod Taylor stars in the true story of Irish playwright Sean O'Casey, Young Cassidy (1965), directed by John Ford and Jack Cardiff, also starring Julie Christie, and Maggie Smith.

The movie trailer doesn't have the song. Anybody want to transcribe the Clancy recording from the YouTube video?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Young Cassidy
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 04:37 AM

I've seen the film a few times - it was on TCM. And theres a hurling team coming out of a pub singing Bold Thaidy Quill.

This songs a tripey though isn't it. I'd never heard this - it certainly didn't register. typical John Ford celtic twilight rubbish.

O'Casey was a gutsy character - not afraid to confront the Irish myths, English nastiness, all the bluster and bollocks that goes with nationalism of every nation. He deserves better than that.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Young Cassidy
From: GUEST,Iona
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 01:00 PM

I don't think the CBTM song was played on the movie. *shrug* I am not very good at transcribing songs a lot of the time. It's a neat song--I'm surprised that it's not more well known.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Young Cassidy
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 06:52 PM

Here's the lyrics from the youtube video. There's no soundtrack listing for the film in imdb, and as the recording is from 1962 and the film was 1965 I imagine it's not from the film.

Far from Al's John Ford celtic twilight stuff, I think it sounds like something that Tommy Makem himself might have written, but on a cursory look I couldn't find an author.

Mick

---

YOUNG CASSIDY

His name was Cassidy.
They called him Johnny Cassidy.
Lived in a tenament,
A Dublin Georgian tenement.
Through war and slavery
He sang a song of liberty,
He fought with fiery pen
To stir the souls of men,
Young Cassidy.

There in that tenement,
That lonely Georgian tenement
He wrote by candlelight,
He wove his dreams by candlelight.
And when the cannon roar
Had poured out death in bloody war
His thundering, golden words
Above their noise was heard,
Young Cassidy.

He saw the poverty,
The soul-destroying poverty.
He tasted bitterness,
He burned with flaming bitterness.
He shouted loud and clear,
He wanted all the world to hear
His people said he lied
Because he hurt their pride,
Young Cassidy.

And now he's gone away,
The eagle he has gone away.
The stars are dimmer now,
The Plough and stars are dimmer now.
When we found glory now
Who's going to tell our story now?
There's no more song of joy
From freedom's garden boy.
Young Cassidy.

His name was Cassidy.
They called him Johnny Cassidy.
Lived in a tenament,
A Dublin Georgian tenement.
Through war and slavery
He sang a song of liberty,
He fought with fiery pen
To stir the souls of men,
Young Cassidy.

(His name was Cassidy.
They called him Johnny Cassidy.) <repeat and fade>


Source: youtube vide of Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Young Cassidy
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 11:21 PM

Well I'm a great admirer of Tommy and the Clancys and John Ford.

However, I think it fair to say we're talking complete cobblers in this case. the song is a load of tripe, commissioned for the movie - too much of a coincidence to be anything else..

i was living in London when the movie came out. I can remember the posters everywhere on the tube - but the grandiosity of the lyrics were humbled by the fact that noone liked the film very much.

i think the truths that O'Casey tried to tell are far more complex than can be circumscribed by rebel ballads and Hollywood producers working to their simplistic formulae.

frankly the song and the movie sells a great artist very short.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Young Cassidy
From: GUEST,Iona
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 11:57 PM

I'd wondered if Tommy wrote the song. I posted a question about it on Liam Clancy's messageboard, so we'll see what they have to say. I have a friend who'se a CBTM expert, so I'll shoot an email to him as well. I'm very curious about the song. :)

Thank you very much for the help, Mick! Now I can stop driving myself nuts trying to puzzle through the song myself....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Young Cassidy
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 12 Feb 12 - 10:30 AM

Seems it may be from the film after all (despite the 1962 date on youtube). Here's a picture of the label for the single, which credits T.Makem - S.O'Riada for the song. I'm guessing that, as I suspected, Tommy Makem was responsible for the lyrics and Sean O'Riada for the tune. The label also includes the line From the M-G-M Motion Picture "Young Cassidy").

This page Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem single releases confirms the release date as 1962. According to The Complete Rod Taylor - Young Cassidy, the film script was approved by O'Casey in 1964, just before he died and the film went into production that year. The film was released in 1965 and it still seems strange to me to release the song in 1962 with a from-the-film credit.

Billboard 1st May 1965 shows a Spotlight entry for the record, so I'm wondering if it was appropriated for the film and re-released in 1965 with the from-the-film credit.

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Young Cassidy
From: GUEST,Iona
Date: 12 Feb 12 - 01:42 PM

Mick is right. Tommy Makem wrote the words, Sean O'Riada wrote the tune. The air, not the whole song, appeared in the movie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Young Cassidy
From: GUEST,Enie
Date: 19 Aug 12 - 05:34 PM

My house was used as a filming location for this movie!! You may be interested in reading my blog post about it
http://renovatinglpa.blogspot.ie/2011/09/lpa-on-silver-screen.html