Lyr Req: Easy and slow

Subject: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: kendall
Date: 30 Mar 14 - 07:44 AM

A few people such as Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners recorded Easy and slow, but there is a verse missing. Does anyone know this:

"The heathery hills were all dancing around us....were crying for dew,
On a flower clad bench she wrapped her arms 'round me... be good enough dear for to buckle my show.

And what's it to any man whether or no I came to the fore when she gave me the cue..
and

she whispered full low "You have neatly and gently buckled my shoe."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Mar 14 - 07:54 AM

Uploaded on Oct 17, 2010
(This song was written by Dominic Behan. The lines in the chorus, "to buckle her shoe" refers to old rhyming slang for sexual acts, though here it certainly feels very romantic. The lines, "tied up my sleeve" refers to old contraceptives. There are lessons in this song, and I've always considered it sweet, if still a bit bawdy.)

'Twas down by Christ-church that I first met with Annie,
A neat little girl - and not a bit shy
She told me her father, who came from Dungannon
Would take her back home in the sweet by and by.

And what's it to any man whether or no,
whether I'm easy or whether I'm true.
As I lifted her petticoat easy and slow.
And I tied up my sleeve for to buckle her shoe.

Down along Thomas Street, down to the Liffey.
The sunshine was gone and the evening grew dark.
Along by Kingsbridge and begod in a jiffy
Me arms were around her beyond in the park.

And what's it to any man whether or no,
whether I'm easy or whether I'm true.
As I lifted her petticoat easy and slow.
And I tied up my sleeve for to buckle her shoe.

From city or country a girl is a jewel.
And well known for gripping the most of them are.
But any young fella he is really a fool.
If he tries at the first time for to go a bit far

And what's it to any man whether or no,
whether I'm easy or whether I'm true.
As I lifted her petticoat easy and slow.
And I tied up my sleeve for to buckle her shoe.

I strolled with this fine maid far out in the country
The blossoms all around us all crying for dew
On a violet-clad bench sure I sat down beside her
and I tied up my sleeve for to buckle her shoe

And what's it to any man whether or no,
If I came to the fore when she gave me the cue?
She closed her eyes tightly as she murmured full low:
"Be good enough dear for to buckle my shoe".

The heathery hills were all dancing around us
false things in the world turned out to be true
when she put her arms 'round me and kissed me and murmured
you've neatly and tenderly tied up my shoe

And what's it to any man whether or no
If I ventured quite gamely to see the thing through
When she lifted her petticoat silent and slow,
and I tied up my sleeve for to buckle her shoe.

from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZbSBiq9u6c

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: zozimus
Date: 31 Mar 14 - 06:01 AM

Hi Kendall,
Dominic Behan's version is a rewrite of a song called "I Tuck'd Up My Sleeves" by Sean O' Casey from one of his plays. The verse you quote is from the O'Casey version. The sexual meanings mentioned by Guest above is pure speculation from those who think that way.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 31 Mar 14 - 07:15 AM

"The sexual meanings mentioned by Guest above is pure speculation from those who think that way."
Hi Zoz.
Always wondered about that - can't for the life of me imagine what the 'rhyming slang' reference is unless it's shoe and flue - but never heard that outside Liverpool
"I'll be up yer flue in a minute or two"
See you both next month at N.P.U. maybe?
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: kendall
Date: 31 Mar 14 - 07:46 AM

Guest, thanks for those lyrics.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Mar 14 - 10:56 AM

You're more than welcome, Kendall.

##############

I should have put the entire post in quotation marks. My mistake.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: thetwangman
Date: 31 Mar 14 - 11:17 AM

Ronnie ommitted "the heathery hills" verse when he recorded the song originally in 1965 but included it in a subsequent recording in 1978.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 31 Mar 14 - 06:49 PM

And the melody is the jig "Donnybrook Fair" slowed down....

Subject: Lyr Add: EASY AND SLOW (Dominic Behan)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Apr 14 - 01:06 PM

Here's how I heard it on Spotify. Of the verses posted above, verses 2 and 3 are switched, verses 4 and 5 are omitted, and there is a totally different 4th verse.


EASY AND SLOW
As sung by Dominic Behan on "Down by the Liffeyside: Irish Street Ballads" (1960)

1. 'Twas down by Christ-church that I first met with Annie,
A neat little girl, and not a bit shy
She told me her father, who came from Dungannon,
Would take her back home in the sweet by and by.

CHORUS: And what's it to any man whether or no,
Whether I'm easy or whether I'm true.
When I lifted her petticoat easy and slow.
And I tied up my sleeve for to buckle her shoe.

2. From city or country a girl is a jewel.
And well built for gripping the most of them are.
But any young fella he is really a fool.
If he tries at the first time for to go a bit far

3. We wandered by Thomas Street, down to the Liffey.
The evening [sic] was gone and the evening grew dark.
Along by Kingsbridge and begod in a jiffy
Me arm was around her beyond in the park.

4. Now if ye should go to the town of Dungannon,
Search till your eyeballs are empty or blind.
Be ye trottin' or walkin' or sittin' or standin',
A girl like Annie ye never will find.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: GUEST,DonMeixner
Date: 03 Apr 14 - 06:23 AM

I guess it doesn't much matter the meaning of the verses to me. This its a great song. I first heard it on David Jones LP of the same name. That being said, I think Ronnie Drew owns this song. Don.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Apr 14 - 09:56 AM

This one was always a favorite for me, even when I hadn't a clue what it all meant. Maybe because of that!

Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Easy and slow
From: Mr Red
Date: 03 Apr 14 - 10:48 AM

FWIW there was a term "buckle" which in certain times - probably medieval - referred to a lady's pudenda. Now a playwright - particularly an Irish one - would most likely have knowledge of ancient terms, and who knows if it survived longer in Ireland.
Certainly when I was busy writing poetry and lyrics I had my head buried in all manner of word books like Brewers Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. Dominic Behan would have done similar IMHO.
And - sure - wouldn't he not be averse to a little joke at the expense of the naive? Given the reading of the lyric without dirty glasses it is a lovely gentle song. But that is the way subtle jokes work.

I used to sing the "Unquiet Grave" with a sound operated dancing flower next to me. It always got a huge laugh. It is the juxtaposition of the serious and the absurd, the surprise, the incongruous, that makes the humour.