Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh

Subject: Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 May 20 - 01:39 AM

This song needs more work.

Thread #17751   Message #172468
Posted By: Amos
02-Feb-00 - 04:24 PM
Thread Name: Lyr/Chords: In the Hills of Shiloh (S Silverstein)
Subject: Lyr Add: PAT MURPHY OF MEAGHER'S BRIGADE

PAT MURPHY OF MEAGHER'S BRIGADE

'Twas the night before battle and, gathered in groups,
The soldiers lay close at their quarters,
A-thinking, no doubt, of their loved ones at home
Of mothers, wives, sweethearts and daughters.

With a pipe in his mouth sat a handsome young blade,
And a song he was singing so gaily,
His name was Pat Murphy of Meagher's Brigade
And he sang of the land of Shillelagh.

Said Pat to his comrades, it looks quare to see
Brothers fighting in such a strange manner;
But I'll fight 'til I die, If I never get killed
For America's bright starry banner.

Far away in the west rode a dashing young blade
And the song he was singing so gaily,
'Twas honest Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade
And the song of the splintered shillelagh.

Well, morning soon broke and poor Paddy awoke
He found rebels to give satisfaction
And the drummer was beating the Devil's sad tune
They were calling the troops into action.

Far away in the west rode a dashing young blade
And the song he was singing so gaily,
'Twas honest Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade
And the song of the splintered shillelagh.

Then the Irish Brigade into battle was seen,
Their blood for the cause shedding freely
With their bayonet charges they rushed on the foe
With a shout for the land of shillelagh.

Far away in the west rode a dashing young blade
And the song he was singing so gaily,
'Twas honest Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade
And the song of the splintered shillelagh.

The day after battle, the dead lay in heaps
And Paddy lay bleeding and gory,
With a hole in his breast where some enemy's ball
Had ended his passion for glory,

No more in the camps will his letters be read
Nor his voice be heard singing so gaily
For he died far away from the friends that he loved
And far from the land of shillelagh.
^^^

Subject: RE: Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 17 May 20 - 10:57 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_c9V9YA4WA

Please note that the lyrics are posted on that YouTube page by someone named TeaTime. There are a few differences between the lyrics Amos posted and what shows up at the link.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 17 May 20 - 11:05 AM

https://www.loc.gov/resource/amss.sb30412b.0/?st=text

Lyrics at that page. Worth a look.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh
From: Lighter
Date: 17 May 20 - 12:43 PM

The De Marsan broadsheet published in New York:

PAT MURPHY OF MEAGHER'S BRIGADE.
Air: Think of your head in the morning.

'Twas the night before battle: and, gathered in groups,
The soldiers lay close in their quarters;
They were thinking, no doubt, of the dear ones at home,
Of mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters.
With his pipe in his mouth, sat a dashing young blade,
And a song he was lilting quite gaily:
It was honest Pat Murphy, of Meagher's Brigade,
And he sang of the Sprig of Shillaly.

Och, murdher! says Pat, it's a shame for to see
Brothers fighting in such a quare manner:
But I'll fight till I die, (if I shouldn't be kilt)
For America's bright Starry Banner.
Now, if it was only John Bull to the fore,
I'd rush into battle quite gaily;
For the spalpeen I'd rap with a heart an a half,
With my illigant Sprig of Shillaly!

Jeff. Davis, you thief! if I had you but here,
Your beautiful plans I'd be ruinin':
Faix! I'd give ye a taste of me bayonet, bedad!
For thrying to burst up the Union:
There's a crowd in the North, too, an they're just as bad:
Abolitionist spouters so scaly —
For throubling the naigers I think they desarve
A Whack from a Sprig of Shillaly!

The morning soon came, and poor Paddy awoke,
On the Rebels to have satisfaction:
The drummers were beating the divil's tattoo,
Calling the boys into action.
Then, the Irish Brigade in the battle was seen,
Their blood, in our cause, shedding freely;
With their bayonet-charges they rushed on the foe,
With a shout for the Land of Shillaly!

The battle was over, the dead lay in heaps:
Pat Murphy lay bleeding and gory:
A hole through his head, from rifleman's shot,
Had finished his passion for glory;
No more in the camp shall his laughter be heard,
Or his voice singing ditties so gaily;
Like a hero he died, for the Land of the Free.
Far away from the Land of Shillaly!

Then, surely, Columbia can never forget,
While valor and fame hold communion,
How nobly the brave Irish Volunteers fought
In defence of the Flag of our Union;
And, if ever Old Ireland for Freedom should strike,
We'll a helping hand offer quite freely:
And the Stars an the Stripes shall be seen along-side
Of the Flag of the Land of Shillaly!

H. DE MARSAN, Publisher,
54 Chatham Street, New-York.

I've read somewhere that the lyrics were written by J. F. Poole, the Irish songwriter for N.Y. vaudeville, who earlier had written the words to "Tim's Finnegan's Wake."

A list of songbooks and their contents appended to the undated "Tony Pastor's 'Own' Comic Vocalist" indicates it appeared in "Fatty Stewart's Comic Songster," which I haven't seen. On the previous page is an ad for "Tony Pastor's Irish Comic Songster," which lacks this song but includes "Parody on 'Weeping, Sad and Lonely," the original of which appeared in 1863.

This suggests that "Pat Murphy" appeared no earlier than 1863. That year may be its true date, for none of the songsters advertised mention "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again," Patrick Gilmore's smash hit of 1863.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh
From: Lighter
Date: 17 May 20 - 12:55 PM

Catherine Bateson, author of the dissertation, "The Culture and Sentiments of Irish American Civil War Songs" (2018) notes an 1863 printing of the song by Horace Partridge of Boston.

era.ed.ac.uk › bitstream › handle › Bateson2018PDF

She doesn't mention Poole as author.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 17 May 20 - 01:05 PM

The song is also known as "Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade", so perhaps that might find the writer of the lyrics.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh
From: Lighter
Date: 17 May 20 - 01:56 PM

A notice in the Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), June 22, 1863, p. 2, announces the performance of a "sensational drama" titled "Young America and Old Ireland, or The London Correspondent in Camp." It seems to include a song, "Paddy [sic] Murphy (of the Irish Brigade)," sung by George R. Edeson.

OTOH, "Paddy Murphy" may have been the protagonist of the play and Edeson the star. The anotice is entirely ambiguous.

"Paddy" or "Pat Murphy," of course, would be a stereotypical name for a member of the Irish Brigade. I haven't found the name of the playwright or any text of the play.

More apposite is a notice in the Nashville Daily Union (Sept. 27, 1863) announcing the performance of "a new song, 'Pat Murphy of Meagher's Brigade,' [sung] by Mr. Stewart."

Nashville, Tenn., was occupied by Union troops from 1862.

It's tempting to identify "Mr. Stewart" as the "Fatty Stewart" of the songster.
"Fatty Stewart" (J. C. Crossy, 1834-1905) was a well-known comic singer of the period.

Subject: RE: Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh
From: Lighter
Date: 17 May 20 - 03:57 PM

The ascription to Poole may be mistaken.

A memorable performance, from the Chicago Inter Ocean (Dec. 7, 1902), Editorial Section, p. 4:

"I was aboard a United States man-of-war in the harbor of Norfolk the last year of the war. we were doing harbor police duty and also guarding the supply boats that went to the dismal swamp for water for the warships. ... On one trip out we came upon a [Confederate deserter].... His hair was long and unkempt and his clothing was scant and the worse for wear.

"He had evidently been caught napping, and we covered him before he could make a break to get away. We took him aboard and fed him. After being refreshed he warmed up and said that he...was waiting for a chance to slip through our lines to his family. We assured him of our willingness to aid him in carrying out his plans, and he then said there was a camp back in the swamp of his comrades in a like predicament and a number of deserters from the Union army who were waiting for an opportunity to slip through our lines to their homes in the North.

"We persuaded him to guide us to what he called the bandit camp, for the men were marauders and were living upon the result of their thieving or their forays on the settlements on the outskirts of the swamp. The Confederate guided us to the camp. We deployed and stealthily closed in. As we were about to attack, we were attracted by the singing of an Irishman, whose brogue and fine voice so charmed us that we stopped to listen. The night was clear, the swamp quiet, and the silence was broken only by the Irishman's song.

"He sang of the night before battle and the loved ones at home, of mothers and sisters and daughters, and the refrain to each verse was to the effect that honest Pat Murphy, of Meagher's brigade sung of the land of shillelah.
[The anonymous writer then quotes phrases from the song as in the DeMarsan text. -L.] ...

"When the song was finished the campers clapped their hands, which showed that Union and Confederate deserters were in sympathy with the sentiment. Before the hand-clapping had ended, the men in camp were looking down the barrels of our navy carbines, and all were made prisoners."

Subject: RE: Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh
From: GUEST,Starship
Date: 17 May 20 - 04:16 PM

I expect the following may be old hat to you, Lighter. If so, sorry.

http://bartonpara.com/bp/wp-content/audio/jw/murphy.htm

Subject: RE: Origins: Song of the Splintered Shillelagh
From: Lighter
Date: 17 May 20 - 08:22 PM

Thanks for the link, Starship.

I hadn't come across it before.