Lyr Add: Kathleen

Subject: Kathleen ^^
From: toadfrog
Date: 24 Apr 01 - 11:10 PM

This is a very fine song which I have not found on DT or in a forum (maybe I still don't have search strategy down. Will provide an ABC if I can ever figure it out; so far it seems a bit intimidating.

KATHLEEN

Traditional

I'm in love with a charming young colleen
She's the fairest young creature on Earth.
She's a gem of the very first water,
And I'm proud that she's Irish by birth.

Kathleen, so fair and bright.
Star of e'en and darkest night.
In shady groves
and meadows green,
I love to roam with you Kathleen!

We are going to be married next Sunday,
If the old folks will give us away,
And the bells of the church will be ringing,
And the boys and the girls shout, hurray!

My father, he boasts not of riches,
He has a neat little farm all his own.
He digs his own potatoes at home,
And he lives in the county Tyrone.

Sung by Margaret Barry (Irish Tinker Lady) at Dundalk, 1952.
Recorded by Peter Kennedy. Available on SayDisc, Songs of the Travelling [sic] People. ^^

Subject: RE: Kathleen
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Apr 01 - 11:42 PM

Nice song, Toadfrog. Sure doesn't seem traditional, though. Did the album notes say anything more about it? I couldn't find it in any of the songbooks I checked. I see that there's a song called "Kathleen" in the New Green Mountain Songster (Flanders, et al). Last copy of that book I was was in the hands of Dan Milner at Sandy Paton's house. A few days later, Sandy posted a message to say that the book was missing...
So, since Sandy doesn't have the book and I suppose Dan Milner ain't talkin', is there anybody who can check the book and see if it's the same song?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kathleen
From: MMario
Date: 25 Apr 01 - 08:27 AM

toadfrog - there are a number of programs that can help with posting tunes. you can PM me if you are interested

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kathleen
From: Jimmy C
Date: 25 Apr 01 - 10:29 AM

Toadfrog, My father used to sing this song, I don't think it is traditional, I suspect it's a music hall song but I will make some inquiries just to be sure.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kathleen
From: toadfrog
Date: 26 Apr 01 - 01:41 AM

O.k. Maybe not traditional. The liner notes do not say. Margaret Barry accompanies herself on a banjo, which is played in the manner of a mandolin. Heavy accent, odd rythm. She, or someone who sounds exactly like her, was on a record that came out in the 50's called "Songs of an Irish Tinker Lady," or something close to that. I had a sampler which included "She Moves Through the Fair," (certainly not traditional) sung in exactly that manner. So very likely I was mistaken.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kathleen
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 May 01 - 06:26 PM

Thanks for posting this, toadfrog. As, by oyur dates, it came out the year before I was born, I am wondering if it had any influence on my parents in naming me. Always great to see one's name in a title!:-)

kat aka Kathleen/Kat'leen

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kathleen
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 11 May 01 - 08:34 PM

That was Margaret (Irish Tinker Lady), She's an acquired taste, but one well worth acquiring.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kathleen
From: toadfrog
Date: 12 May 01 - 12:36 AM

Thanks for all the information. This is the tune, without any attempt to give the rythm correctly (my first try at ABC ing.

T:Kathleen
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:15
K:C
G,CEDECG,E,F,A, A,A,B, DB,G,A,G,E, G,CEDECG,E,F,A,
A,A,B,DB,A,G,DCz
E,F,G,EDCA,B,C,D,B,A,_A,G,G,E,A,G,EDCFDEFGG,DD_DC

Hmm. No no intended, Kat. It seems a bit like meeting a mythical figure.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Kathleen
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 May 01 - 12:39 AM

LOL, toadfrog...I only meant I wondered if my parents knew the song and had latched onto the name because they liked it. They never did tell me how they came up with Kathleen, though I am not complaining. Thanks, again, for posting it.