Tune Req: Sweet Marie (Percy French)

Subject: Lyr Add: SWEET MARIE (Percy French)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 May 13 - 07:39 PM

Damn! It's not like me to post lyrics without saying where I got them, but it looks like I did that back in 2007. It would be interesting to know, because the following are a little different.

From Prose, Poems and Parodies of Percy French (Dublin : Talbot Press, 1929), page 139:

SWEET MARIE
Words: Percy French. Air: Traditional American tune.

I've a little racin' mare called Sweet Marie,
And the temper of a bear has Sweet Marie,
But I've backed the mare to win,
And on her I've all my tin,
So we'll take a trial spin, Sweet Marie.

Hould your hoult, Sweet Marie,
If you bolt, Sweet Marie,
Sure, you'll never win the Farmers' Cup for me;
And if you don't pull it through,
Faith, I'm done, and so are you,
For I'll trade you off for glue, Sweet Marie.

Now, the colours that I chose for Sweet Marie
Were lavender and rose for Sweet Marie,
Och, but now, no thanks to you,
Sure I'm quite another hue,
For I'm only black and blue, Sweet Marie.

Hould your hoult, Sweet Marie,
If you bolt, Sweet Marie,
Sure, you'll never win the Farmers' Cup for me.
Every daisy in the dell
Ought to know me mighty well
For on every one I fell, Sweet Marie.

Now we're started for the cup, my Sweet Marie,
Weight for age and owners up, my Sweet Marie.
Owners up just now I own,
But the way you're waltzin' roun',
Sure 'twill soon be owners down, Sweet Marie.

Hold your hoult, Sweet Marie.
Pass the colt, Sweet Marie.
Och, you've gone and lost the Farmers' Cup for me.
You're a stayer, too, I find,
But you're not the proper kind,
For you stay too far behind, Sweet Marie.

[John Roche sings lyrics very similar to these on the album "Songs of Percy French's Ireland" (2012).]

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Sweet Marie (Percy French)
From: GUEST,Pete the hat Folk mob.. Eltham.
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 07:44 PM

Can some one submit the original guitar chords for this great song.
Kind regurds .Pete.

Subject: Lyr Add: SWEET MARIE (Percy French)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 28 Nov 07 - 09:26 PM

SWEET MARIE
(Percy French)

I've a little racing mare called Sweet Marie,
And the temper of a bear has Sweet Marie,
But I backed the mare to win, and on her I've all my tin,
So we'll take a trial spin, Sweet Marie.

CHORUS: Hold your holt, Sweet Marie, if you bolt, Sweet Marie
You will never win the Galway Plate for me.
Every daisy in the dell ought to know me mighty well,
For at every fence we fell, Sweet Marie.

Now the colours that I chose for Sweet Marie
Were lavender and rose for Sweet Marie.
Ah. but now no thanks to you, I am quite a different hue,
For I'm only black and blue, Sweet Marie. CHORUS

Now we're coming up to race, my Sweet Marie,
Runners up and in your place now Sweet Marie.
Will you stop your waltzing round or we'll both be on the ground
And we never will be found, Sweet Marie. CHORUS

When we started off to race my Sweet Marie,
I had backed you for a place, my Sweet Marie,
But you barely hit the dawn, I fell off and you went on.
Now my money is all gone, Sweet Marie.

FINAL CHORUS: Hold your holt, Sweet Marie, if you bolt, Sweet Marie.
Now you've gone and lost the Galway Plate for me.
You're a stayer too, I find, but you're not the proper kind,
For you stay too far behind, Sweet Marie.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Sweet Marie by Percy French
From: SingsIrish Songs
Date: 08 Jun 01 - 07:16 PM

French used Warman and Moore's Sweet Marie as his model and did the parody...

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Sweet Marie by Percy French
From: Sorcha
Date: 08 Jun 01 - 04:30 PM

LOL, I didn't even check there........ah well.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Sweet Marie by Percy French
From: SingsIrish Songs
Date: 08 Jun 01 - 04:26 PM

Never mind my request...I just found the source tune accidentally at the Melody Lane site...this original sheet music is also found at Lester Levy's site.

Original/source melody:

Sweet Marie.
Words by Cy Warman. Music by Raymon Moore.
1893

Cheers,

Mary

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Sweet Marie by Percy French
From: SingsIrish Songs
Date: 08 Jun 01 - 03:49 PM

Thanks Sorcha! That helps confirm the extra lyrics!

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Sweet Marie by Percy French
From: Sorcha
Date: 08 Jun 01 - 03:38 PM

I found the words here, but no sheet music......sorry, I'm not familiar with the song so I can't even guess.

Subject: Sweet Marie by Percy French
From: SingsIrish Songs
Date: 08 Jun 01 - 03:31 PM

I have a recording of this song sung by Leo McCaffrey and also found a set of lyrics in a James Healy book but Healy doesn't include the music. He only says the tune is "A Traditional American Tune".

First line is as follows: "I've a little racing mare called Sweet Marie"

Does anyone know the name of the tune used? or does someone have the abc/gif/jpeg of the music? If worse comes to worse I will transcribe it, but as with everyone, "so much to do and so little time".

Thanks bunches for any leads!

Mary ([e-mail])