Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee (Thornton, Lawler)

Subject: Lyr Add: THE IRISH JUBILEE
From: Martin Ryan
Date: 13 Jan 98 - 12:11 PM

Here's a set from Robin Morton's "Folksongs Sung in Ulster"

THE IRISH JUBILEE

A short time ago an Irishman named Docherty
Was elected to the Senate by a very large majority

Sure he felt so elected that he went to Denis Cassidy
Who owned a bar room of a very large capacity

Arra, says Docherty go over to the brewer and order
A hundred kegs of lager beer and give it to the poor!

Then go over to the butchers shop and order up a ton of meat
Be sure the boys and girls have got all they want to drink and eat

They made me their senator, to show them all me gratitude
They'll have the finest supper ever given in the latitude

Tell them the music will be furnished by O'Rafferty
Assisted on the bagpipes by Felix Mick M'Cafferty

Sure whatever the expenses are, remember I'll put up the tin
And anyone who doesn't come, be sure and do not let them in

Now Cassidy at once sent out the invitations
And anyone who came was a credit to the nation

Some came on bicycles because they had no fares to pay
And all those that did not come, made up their minds to stay away

Two by three they all rushed in the dining hall
Young men and old men and girls that were not men at all

Blind men and deaf men and men who had the chickenpox
Single men and double men and men who had their glasses on

Well in a few minutes nearly every chair was taken
Till the taprooms and mushrooms were packed to suffocation

When everyone was seated and we started to lay out the feast
Cassidy says rise up and give us each a cake apiece

He then said as manager he would try and fill the chair
We then sat down and all looked over the bill of fare

Well there was pigs heads, goldfish, mocking birds and ostriches
Ice cream, cold cream, Vaseline and sandwiches

Blue fish, green fish, fishhooks and partridges
Fish balls, snowballs, cannonballs and cartridges

We ate oatmeal till we could hardly stir about
Ketch-up and hurry-up, sweet-kraut and sauerkraut

Dressed beef and naked beef and beef with all its trousers on
Soda crackers, firecrackers, Cheshire cheese with breeches on

Beefsteaks and mistakes were down upon the bill of fare
Roast ribs and spare ribs and ribs that we couldn't spare

Reindeer, snow-deer and dear me and antelope
The women ate so much melon, the men said they cantaloupe

Red herrings, smoked herrings, herrings from old Erin's Isle
Bangor loaf and fruit cake and sausages a half a mile

Hot corn, cold corn, and corn cake and honeycomb
Red birds and red books, sea bass and sea foam

Fried liver, baked liver, Carter's little liver pills
And everyone was wondering who was going to pay the bill

Well we ate everything that was on the bill of fare
And then we looked on the back to see if any more was there

Well for dessert we had ice picks, tooth picks and a piece of skipping rope
And we washed them all down with a big piece of shaving soap

The bad played hornpipes, gas-pipes and Irish reels
And we danced to the music of "The wind that shakes the Barley fields"

Then the piper played old tunes and spittoons so very fine
Then in came fiddler Pat and gave to him a glass of wine

Arra a finer set of dancers you never set your eyes upon
And anyone who couldn't dance was dancing with their slippers on

Some danced jig steps doorsteps and highland flings
And Murphy took his penknife out and tried to cut the "Pigeon's wings"

When the dance was over Cassidy told us all to join hands and sing this good old chorus

Should Old acquaintance be forgot, who ever you may be
Lets think of the good old times we had at the Irish Jubilee!

Phew!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: Martin Ryan
Date: 13 Jan 98 - 02:27 PM

Barry Gleeson, who recorded the above a few years ago gives the following:

An Irish-American song, published in 1890.
Music : Charles Lawler
Words: J Thornton

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 13 Jan 98 - 06:30 PM

Thank you, Martin. I was just about to transcribe it mesel'

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: Frank Phillips
Date: 14 Jan 98 - 01:29 PM

It's also in a book called "The Treasure Chest of Irish Songs, Jigs and Reels" copyright 1943.

Frank Phillips

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From:
Date: 03 Jun 98 - 11:52 AM

Refresh for a current query

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From:
Date: 03 Jun 98 - 05:06 PM

The version I heard was "an Irishman in New York was". I assume if it was written in 1890 it must be American in origin, because Ireland didn't have a senate in 1890, and Canadian senators aren't elected.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: Martin Ryan.
Date: 03 Jun 98 - 05:21 PM

Tim

It's a pretty safe bet it's American, alright!

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: Antaine
Date: 03 Jun 98 - 06:39 PM

Hey Martin,
Now who should lock up their fridges?!!!!
MMmm..........
. Might just pop down to the chipper after that!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: Frank McGrath
Date: 03 Jun 98 - 06:51 PM

Martin,
I think Antaine should post the words of his favourite song "Dan Breen." As soon as he gets back from the chipper with some

Red herrings, smoked herrings, herrings from old Erin's Isle,
Bangor loaf and fruit cake and sausages a half a mile,
Hot corn, cold corn, and corn cake and honeycomb
Red birds and red books, sea bass and sea foam

he always launches into a lusty rendition of "Dan Breen."

Regards,
Frank McGrath

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: Antaine
Date: 03 Jun 98 - 07:46 PM

Actually I always found it difficult to sing "Dan Breen", whilst in the middle of another song!...which is what the eejit wanted me to do, believe it or not!!
Frank,
You missed a good week-end....
Ask George about how I stopped himself and Nigel snoring on Sunday night....
They both slept like "logs"....
And he'll have to explain that one to you....
See you at the Willie Clancy Week?

Subject: Lyr Add: THE IRISH JUBILEE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Feb 04 - 12:05 AM

The text given above (which seems to be the source of the text in the DT) is missing a few lines, and it has a few words here and there that differ from the sheet music.

Transcribed from the sheet music at The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music

THE IRISH JUBILEE
Words, J. Thornton. Music, Charles Lawler. 1890.

1. Oh, a short time ago, boys, an Irishman named Doherety
Was elected to the Senate by a very large majority.
He felt so elated that he went to Dennis Cassidy,
Who owned a barroom of a very large capacity.
He said to Cassidy, "Go over to the brewer
For a thousand kegs of lager beer and give it to the poor.
Then go over to the butcher shop and order up a ton of meat.
Be sure and see the boys and girls have all they want to drink and eat.
Send out invitations in twenty different languages,
And don't forget to tell them to bring their own sandwiches.
They've made me their senator, and so to show my gratitude,
They'll have the finest supper ever given in this latitude.
Tell them the music will be furnished by O'Rafferty,
Assisted on the bagpipes by Felix McCafferty.
Whatever the expenses are, remember I'll put up the tin,
And anyone who doesn't come, be sure and do not let them in."

2. Cassidy at once sent out the invitations,
And ev'ryone that came was a credit to their nations.
Some came on bicycles because they had no fare to pay,
And those who didn't come at all, made up their minds to stay away.
Two by three, they marched in the dining hall:
Young men, and old men, and girls that were not men at all,
Blind men, and deaf men, and men who had their teeth in pawn,
Single men, double men, and men who had their glasses on.
Before many minutes nearly ev'ry chair was taken,
Till the front rooms and mushrooms were packed to suffocation.
When everyone was seated, they started to lay out the feast.
Cassidy said, "Rise up and give us each a cake of yeast."
He then said as manager he would try and fill the chair.
We then sat down and we looked at the bill of fare.
There was pig's head, and goldfish, mockingbirds, and ostriches,
Ice cream, and cold cream, Vaseline, and sandwiches.

3. Blue fish, green fish, fishhooks, and partridges,
Fish-balls, snowballs, cannonballs, and cartridges.
Then we ate oatmeal till we could hardly stir about,
Ketchup, and hurry-up, sweet-kraut, and sauerkraut,
Dressed beef, and naked beef, and beef with all its dresses on,
Soda crackers, fire crackers, Limburg cheese with tresses on,
Beefsteaks, and mistakes down on the bill of fare,
Roast ribs, and spare ribs, and ribs that we couldn't spare,
Reindeer, and snow-deer, dear me, and antelope.
The women ate so mush melon, the men said they cantaloupe.
Red herrings, smoked herrings, herrings from old Erin's isle,
Bologna and fruit cake, and sausages a half a mile.
There was hot corn, and cold corn, corn salve, and honey-comb,
Red birds, read books, sea bass, and sea foam,
Fried liver, baked liver, Carter's Little Liver Pills,
And ev'ryone was wondering who was going to pay the bills.

4. For dessert, we had toothpicks, ice picks, and skipping rope,
And washed them all down with a big piece of shaving soap.
We ate ev'rything that was down on the bill of fare,
Then looked on the back of it to see if any more was there.
Then the band played hornpipes, gas-pipes, and Irish reels,
And we danced to the music of "The Wind That Shakes the Barley Fields."
Then the piper played old tunes and spittoons so very fine,
Then in came Peiper Heidseek and handed him a glass of wine.
They welted the floor till they could be heard for miles around.
When Gallagher was in the air, his feet was never on the ground.
A fine lot of dancers you never set your eyes upon,
And those who couldn't dance at all were dancing with their slippers on.
Some danced jig step, door steps, and highland flings,
And Murphy took his penknife out and tried to cut a pigeon wing.
When the dance was over, Cassidy then told us
To join hands together and sing this good old chorus:

Should old acquaintance be forgot, wherever we may be,
Think of the good old times we had at the Irish Jubilee!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 03 Feb 04 - 09:51 AM

Which reminds me.... What exactly was a "pigeon's wing" in this case? I know it was a dance step, but what and how?

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: GUEST,Wa Ban Zhou
Date: 03 Feb 04 - 05:04 PM

I had this record as one of a set of "78's when I was little, by Pat Harrington, I think. At the end of this song it goes this way on my scratchy recording:    Ooooh Paddy dear
                        Had you been here
                        To sing come all ye's
                        It would have made the night complete
                        At the Irish Jubilee!!!!!!!!!!!!

I liked that song, but not as much as Paddy McGinnty's Goat, on the other side!
Wa Ban Zhou

Subject: What is "the pigeon wing" dance?
From: Genie
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 02:39 PM

Martin, here is some info on the Pigeon Wing dance. http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3buckw1.htm
It's related to the "buck dance" and the Charleston.
I think it's one of those dances that derived from dances done by slaves in the US south and later incorporated into mistrel shows that tried to capitalize on African-American songs and dances.   


I haven't found any videos of it, but I believe the dance was so called because it involved 'flapping' the arms while thrusting the head forward and back, kind of like pigeons do when they walk. At least I've seen that kind of movement in some of the dances that hark back to the minstrel shows.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 03:08 PM

Thanks Genie - you might check that link, please, as it doesn't appear to work.

Subject: Buck dancing, pigeon wing, etc.
From: Genie
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 03:29 PM

That's really odd, GUEST.   The link worked for me less than an hour ago - with a lengthy discussion of "buck dancing" and "pigeon wing" etc.   But it now says the page is no longer available.
If you go to the main website page, http://www.streetswing.com/, that still works, but I don't find anything in their index about this style of dancing.

Strange.

Subject: Buck dancing, pigeon wing, etc.
From: Genie
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 03:36 PM

Seems the original link I found is still working after all:
http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3buckw1.htm

And apparently I was wrong about the dance steps that gave rise to the term "pigeon wing."

"...
The history of the Buck and Wing (Buck Dance and Pigeon Wing) or Buck dancing is a pre-tap dance routine and was done by Minstrel and Vaudeville performers in the mid nineteenth century portraying the African-American males, known as "Bucks." Originally the Pigeon Wing steps (foot shaking in the air) were a big part of this early folk dance but later separated when variations began such as the shooting out of one leg making a "Wing."

   The term "buck" is traced to the West Indies where Africans used the words po' bockorau (Buccaneer), and later the French term Buccaneer. Ship captains would have the men dance on the ships (dancing the Slaves) to try to keep the morale up as well as a form of exercise. It was one of the dances that became popular with the Irish Buccaneers who did Jigs and Clogs, reels etc. who would be known as Buck Dancers. These terms would eventually become dance steps.

..."

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 03:43 PM

Many thanks.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee (Thornton, Lawler)
From: MartinRyan
Date: 16 Jan 13 - 12:37 PM

To hear Barry Gleeson's recording of this one:

Click here

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee (Thornton, Lawler)
From: MartinRyan
Date: 01 Nov 14 - 09:23 AM

Refresh

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee (Thornton, Lawler)
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Jul 18 - 01:31 PM

Seems here is a definition of the term:
http://dare.wisc.edu/words/WotM/cut-pigeon-wing

cut the pigeon('s) wing
cut the pigeon(’s) wing v phr Also cut a pigeon wing [cut to dance + pigeon wing a dance movement imitative of pigeons] esp S Midl
To execute intricate dance steps gracefully.
1897 (1952) McGill Narrative 139, In many of these dances an opportunity is given for the display of much grace and artistic coquetry by the young ladies, and of activity by some of the young men, as they “cut the pigeon wing.”1898 Lloyd Country Life 15 AL, I use to cut the pigeon wing around Miss Tildy some myself. 1912 DN 3.574 wIN, Cut a pigeon wing. . . To dance with graceful steps. 1927 AmSp 2.352 WV, Cut the pigeon’s wing. 1940 FWP Guide TX 114 (as of 1828), When young people danced in those days, . . they ‘shuffled’ and ‘double-shuffled,’ and ‘wired’ and ‘cut the pigeon’s wing,’ making the splinters fly. 1946 Greer–Petrie Angeline Steppin’ 35 csKY, He’d jump out in the middle of the floor and cut the pidgeon wing. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Cut the pigeon wing. . . To dance in a fancy way. “ ’At air girl shore is a-cuttin’ the pigeon wing.” 1966 DARE (Qu. FF5a, . . Steps and figures in dancing—in past years) Inf DC8, Cut the pigeon’s wing.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Irish Jubilee (Thornton, Lawler)
From: Felipa
Date: 19 Jun 21 - 04:20 PM

I just heard David Ingerson singing "The Irish Jubilee" about 40 minutes into the singing session from The Seamus Ennis Arts Centre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12uDE1jg5j8 Kevin Conneff is tonight's guest singer, but there are plenty of other participants. Scottish singer Lainey Dempsey is following David Ingerson as I type. The recording will stay up on youtube indefinitely and you can listen to other past sessions as well.

Subject: Lyr Add: Clara
From: Felipa
Date: 19 Jun 21 - 04:29 PM

see my post above: after Lainey Dempsey sang, Brie Kelly sang another song about festivities:
Clara Nolan's Ball

CLARA NOLAN'S BALL.
Copyright, 1886 by Alberto Himan.

You're all invited and the band engaged,
And we're going to have some fun,
For Clara Nolan gives a ball,
This day she's twenty-one.
We've borrowed knives and table cloths
From all about the town,
And every man must bring a chair
If he wants to sit down.

Chorus.
Will you come? will you come?
And you never will forget it if you come,
Where the bells are ringing And the girls are singing,
And the fiddles and the harp go rum, turn, turn;
"With tenzing and pleasing, and squeezing free for all,
And courting in the corners at Miss Clara Nolan's ball.

Old Casey's coming with his Irish pipes,
And tiddler Neary, too;
They'll play you the "Maria" waltz,
And likewise "Peek-a-boo."
Of course, it's not the Hoffman House,
Just walk inside the door;
If there's no place to hang your hats,
Just hang them on the floor.-Chorus.

The dance commences when the clock strikes ten,
And we'll keep it up till day;
There will be no collection
The expenses to defray.
We've bourbon, rye, and lager beer,
And Philadelphia ale;
And if the keg gets empty, we'll
Go out and till the pail.