Lyr Req: Paddle me own canoe? / Paddle Your Own..

Subject: Lyric request
From: Fergus
Date: 23 Feb 98 - 06:58 AM

The other day I bought an album called "Seven Drunken Nights", a collection of folk songs sung by The Blarney Lads". Some of these I'm familiar with, eg. the title track (in which only five nights are featured, incidentally), but some of my favourites I've never heard of: Specifically, "Paddle me own canoe" and "Lannegan's Ball". I was wondering if anyone knows the words to these?

Thanks

- Fergus Murray

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Subject: RE:
From: Wolfgang Hell
Date: 23 Feb 98 - 07:08 AM

Hi Fergus, enter "Lanigan's" in the search window (upper right) and you have found one of them.
Wolfgang

Subject: RE:
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 23 Feb 98 - 07:47 AM

G'day,
If I had a wife the bane of me life I'd tell you what I would do
I'd buy her a boat and set her afloat and paddle me own canoe.

I'm not aware of any more verses.

Cheers,
Alan

Subject: RE:
From: Martin Ryan
Date: 23 Feb 98 - 11:02 AM

Lannigan's Ball mentions "Brook's Academy" as the place where our hero learned to dance. About fifteen years ago, at the start of a huge revival of interest in Irish "set-dancing", an organisation was set up under the same name to run classes, revive old dances, publish material etc.

Mind you, when its sung in Ireland the chorus usually goes "Six long weeks...." rather than three! Maybe we're slow learners!

Regards

Subject: RE:
From: Bruce O.
Date: 23 Feb 98 - 11:33 AM

"Lannigan's Ball" is in John K. Casey's 'The Rising of the Moon, and other Ballads, Songs, and Legends', n.d., (1864 or slightly later) without attribution. Also there is "Lannigan's Wake" 'Written and first sung in America by William Carleton at Tony Pastor's Opera House, New York. Air - Lannigan's Ball.' This commences "No doubt yee have heard of poor Jerry Lannigan".

Subject: RE:
From: chet w
Date: 23 Feb 98 - 09:52 PM

"Paddle me own canoe" is on one of the Chieftains' albums. Can't remember which one.

Good luck, Chet W.

Subject: RE: Spellings
From: Fergus
Date: 24 Feb 98 - 06:43 AM

Ach, the troubles caused by different spellings of words when the search engine is looking for exact matches! I couldn't find 'Bold O'Donahue' either, until I did a search for 'Blarney'. Donoghue, Donohue, Donaghue...

It would be lovely to have some kind of phonetic matching built into the search engine... I wonder if there's such an engine knocking around somewhere that the site could appropriate.

Cheers, Wolfgang, for pointing me to Lanigan anyway (Lannigan... Lanegan...) and to everyone else...

Fergus

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Subject: RE:
From: Wolfgang
Date: 24 Feb 98 - 08:21 AM

You're welcome, Fergus.
I dare to say that there is none of us who hasn't asked at least once for a song that could have been found in the database with different search words. Dick reminds us often not to use names for a search, but if you do not know much more what else can you do? Entering "ball", for instance, also brings you this song (among more than onehundred nonhits).
But sometimes the square brackets indicating phrases and the star sign indicating indifference to spelling before or after a group of letters you are sure to be in a song help.
In your case, [lan* ball] or [bold O'Don*] would have done the job. However, this is written in hindsight. If for obscure reasons the DT-database would have these songs as "Brave O'Don*" and "Larrigan's ball" this approach would fail as well.
Wolfgang

Subject: ADD: Paddle My Own Canoe
From: dulcimer
Date: 24 Feb 98 - 09:03 PM

I don't know if this is the Paddle Your Own Canoe you are thinking of or if it has great historical significance, but this one is in L.E. Wilder's By the Shores of Silver Lake. (Little House of the Prairie is only one of her interesting books.) This is a song she learned from her Pa and sung on the American frontier. I think it was sung to the tune of Rosin the Bow and may indeed have Irish origins.

1.I've traveled about a bit in my time
And troubles I've had me a few
But found it better in the ocean of life
To paddle my own canoe.

2.My wants are few, I care not at all,
If my debts are paid when I die
I drive away strife in the ocean of life
While I paddle my own canoe.

3. The love your neighbor as yourself
As the world you go traveling through
And never sit down with a tear or a frown
But paddle your own canoe.

I hope the lines are broken. I just now trying.

Subject: RE:
From: dulcimer
Date: 24 Feb 98 - 09:39 PM

I put some lyrics to Padddle Your... on the forum, but didn't realize it was set for 3 days. Fergus, check it out. I hope it is readable. If not I will repost it on one day.

Subject: RE: Lannigan's Ball
From: MarcB
Date: 25 Feb 98 - 12:31 AM

I sing this. If you haven't found words let me know and I'll post them to you.

Subject: RE: 7 Drunken Nights
From: Corinna of California
Date: 25 Feb 98 - 01:19 AM

Love that title! I am searching for the quintessential collection of drinking songs pre-1940, the earlier the better. Between the english, irish, and aussies I believe I have found the correct group to address this. Fergus, who produced the album you bought and where might I find one? Martin, have you more info on the Academy? Would they be a good resource for researching lyrics and musical instruments? Fergus and Wolfgang, if you know which engine the site uses you should be able to get a run down on best search techniques. What you are dreaming of exists but most sites do not carry it. Mostly libraries use phonetic search engines that forgive spelling without giving you 50 gazillion hits. You are talking BIG money and slow retrieval times which is why these type of search engines are not normally for general use.

Subject: RE:
From:
Date: 25 Feb 98 - 10:26 AM

Songbooks of drinking songs are 'Bacchus and Venus', c 1737 and c 1772, and 'The Anatomy of Melancholy', 1749. There are also a lot of them in 'Pills to Purge Melancholy', 6 vols, 1719-20.

Subject: RE:
From:
Date: 25 Feb 98 - 07:00 PM

Paddle Me Own Canoe was on the Chieftain's live album recorded in Boston and Montreal and perhaps another place. They sang it at the end of an instrumental.

Subject: RE: Paddle me own canoe
From: Fergus
Date: 26 Feb 98 - 01:19 PM

Dulcimer, The thread was listed when I switched to the full year display, but it wouldn't link to it. Actually, I just read the lyrics you posted above and they look like they're to a different song. The words you posted could fit the same tune, though. The song I'm looking for has a line that goes something like, "I have no wife to bother me life, nor lover to prove untrue... but all day long, a laugh and a song, and paddle me own canoe."

That's probably slightly wrong.

Subject: RE:
From: dulcimer
Date: 26 Feb 98 - 06:11 PM

I hope someone has the Chieftain lyrics to Paddle and can post them. We could be talking about the same song and only giving the lyrics from different generations and times. Laura Wilder writing about life on the American frontier and family values and for children might not have heard or wanted to give the lyrics about a wandering single man. It might also make a more interestng song to put all the verses we can find together.

Subject: RE:
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 26 Feb 98 - 08:32 PM

G'day,
The lyrics I posted earlier are the Chieftan's lyrics via my memory,

Cheers,
Alan

Subject: RE:
From: Corinna of California
Date: 27 Feb 98 - 05:32 PM

Thank you anonymous for the reference material. Does anyone know of any earlier references to say, Greece, Egypt, China and other cradles of civilization?

Subject: RE:
From:
Date: 27 Feb 98 - 07:18 PM

The earliest cradle is that called the fertile crescent. That cradle is being rocked pretty hard now by a man called Saddam Hussein.

Subject: RE:
From: MAG
Date: 27 Feb 98 - 07:30 PM

Love many, trust few Learn to paddle your own canoe. Don't have a source; sorry -- one of those things you see on somebody's wall.

Subject: RE: 7 Drunken Nights
From: Fergus
Date: 02 Mar 98 - 07:13 AM

Corinna,

The album is Published by Delta Music Ltd., Beckenham, Kent BR3 1QZ. You could try writing to them if you want to get a copy. The title track is the only one you could really call a drinking song.

Subject: RE:
From: Catfeet
Date: 05 Mar 98 - 10:53 PM

If you tack all the verses already posted together, you have a pretty fair amalgamation of the Cheiftains version of "Paddle you own canoe". I think there are only 2 or 3 words that are different.

Catfeet

Subject: RE: Paddle me own canoe
From: GUEST,steve ny
Date: 14 Feb 10 - 03:11 PM

Oh, ihave no wife to bother me life, no lover to prove untrue....???? I paddle me own own canoe

Subject: RE: Paddle me own canoe
From: Bernard
Date: 14 Feb 10 - 03:23 PM

Pas de lieu Rhône que nous...

Subject: RE: Paddle me own canoe
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 14 Feb 10 - 03:34 PM

Both of these songs were made famous by Harry Clifton in the 1860s before they were pirated by Pastor in America. There are several threads on Harry Clifton and all the songs he wrote that are now counted as folk songs. Just search for Harry Clifton. I think the cover of the 'Paddle y o c' sheet music is on Ebay at the moment. If I remember correctly Clifton got LB from D K Gavan the Galway poet as also 'Rocky Road to Dublin'