Lyr Req: little known Percy French songs

Subject: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 23 Jan 03 - 11:29 AM

I'm sitting here in the library with Brendan O'Dowda's book "The World of Percy French" and an anonymously edited "Songs of Percy French" published in Cork 1976 - and I can't remember what obscure Percy French song someone was looking for in a fairly recent thread. If you help me, I may be able to help fulfill the request.

?"McBreen's heifir"? - rings a bell, but I haven't found the relevant thread

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: weerover
Date: 23 Jan 03 - 01:06 PM

I have this in "Songs of Percy French" (pub. Ossian), an inexpensive and widely available publication. I am not at home just now, but will post when I can if someone else doesn't do it first.

wr

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: Noreen
Date: 23 Jan 03 - 01:25 PM

McBreen's Heifer has already been posted in the forum, wr, so look at that before typing!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: ard mhacha
Date: 23 Jan 03 - 01:25 PM

Correct Weerover, Widely available in Ireland , Brendan O`Dowda sings The songs of Percy French,

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: Noreen
Date: 23 Jan 03 - 01:33 PM

See: Lyrics req, McBreen's Heifer please?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: weerover
Date: 23 Jan 03 - 03:01 PM

Sorry Ard Mhacha, I was referring to the book: words and music with a decent chunk of biographical introduction, and only a few quid.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: JedMarum
Date: 23 Jan 03 - 07:18 PM

I was recently looking for info about Percy, while hunting down the lyrics and melody for ABDUL ABULBUL AMIR (I found the song info). I found a bit of bio info on Percy; he was professional of some sort, maybe an accountant - and an amateur song writer - durnig an economic down swing he was forced to write full time, and proved to be successful. I recently recorded his Phil the Fluther's Ball.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 24 Jan 03 - 07:00 PM

This site has some interesting stuff about Percy French, who did a lot of other things as well as write songs. Including playing thh banjo.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: GUEST,Toowtie
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 12:40 AM

I need to find the sheet music to French's "Phil the Fluther's Ball" immeidately. And I saw that you have a copy of the book "Songs of Percy French" of which I cannot order ANYWHERE! Can anyone help me?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: Peace
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 01:23 AM

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:CAggV1HLWYkJ:www.thewhistleshop.com/catalog/tutorials/irishmusicsongbooks/songsofireland/song

or Google

Songs of Ireland

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: Peace
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 01:37 AM

Good News: Go to this link.

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:kitWwAexh1QJ:www.singout.org/sng-ndx2.html+%22Phil+the+Fluther%27s+Ball%22,+sheet+music&hl=en

You can e-mail them (Singout magazine). Details at the top of the page.

Title you require under P.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: GUEST,Toowtie
Date: 22 Mar 05 - 08:57 PM

Thanks much, those are all good and quite sufficient, but I am looking for a publication that has an arrangement for voice and piano accompianment. Wishful thinking?

Also, as I am not familiar with Irish expressions, what does the last line mean?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: Big Tim
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 04:10 AM

The widow beat the company at handling the foot = best dancer.
Nice little Percyism there, "handling the foot"!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: lf i was a lady
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Sep 05 - 02:25 AM

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: Micca
Date: 22 Sep 05 - 02:57 AM

Freda, I think that the Final line of the first verse that you have as
"The better would the music be for battherin' the flute."
should read
" The better would the music be for battherin' the floor".
Well I am sure thats what My Uncle Neddy sang anyway!! and it seems to rhyme!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: ard mhacha
Date: 22 Sep 05 - 04:28 PM

What the hell did the poor oul flute do?, of course it`s battering the floor.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 22 Sep 05 - 04:41 PM

Surely a reference to percussive dance? i.e,the hard shoe style very popular in Irish dance (not to mention "Riverdance"!)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Sep 05 - 07:29 PM

Must be a bad day. I opened htis thread to figure out why we'd have such a long thread on a song by Percy Faith.
Forgive me....
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Sep 05 - 08:26 PM

" The better would the music be for battherin' the floor".
Is correct.
But 'floor' like the 'door' with which it rhymes should be pronounced with a long 'O', i.e. to rhyme with 'moor','poor' or 'boor'.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: MartinRyan
Date: 23 Sep 05 - 05:51 PM

.. and "whore"!

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 23 Sep 05 - 07:42 PM

But of course, those words rhyme just as well when they are all pronounced with a short "O" - that's the trouble with using rhyme as a guide to pronunciation. (NB I'm not disagreeing about the long 'O' being correct here.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 23 Sep 05 - 07:48 PM

...though in Ireland "whore" is pronounced to rhyme with Moor.

Battering, by the way, means doing complicated steps that are something like tap-dancing, which are part of certain dances, for instance the Connemara Set, whose stamp-step=step-shuffle-shuffle-stamp I've never been able to master.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: Jim Martin
Date: 24 Sep 05 - 12:51 AM

"Hard shoe" could also mean boots. I've often heard of sparks flying from the hob-nails of dancers' boots on the flag-stone floors of country houses ("round the house and mind the dresser")!

I doubt very much whether the old country folk could either afford or have access to proper dance shoes in the days well before the "Riverdance" phenomenom.

JTT's comments about battering are correct. It was usually only done by men, spontaneously when the urge overcame them and would have given great lift to the proceedings, sometimes competing with each other in a friendly and jocular (or possibly not!) way; sometimes to win the affection of a local lady. Today, many people, inluding the ladies, batter (pounding, some people say) away all the time to the same boring, repetitious pattern, some of the old-timers must be turning over in their graves!

Larry Lynch's seminal book, "Set Dances of Ireland - Tradition and Evolution" published in 1989 by Seadna Books in collaboration with Dal gCais Publications (ISBN 0-9514848-0-X [R.O.I.], ISBN 0-9623366-0-2 [U.S.A.] tells you just about everything you want to know on the subject. He had the good fortune to meet many old-timers in the S.W. of Ireland in his crusade to collect as much as possible from them before they passed on.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 24 Sep 05 - 04:39 AM

Anybody else with the image of a deep fried Michael Flatley in their mind's eye, or is it just me?
G.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: GUEST,Guest, Big Tim
Date: 24 Sep 05 - 04:58 AM

The title of this thread is a misnomer: "Fluther" is one of Percy's greatest and best-known songs. btw, he is credited with the tune too. Any thoughts on that?

I have a book of all his published lyrics, so if anyone can provide a clue to the little known song, I can probably give the complete lyrics.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: GUEST,Rafting Down The Rio In Those Old Jamaica Da
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:47 AM

I borrowed a book about Percy French from the library years ago - found the lyrics to above and wrote a tune to go with it as apparently there was no known tune. I'm wanting to record song but can't find the lyrics now.. does anyone have them??

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 04:53 PM

There is a great musical documentary about Percy French here:
Percy French

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French
From: terrier
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 06:12 PM

Thanks for the link, Sandy, I've just spent the last fifty minutes absolutely entranced by that programme.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French songs
From: GUEST,frank
Date: 30 Oct 13 - 06:31 AM

words of "Carmody's Mare" anyone?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: little known Percy French songs
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Oct 13 - 06:50 AM

There's the saddlin' bell ringing! - the numbers are up,

Oh, man dear! I must see the race for the Cup.


Push up on that plank there! hi! gimme a hand


Oh, man! this is better than any Grand Stand.


There's high fliers payin' a shillin' - an' two


That hasn't the half, nor the quarther the view.


Hi! Peter! McGinty! McGinty me son


Come up here an' see the big race bein' run.

Not room for another? Oh, now you be civil
-

Come up here me haro! - An' you to the divil!


Look Peter from' here you can see the whole
Course
-

Aye, call up a policeman, call up the whole Force!


There's the bank an' the hurdles an' there's the stone
wall


An there's the big water jump, best o' them all.


Who am I backin'? Well, now I declare


I've got all me money on Carinody's mare! -

Last night it was Carmody gave me the tip
-

(You'll he over the rail if ye give any 'lip')
-

He told me the ring men were at him agin


To pull the bay mare - but he's riding to win


Thirty pounds if he pulled her! - aye, that's what they
said


An' let "Queen o' the May" come and romp in instead,


But he'll not take their money, he means to ride fair.


An' that's why me shirt is on Carmody's mare.



There's Carmody! gallopin' down on the bay,

There's Dimpsey, the robber! on "Queen o' the May,"

There's Flynn on "The Firefly" - Burke on "Red Fox,"

There's Mangan on "Merry-Legs" - see the white socks,

There's Sweeny on "Swanshot" - There's Major Tom Goff!

He's linin' them up, boys! - Begorra they're off!

Sit down you in front there! well take off that hat,

I'll take off yer head, if ye give any chat!

Where is he, Peter? Well up in the front?

Oh, don't say that's him at the heel o' the hunt!

Ah, sure, I know why he is keepin' her in,

Yer goin' too fast at the bank, Mr. Flynn.

Didn't I tell you, that lep is too wide

No sensible horse, 'ill take that in his stride.

Ah! look at Carmody - Carmody knows

Hop and go lightly an' over he goes!

What's that yer sayin' there? - Heavens above!

Was there ever a race where a man didn't shove?

Fall off an' he hanged to you, little I care,

As long as Ned Carmody sticks to his mare.

Where is he, Peter? - the Hurdles! well done!

Now, see him off like the shot from a gun!

WILL you sit down, there, I must see the race.

Ye want the contints o' me fist in yer face.

Where is he, Peter? Oh! the stone wall,

Ah, Mr. Sweeney, you're out of it all.

Don't let her race at it! Keep her in check!

Or ye'll break her two legs and' yer own silly neck!

Ah! look at Carmody, sinsible chap!



Look at him goin' where Flynn made the gap.

What's that yer talkin' of? What's that you say?

The race is a mortal for "Queen o' the May!"

Oh, bedad! look at her, sailin' away,

Now, Carmody, Carmody, let out the bay,

Slash at her, slaughter her, into her now,

'Tis the bay mare that's under you, 'tisn't a cow.

Hustle her, bustle her, drive her across,

'Tis the bay mare that's under you, 'tisn't an ass,

Now, for the Water Jump, grip wid yer thighs,

Rise themare over it - over she flies!

Look at the two o' them into the straight.

Carmody gains on him! isn't he great?

Now, for a touch o' the spur in her flank,

D'ye think ye've the lease o' this dirty old plank?

WILL ye go home, and take care o' yer twins.

A thousand pounds level, that Carmody wins!

Didn't I tell ye, ye ignorant calf,

Carmody wins by a lingth an' a half,

Didn't I tell it ye, Peter me son,

Carmody wins, an' I got five to one!

An' now me good people, I'm just goin' down.

Down to the Bookie to get - me Half-crown.