ADD: The Man From God Knows Where(Florence Wilson)

Subject: The '98 Rising
From: Roddy
Date: 01 Dec 98 - 09:10 PM

Can anyone supply the full version of the poem "the Man from God Knows Where ?" It details events of the Rising in Co. Down, but was written some time subsequent. Also, the lyrics of "The Croppy Boy". Roddy

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 01 Dec 98 - 10:34 PM

I searched the DT for [cropp* boy] and found three versions. The asterisk is to cover both "croppy" and "croppie". Didn't find anything about a man from God knows where, though.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MAN FROM GOD KNOWS WHERE (F Wilson)
From: Brack&
Date: 02 Dec 98 - 08:48 AM

This Ulster dialect recitation, is about Thomas Russell, who founded, with Henry Joy McCraken, the northern arm of the United Irishmen in 1791. It was written by Florence Wilson.

The Man From God-Knows-Where
(Florence Wilson)

Into our townlan', on a night of snow,
Rode a man from God-knows-where;
None of us bade him stay or go,
Nor deemed him frien, nor damned him foe,
But we stabled his big roan mare:
For in our townlan' we're decent folk,
And if he didn't speak, why none of us spoke,
And we sat till the fire burned low.

We're a civil sort in our wee place,
So we made the circle wide
Round Andy Lemon's cheerful blaze,
And wished the man his length of days,
And a good end to his ride.
He smiled in under his slouchy hat -
Says he: "There's a bit of a joke in that,
For we ride different ways."

The whiles we smoked we watched him stare
From his seat fornenst the glow.
I nudged Joe Moore: "You wouldn't dare
To ask him, who he's for meeting there,
And how far he has got to go."
But Joe wouldn't dare, nor Wully Scott,
And he took no drink---neither cold nor hot-
This man from God-knows-where

It was closin' time, an' late forbye,
When us ones braved the air-
I never saw worse (may I live or die)
Then the sleet that night, an' I says, says I:
"You'll find he's for stopping there."
But at screek o'day, through the gable pane,
I watched him spur in the peltin' rain,
And I juked from his rovin' eye.

Two winters more, then the Trouble Year,
When the best that a man can feel
Was the pike he kept in hidin's near,
Till the blood o' hate an' the blood o' fear
Would be redder nor the rust on the steel.
Us ones quiet from mindin' the farms,
Let them take what we gavewi' the weight o' our arms
From Saintfield to Kilkeel.

In the Time o' the Hurry, we had no lead-
We all of us fought with the rest-
An' if e'er a one shook like a tremblin' reed,
None of us gave either hint nor heed.
Nor ever even'd we'd guessed.
We men of the North had a word to say,
An' we said it then, in our own dour way,
An' we spoke as we thought was best.

All Ulster over, the weemen cried
For the stan'-in' crops on the lan'-
Many's the sweetheart an' many's the the bride
Would liefer ha' gone till where He died,
An' ha' mourned her lone by her man.
But us ones weathered the thick of it,
And we used to dander along, and sit,
In Andy's, side by side.

What with discoorse goin' to and fro,
The night would be wearin' thin,
Yet never so late when we rose to go
But someone would say: "Do ye min' thon snow,
An' the man who came wanderin' in?"
And we be to fall the talk again,
If by any chance he was One O' Them-
The man who went like the win'.

Well 'twas gettin' on past the heat o' the year
When I rode to Newtown fair:
I sold as I could the dealers were near-
Only three pounds eight for the Innish steer,
(An' nothin' at all for the mare!)
I met McKee in the throng o' the street,
Says he: "The grass has grown under our feet
Since they hanged young Warwick here."

And he told me that Boney had promised help
To a man in Dublin town.
Says he: "If ye've laid the pike on the shelf,
Ye'd better go home hot-fut by yerself,
An' once more take it down."
So by Comber road I trotted the grey
And never cut corn until Killyeagh
Stood plain on the rising groun'.

For a wheen o'day we sat waitin' the word
To rise and go at it like men.
But no French ships sailed into Cloughey Bay,
And we heard the black news on a harvest day
That the cause was lost again;
And Joey and me, and Wully Boy Scott,
We agreed to ourselves we'd as lief as not
Ha'been found in the thick o'the slain.

By Downpatrick gaol I was bound to fare
On a day I'll remember, feth,
For when I came to the prison square
The people were waitin' in hundreds there,
An' you wouldn't hear stir nor breath!
For the sodgers were standing, grim an' tall,
Round a scaffold built there fornent the wall.
An' a man stepped out for death!

I was brave an' near to the edge of the throng,
Yet I knowed the face again.
An' I knowed the set, an' I knowed the walk
An' the sound of his strange up-country talk,
For he spoke out right an' plain.
Then he bowed his head to the swinging rope,
Whiles I said "Please God" to his dying hope
And "Amen" to his dying prayer,
That the Wrong would cease and the Right prevail,
For the man that they hanged at Downpatrick gaol,
Was the man from GOD-KNOWS-WHERE!

Regards Mick Bracken.

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Brack&
Date: 02 Dec 98 - 08:51 AM

Was the man from GOD-KNOWS-WHERE!

Regards Mick Bracken.

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Big Mick
Date: 02 Dec 98 - 10:18 AM

Mick,

What is the tune? I read it to the lads at practice last night. I think I am going to do it as a recitation, with a tune in the background. But I am interested in hearing it as a song. Can ye help again, my friend?

All the best,

Mick Lane

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Brack&
Date: 02 Dec 98 - 05:44 PM

Mick There's no tune that I know of. You're right,it's a recitation. What tune would you have in the background? It would have to be fairly long. Perhaps The Minstrel Boy repeated a few times. Regards Mick Bracken

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Liam's Brother
Date: 03 Dec 98 - 12:25 PM

Quite stunning Mick Bracken. Thanks for that.

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Liam's Brother
Date: 03 Dec 98 - 12:28 PM

If anyone's going to be near NYC in the near future, you might be interested in this...

1798 Exhibition

The Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University is commemorating the bicentennial of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 with an exhibition of books, pamphlets, prints, maps, and manuscripts of the period. The exhibition will continue through December 17th at the Library's West Gallery, 535 West 114th Street. For further information call 212-854-5153.

All the best,
Dan

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Brack&
Date: 03 Dec 98 - 05:56 PM

Thank you Liam's Brother. Might be over in New York next June on Honeymoon. (3rd Time). Give it my regards. Mick Bracken

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Big Mick
Date: 03 Dec 98 - 10:38 PM

Yes, Danny Doyle did something like that on one of his albums and it was stunning. I am going to look for a different tune because of this.

Thanks for the poem. It is great.

All the best,

Mick Lane

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Roddy
Date: 04 Dec 98 - 07:48 PM

Thanks for the "Man from god Knows Where". But what about "The Croppy Boy"?

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Big Mick
Date: 04 Dec 98 - 08:12 PM

Roddy,

If you re-read the 2nd and 3rd posting, you will see that the Croppy Boy is available in the DT. If you are unsure of how to use the DT, post here and one of us will help you.

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Roddy
Date: 05 Dec 98 - 09:25 AM

Hello, Mick, Thanks for the offer of help. I'm new to this game - the Web that is - and I find the use of acronyms and abbreviations confusing. I did see the reference, but didn't / don,t know who / what DT is. Bear with me, please.

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Big Mick
Date: 05 Dec 98 - 10:23 AM

Roddy,

Welcome to the net and to our community. We are glad that you are here and hope to see you contribute often.

The DT refers to Digital Traditions. It is the name of our database of songs, which are compiled from the contributions of our citizens, culled by Dick and Susan of DT. It and the Mudcat Cafe (which you are in now and is a thread forum) are inextricably linked.

Using the DT is easy and we prefer that folks look in it before they post a request for lyrics. Saves a lot of time.

Using the DT is very easy. Just post as little as one key word, or an exact phrase surrounded by brackets. EX: Croppie, or [croppie boy], and hit the search button. The DT will search and show you all the songs with that in it. Sometimes it is advantageous to use a broad search, ie when you are not sure of how to frame the search but are sure of one word. Other times it is best to use the phrase, when you are absolutely sure it exists in the song. The latter will give you fewer and more directed hits.

A couple of notes. You will see that Jerry Friedman searched for the croppie boy by using brackets and a * after the two p's. That is because he wasn't sure how the word croppie ended, y or ie. The star after the two p's tells the server to show all songs with words that start with "cropp" no matter how they end.

We are glad you are here, and I hope this helps you in the future.

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Roddy
Date: 05 Dec 98 - 04:55 PM

Sonas ort, A Mhicí Mhóir. (Thanks Bog Mick). I know a poem about Micí Mór and his friend Micí Beag (Wee Mick). Maybe I'll put it on for you. Only trouble - it's in Irish. Thanks for the guidelines a propos DT. One small thing. You didn't say where I might find DT - unless it is at the top right hand corner of this page. I'll try there. I like what I read on this site. I do intend to contribute, but it might be small beer compared to what some of the expert contributors publish.

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Big Mick
Date: 05 Dec 98 - 06:32 PM

Roddy,

Right, lad. Top right corner of the page.

And publish the poem, I can read Irish pretty well.

Slan go foill,

Mick

Subject: Lyr Add: MICÍ BEAG AGUD SÉIMÍ MÓR
From: Roddy
Date: 06 Dec 98 - 10:47 AM

Well, Big Mick, you asked for it. I must stop cooking in aluminium saucepans - my memory's going.

MICÍ BEAG AGUD SÉIMÍ MÓR.

Tá Micí ana bheag
Is tá Séimí ana mhór,
Is tá na húllaí breátha deasa ar an chrann;
Arsa Micí Beag le Séimí,
"Beidh ocras orainn ar scoil,
'S ní ceart na húllaí breátha deasa 'fhágáil ann."

Chuaigh Micí Beag in airde,
Fuair sé cuidiú ó Shéimí Mhór;
Ach bhí máthair Mhicí Bhig taobh thiar den chrann.
Fuair sí bata athair Mhicí,
Thóg an bheirt acu 'steach,
'S mhothófá iad ag screadaí thíos sa ghleann.

Tá Micí ana chiúin,
Is tá Séimí ana chiúin,
Ní dheán' siad aon gháire ná aon ghreann.
Tá an bheirt ar scoil arís,
Ach níl siad ábalta suí síos,
Is tá na húllaí breátha deasa ar an chrann.

--le Lionard Ó hAnnaidh

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 15-Jan-02.

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Roddy
Date: 06 Dec 98 - 10:59 AM

Thanks for the pointers Mick. I tried DT and got more than I bargained for - not only the words for two versions of the Croppy Boy with substantially the same tune - but the words of an Orange song "Croppies Lie Down" of which I had often heard tell, but the words of which were unknown to me. Great site !!!!

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: bigJ
Date: 06 Dec 98 - 11:43 AM

Theres a recording of The Man From God Knows Where as a song on the Topic LP 'A Bunch of Fives' by the group Five Hand Reel (Topic 12TS 406). 1979 though; may not be still in the catalogue.

Subject: RE: The '98 Rising
From: Big Mick
Date: 06 Dec 98 - 12:03 PM

Roddy,

Go raith mile maith agat.

Slan go foill,

Mick