Lyr Req: What Put the Blood? (from John Reilly)

Subject: Lyr Req: John Reilly's What Put the Blood? (#13)
From: Roberto
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 04:27 AM

Please, help me correct this transcription. Thanks. R

What Put The Blood
John Reilly, in Jacko Reilly, Irish Tinker Ballads, Folktrax; recordings made by the Irish folk-collector Tom Munnelly, near Boyle, Co. Roscommon, 1967

Singing – What put the blood on your right shoulder?
And, son, come tell it unto me, to me
And, son, come tell it unto me
Saying – That is the blood af a hare, Mama
Says, Mam', O pardon me
I says – Mam', O pardon me

Saying – That is the blood of your youngest brother
And, son, come tell it unto me, to me
And, son, come tell it unto me
Well, it's all from the cutting of a hazel rod
That never will grow a tree, a tree
That never will grow a tree

What are you want to do with your two grand children?
Son, come tell it unto me, to me
And, son, come tell it unto me
I'll give one to me daddy and the other to me mammy
And they'll keep them company
And they'll keep them company

What will you do with your house and land?
Son, come tell it unto me, to me
I will leave it here for the birds of the air
For to sing and mourn for me, for me
For to sing and mourn for me

What will you do with your greyhounds?
And, son, come tell it unto me, to me
And, son, come tell it unto me
I will take the straps off their two necks
And they'll race no more for me, for me
And they'll race no more for me

What will you do with your two racehorses?
And, son, come tell it unto me, to me
And, son, come tell it unto me
I will take the bridles off their heads
And they'll race no more for me, for me
And they'll race no more for me

What will you do with your darling wife?
Son, come tell it unto me, to me
O, son, come tell it unto me
She will leave her foot upon a ship board
And she'll sail all along with me

Subject: Lyr Add: WHAT PUT THE BLOOD (from John Reilly)
From: GUEST,Malcolm Douglas
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 12:22 PM

The FolkTrax recording was made in 1967. Tom Munnelly recorded the song again from John Reilly in 1969, and this time John remembered more (assuming that the Kennedy issue is not edited); this appeared on The Bonny Green Tree: Songs of an Irish Traveller (Topic 12T358, 1978). Rather than guess at corrections to the above, I'll post the whole thing here as Munnelly transcribed it for the Topic record.


What Put the Blood?

Oh, what put the blood on your right shoulder?
An' son come tell it unto me, to me.
An' son come tell it unto me.

Oh, that is the blood of a hare, Mama,
An' who may pardon me, me
An' who may pardon me.

Sayin', that is the blood of your youngest bretheren,
An' son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

What a-kem between you an' your youngest bretheren?
Son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

It wall from the cuttin' of a hazel rod
That never will grow a tree, a tree
Oh, that never will grow a tree.

Sayin', what will you do with your lovin' wife?
An' son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

She will leave her foot upon a shipboard
An' she'll sail all along with me, with me
She'll sail all along with me.

Sayin' what will you do with your two grand children?
Son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son, come tell it unto me.

I'll give one to my daddy an' the other to my mammy
An' they'll keep them company
An' they'll keep them company.

What will you do with your lovin' house?
An' son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

I will leave it there for the birds of the air
To mourn an' sing for me, for me
For to mourn an' sing for me.

Sayin' what will you do with your two race horses?
An' son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

I will take the bridles off their heads
An' they'll race no more for me, for me
An' they'll race no more for me.

Sayin' what will you do with your two greyhounds?
An' son come tell it unto me, to me
An' son come tell it unto me.

I will take the straps off their two necks
An' they'll hunt no more for me, for me
An' they'll hunt no more for me.


A full transcription is in Tom Munnelly, 'John Reilly, The Man and His Music', in Ceol: a journal of Irish Music vol IV no 1, Dublin, 1972. I don't know if there are transcriptions anywhere of the earlier recording.