Lyr Req: Welcome Napoleon to Erin

Subject: 'Erin the Green' & Napoleon Song
From: An Buachaill Caol Dubh
Date: 28 Jul 06 - 10:46 AM

On RTE wireless, I recently came across another song on Napoleon, recorded by Frank Harte. The air is not unlike "Nell Flaherty's Drake"
and the words, as near as I can make them out, are:

Refrain:

On the shore we will stand where Napoleon will land,
For he is the hero we hope will be seen;
The bells of the chapel will resound a ditty
To welcome Napoleon to Erin the Green


"Too long I've been weeping
Where hedges are dreeping
With ***** ** ** ****
Or by wild mountain stream;
One night in my slumber
When I lay a-sleeping
Napoleon appeared unto me in a dream
Saying, "arise my brave friend(s)
From the clouds of destruction
That hung over Erin this many's a long year;
For religion ye've suffered
Such great shame and scorn,
But now for the future brave boys do not fear.

(Refrain)

Over hills and deep valleys
By mountains and alleys
The bells of the abbey so loudly will peal,
The ???????? ?will thunder
While we stand in wonder
To welcome a hero like Owen Roe O'Neill;
For if he was alive
He would welcome Napoleon,
And these are the words I am sure he would say;
"You're welcome to Ireland
With Cead Mile Failte
To raise up the Faith that will never decay."

(Refrain)

We fought well at Antrim
And likewise at Gorey
And waited in vain for the French to arrive;
But Boney set sail
With his army for Egypt
And never a thought to the Croppies he gave.
But if he should still come
We'll be there for to meet him
And all will be ready to join his command,
We'll march out like heroes
With Green banners flying
And Napoleon himself will be there in the van.

(Refrain).

The words in the first verse represented thus, **** *** &c sound a bit like,

"With strength in myself..." (?"my cell", i.e. a prisoner, just as "By wild mountain stream" suggests a fugitive).

Those in the second represented by ????? sound like,

"The Three-Ways will thunder"; is this somewhere in ?Dublin.

I'd be very grateful if anyone has either seen the words of this, or heard it more clearly than I. Incidentally, although I guess "alleys" might be an early Nineteenth-Century usage for "Avenues of trees" (thus expaining the peculiar parallel of this with the other locations mentioned), surely the line in the chorus
"The bells of the chapel/Will resound a ditty" (stress on first syllable of "REsound") is corrupt; the rhyme-pattern and the rather weak word "ditty" - unless it's a specifically military one - tend to suggest something like,
"Every bell in the city
Will resound a ditty..."

Subject: RE: 'Erin the Green' & Napoleon Song
From: An Buachaill Caol Dubh
Date: 28 Jul 06 - 11:00 AM

Incidentally (2), in one of the "Napoleon" songs already listed in Mudcat, "Napoleon's Dream", there's a line about

"On the fields of Marien, lo!, ....."

which is surely a mis-hearing for

"On the fields of Marengo...."

Marengo being the battle in Northern Italy (1800) which finally settled the Austrians and which gave rise to "Chicken Marengo"
(Boney's cook had to concoct something quickly that evening, and to a chicken which was obviously a particularly scrawny one he added a crayfish and some vegetables. General Bonaparte complimented him, saying "You must feed me thus after every battle". Unfortunately, the cook was rather literal-minded, and for the next decade Napoleon grew increasingly sick of chicken and crayfish....)

Subject: RE: 'Erin the Green' & Napoleon Song
From: MartinRyan
Date: 28 Jul 06 - 01:11 PM

That was probably a recording from Frank's "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte" 2CD-set. The notes include the verses you quote. Frank got the song from Paddy Tunney who in turn got it from WIlliam Monaghan of Tullyhasson.

I'll check the words later.

Regards

Subject: RE: 'Erin the Green' & Napoleon Song
From: An Buachaill Caol Dubh
Date: 29 Jul 06 - 10:53 AM

Thanks for the message; I'll be most grateful if you could provide the words in question. I'm guessing the Paddy Tunney you mention would be P.T. senior, from ?Letterkenny in Donegal. If you can get RTE reception, there's a programme tonight (Saturday) at 10pm which, according to what was said last week, is going to include some more songs connected to the bold Boney (it's a very old-fashioned requests show, entitled "failte isteach" - "welcome in[side]" - and does sometimes have rare old recordings).

mise le meas,
BCD

Subject: Lyr Add: WELCOME NAPOLEON TO ERIN
From: MartinRyan
Date: 29 Jul 06 - 01:54 PM

"Too long I've been weeping where hedges are dreeping
With strength of my cellar, the clear mountain stream.
One night in my slumber as I lay a-sleeping
Napoleon appeared unto me in a dream
Saying, "arise up my friends from the clouds of destruction
That Erin lay under for many a long year;
For religion ye've suffered such great shame and scorn,
But now for the future brave boys do not fear.

(Refrain)
On the shore we will stand where Napoleon will land,
For he is the hero we hope will be seen;
The bells of the chapel will resound a ditty
To welcome Napoleon to Erin the Green

Over hills and deep valleys, over mountains and alleys
The bells of the abbeys so loudly will peal,
The three waves will thunder, as we stand and wonder
And long for a hero like Owen Roe O'Neill;
For if he was alive he would welcome Napoleon,
And these are the words I am sure he would say;
"Oh Cead Mile Failte, my friend you are welcome
To raise up the Faith that will never decay."

(Refrain)

We fought well at Antrim and likewise at Gorey
We waited in vain for the French to arrive;
But Boney set sail with his army for Egypt
And never a thought for the Croppies he gave.
But if he should still come we'll be there for to meet him
And all will be ready for to join his command,
We'll march out like heroes with Green banners flying
And Napoleon himself will be there in the van.

(Refrain).

The "three waves" reference is to a tale in Irish mythology which escapes me for now.

The above is as given in the sleeve notes - and may well vary slightly from what Frank actually sang.

Regards

Subject: RE: 'Erin the Green' & Napoleon Song
From: MartinRyan
Date: 30 Jul 06 - 07:08 PM

Incidentally, according to Fintan Vallely's "Companion to Irish Traditional Music", Paddy Tunney was born in Glasgow but brought up near Pettigo, Co. Donegal.

Regards

Subject: RE: 'Erin the Green' & Napoleon Song
From: An Buachaill Caol Dubh
Date: 31 Jul 06 - 12:06 PM

Thanks for all this, especially the observation re. variation between the words "nailed down/In dull letters under a name" and what was actually sung. I had wondered the other night whether the line in the final verse might have been "The free waves will thunder" and was cursing myself for overlooking such an obvious continuation of the idea of standing on the shore (whether waiting for Boney in '98 or at some future time, at least till 1821!), and indeed a similar idea to the "chainless wave" of Thomas Davis, so I'm doubly grateful for the reference to myth.

Thanks again,
An Buachaill Caol Dubh

Subject: RE: 'Erin the Green' & Napoleon Song
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 31 Jul 06 - 02:27 PM

The song title is apparently WELCOME NAPOLEON TO ERIN. There is a song by that name on Frank Harte's album "My Name Is Napoleon Bonaparte" in the Celtic Grooves catalog.