Lyr Req: Dingle Puck Goat

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Lyr Req: Dingle Puck Goat

30 Sep 01 - 03:18 AM (#561790)
Subject: dingle puck goat
From: GUEST,hugh jampton

has anyone got the words to this. I believe it was sung by ronnie drew

30 Sep 01 - 03:19 AM (#561791)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: Pene Azul

Looks like you can get the lyrics here (click).

Jeff

18 Jan 02 - 08:41 PM (#630839)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE DINGLE PUCK GOAT (Johnny Patterson)
From: Jim Dixon

Copied from the site Jeff linked to:

THE DINGLE PUCK GOAT
(Johnny Patterson)

I am a young jobber who was foolish and airy,
The green hills of Kerry I came for to see.
I went back to Dingle to buy up some cattle.
I hope you will listen to what happened to me.
I entered the Fair on a Saturday morning,
And the first thing I saw was a long-legged goat.
Bedad then, says I, I'm now to commence dealing.
I think, my old hero, you're worth a pound note.

I made my appearance to the dealer who held him,
And a bargain I made without any delay.
He said, "As you pay me down twenty-one shillings,
An advice I will give you before I go away.
This darling old hero was raised in the mountains.
In the year '64, he learned some drill,
And some of his comrades I'm told are transported,
And now he's determined some blood for to spill."

The old man departed and I went for starting.
The words that he told me put me in despair.
The first jump he gave, he pulled my right arm.
I got on his back and got hold of his hair.
Says I, "My old ranger, on your back I am landed,
Unless that I fall, you may go where you will."
He ran through the streets like someone distracted,
And soon made his way towards Connor Hill.

When he came into Bandon, I thought it was London.
I regretted my journey when I saw the sea.
He jumped in the -- (?) and swam right across it,
Towards Castlegregory, to take the near way.
The waves of the ocean put me in emotion.
The fishes they ate all the nails from my toes.
A bally big mackerel jumped up on my nostril
And thought to get away with the bridge of my nose.

When he came on the strand, he hastily ran
On to Clounnagal, then on to Castlemaine did he steer.
To Miltown, Killorglin and into Killarney -
He never cried crack till he came to Kenmare!
It was then that he spoke, saying, "We've passed our Headquarters.
There my old ancestors always have been.
Let's come back again and we'll take up our lodgings
With the colleen-na-Gour where there's plenty of poteen."

When I heard the goat speaking, my heart commenced beating.
Says I, "'Tis a spirit called Petticoat Loose,
Or something or other that has come into Kerry.
And I thought to myself, I am done wearing shoes!
We now had returned to stop there till morning,
But during the nigh,t I got up on his back,
And as day was dawning, he jumped from his corner,
And to Castleisland he went in a crack..

In the town of Tralee he coolly meanders.
I believe he was anxious to see some more sport.
Just outside the town he - (?) some Highlanders.
With his horns he tore up their bally old cloaks.
The Highlanders bawled and roared melee murder,
Calling the Peelers to - (?) him to jail,
But the more that they shouted the faster he ran,
And over the Basin he gave them the leg bail!

[Recorded by Ronnie Drew on "The Humour Is on Me Now."]

18 Jan 02 - 08:56 PM (#630852)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: GUEST,Desdemona

I confess I'd never heard of this song before seeing the title of this thread, and was led to investigate for purely prurient (to say nothing of puerile!) reasons.

Let's face it: one doesn't often encounter the words "dingle", "puck" and "goat" in conjunction with one another!

18 Jan 02 - 11:11 PM (#630918)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)

I thought it might be about an old goat with dingleberries

19 Jan 02 - 01:24 PM (#631144)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: CapriUni

From Desdamona: "Let's face it: one doesn't often encounter the words "dingle", "puck" and "goat" in conjunction with one another!"

The lyrics read like many an Irish folktale to me (often full of outrageous wonders, they are -- even the more staid and "official" myths), and a puka or puck is a Celtic mischievous hobgoblin or spirit that can take any form it so chooses, as the most famous Puck in English literature explains here. So a "Dingle Puck Goat" is a hobgoblin goat from the town of Dingle.

I had two doe goats as pets when I was growing up, and I know from experience that they are mischievous enough without any supernatural help (their favorite game seemed to be: "making those funny two-legged things jump up and down and shout"). So I had a feeling from the title that a tall tale of some sort was coming (But I was expecting something more like "The Darby Ram").

So -- where can I find the tune for this song? Or, perhaps, it's history?

19 Jan 02 - 04:45 PM (#631256)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: Gypsy

Hey Capri, have the written dotz at home, and would happily snail mail them to you. Copied it down for the same reason...only we had a flock of 35 milkers. Sorely miss the girls, don't miss the fence work they entailed. PM me if you want the music.

19 Jan 02 - 09:50 PM (#631407)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: GUEST,chrisj

CapriUni, You are correct in saying that 'An Púca'(pronounced 'on pooka') is Irish for the hobgoblin, or Puck in English, but I would not agree with your derivation of 'puck goat'. In this case it comes from 'pocán'(pron. 'puckawn'), the Irish for a billy goat.

19 Jan 02 - 10:42 PM (#631434)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: CapriUni

"In this case it comes from 'pocán'(pron. 'puckawn'), the Irish for a billy goat."

Perhaps a pun, then, a double meaning? I was interpreting it as "puka" based on the lines:

"We've passed our Headquarters.
There my old ancestors always have been.
Let's come back again and we'll take up our lodgings
With the colleen-na-Gour where there's plenty of poteen."

When I heard the goat speaking, my heart commenced beating.
Says I, "'Tis a spirit called Petticoat Loose,
Or something or other that has come into Kerry."
And I thought to myself, I am done wearing shoes!

Generally not the behaviour of an ordinary, mortal, pocán, no matter what language you speak!

Which leads to some folkloric questions: Who is this "Spirit called Petticoat Loose"? And what does it have to do with the wearing of shoes?

(Though it seems the poor narrator of this story has already lost his shoes [or never had any on to begin with] since: "The fishes they ate all the nails from my toes" [and with those toes in salt water, too! :::Wince!!:::])

I also have some historical-folklorical question: are the lines:

"This darling old hero was raised in the mountains.
In the year '64, he learned some drill,
And some of his comrades I'm told are transported,
And now he's determined some blood for to spill"

and:

"Just outside the town he - (? my guess is 'butted' ?) some Highlanders.
With his horns he tore up their bally old cloaks.
The Highlanders bawled and roared melee murder,
Calling the Peelers to - (? 'take', 'lead' ?) him to jail"

refer to a particular conflict in history, and can this song be considered a political satire of sorts?

My guess is that, if so, this is an Irish Nationalist song, with the Highlanders being Scottish soldiers -- who once had fought against England for their independance and are now fighting for England.... But that is just a guess. I don't know for sure.

05 Apr 03 - 03:47 PM (#926808)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: CapriUni

Refresh.

I've got this tune running through my head today, and so I thought I'd check back to this thread to remind myself of the lyrics... And once again, I am struck by the reference to the spirit called "Petticoat Loose"... Any Idea out there as to who or what this is?

And what's the deal with shoes?

16 Nov 06 - 04:21 AM (#1886193)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: ossonflags

feresh

16 Nov 06 - 05:18 AM (#1886212)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: MartinRyan

A quick check through obvious sources throws no light on the spirit in question. Incidentally, Jim Carrol, who's around here somewhere, collected a version of this from Irish Travellers in London - his version omits that verse.

Regards

16 Nov 06 - 05:51 AM (#1886215)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: MartinRyan

Of course, it may just be a reference to kilts!

Note the interesting use of "crack".

Regards

16 Nov 06 - 06:52 AM (#1886242)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: ossonflags

I do have an additional verse.

"I jumped over the basin and on to the runway
away went me goat and I saw him no more

perhaps he's gone to the place he was born in
or maybes he's bound for a far distant shore

but if he's alive he's in Cork or in Brandon
away in the mountains or someweres above

but as long as i'm living i've a story worth telling
of me rambles round Kerry with the Dingle Puck Goat"
-------------------------------
Cracking/craicing song !!!!!!

17 Nov 06 - 01:19 PM (#1887044)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: GUEST

We have recorded this a number of times; usually from Travellers. It can be heard on the Musical Traditions CD 'From Puck To Appleby' sung by Kerry Traveller Mikeen McCarthy.
All the Traveller singers have associated it with the ceremony which takes place at Puck Fair, held annually in Kilorglin in County Kerry on the 10th , 11th and 12th of August. A wild puck goat is captured, brought into the town on the first day and 'crowned king of the fair'. It is then hoisted onto a platform high above the proceedings (nowadays there is a covered shelter on top to house your man). It remains tethered there (well fed and watered), for the three days, after which it is released.
In order to protect passers by from 'unwanted substances' a canvas sheet is suspended below the platform to catch anything untoward; this is emptied when the puck is brought down on the third day, by somebody pushing the sheet up from underneath with a broom or a pole. A local piseog is that if a passing woman is splashed by the pee she will almost certainly become pregnant before the year is out.
An excellent study of the fair, entitled 'Puck Fair, History and Traditions', by Brian Houlihan, was published by Treaty Press, Limerick in 1999. This includes nearly a dozen songs and poems about the fair, including one, 'Puck Fair', which was recorded from Kerry Traveller Christie Purcell by the BBC in the early 1950s
Jim Carroll
PS The fair and ceremony are believed to date back to 1613, though the Travellers have a story, told to us by Mikeen McCarthy, about the origins of putting up the goat.
An old Travelling man bringing a puck goat in for sale into Kilorglin; went into a pub, leaving the goat tethered to the stump of a tree. He was in the pub so long that by the time he came out the stump had grown high into the air and the goat was perched on top of it. The locals started the ceremony in commemoration of the event.

17 Nov 06 - 01:45 PM (#1887066)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: dingle puck goat
From: Selchie - (RH)

There are details of The Mad Puck Goat here,

http://www.irishpage.com/songs/pocbuile.htm

I have it on Cherish the Ladies ~ The Girls won't Leave the Boys Alone, sung by Luka Bloom.

Rosie S

20 Jul 09 - 04:06 PM (#2684039)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Dingle Puck Goat
From: GUEST,julie Grey

Hi: Just to let you know, I was looking up your version of THE DINGLE PUCK GOAT and unfortunately some verses are missing the second and last verse; could be awkward if one is using it for competition!!!

Thanks Julie

23 Jul 09 - 03:11 PM (#2686216)
Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: THE DINGLE PUCK GOAT
From: Jim Dixon

From Mel Bay Presents Songs of Ireland by Jerry Silverman (Pacific, MO: Mel Bay Publications, 1991), page 50:

THE DINGLE PUCK GOAT

      C
  1. I am a young jobber both foolish and airy.
        F             C       D7          G7
  The green hills of Kerry I came for to see.
     C
  I went back to Dingle to buy up some cattle
         F           C           G7          C
  And I want you to listen what happened to me.
       Em           Am        F        G7
  As I entered the fair on a Saturday morning,
       Am                      D7          G
  The first thing I saw was a long-legged goat.
      C
  "Bedad," and say I, "for to commence our dealing.
      F              C       G7            C
  I think this bold hero is worth a pound note."

2. This daring old fellow I stood for to stare him.
Although I feared he was a monster to see.
He wore a long meggal as gray as a badger
That would reach from Dingle to Cahirciveen;
With a pair of long horns like any two bayonets,
And just like two needles were pointed on top.
I am very sure that you'd be a week laughing
If only he happened to hit you a rap.

3. I made my approach to the owner that held him.
A bargain we struck without much delay.
He said, "If you pay me down twenty-two shillings,
Some advice I will give you before going away.
This daring young hero was reared on the mountains.
In the year sixty-four he first used to drill,
And some of his comrades were hung and transported,
And since he's determined some blood for to spill."

4. The old man departed and I was for starting.
Those words that he told me put me in despair.
The first jump he gave, well, he near broke my left arm.
I jumped on his back and got hold of his hair.
Says I, "My bold hero, on your back I'm landed,
And unless I will fall, you may go where you will."
He ran thro' the streets like something distracted
And soon made his way towards Connor Hill.

5. When he came near to Brandon, I thought it was London.
I regretted my journey when I saw the sea.
He jumped into the water and swam right across it
Towards Castle Gregory over the way.
The waves of the ocean they put me in motion.
The fishes they ate all the nails off my toes,
And a mighty big mackerel jumped for my nostrils,
And I thought he was gone with the half of my nose.

6. When he came on the strand, now quickly he ran
Towards Clones or Castlemaine sure he did steer,
To Milltown, Killorgin and likewise Killarney,
And never cried "Stop" till he came to Kenmare.
At length then he spoke: "We have passed our headquarters.
It's where our ancestors always have been.
Then let us return and take up our lodgings
At Curraghnamore where there's lots of poteen."

7. We done our returns and stopped there till morning.
It's during the night I sat up on his back.
As the day it was dawning, he jumped from the corner
And t'wards Castleisland he went in a crack.
To the town of Tralee we next took our rambles.
I think he was anxious to see some more sport.
Outside of the town we met some Highlanders.
He up with his horns and he tore all their clothes.

8. The Highlanders shouted and bawled, "Meela murder!
Send for the polis and get him to jail."
But the louder they shouted, the faster my goat ran,
And over the basin he gave them legbail.
On crossing the basin, I fell on the footway.
Away went the goat and I saw him no more.
Sure if he's in Ireland, he's in Camp or in Brandon
Or away in the mountains somewhere remote.

             C                         F          G7
  CODA: But while I am living, I've a story worth telling
         Am            Em           G7          C
  Of my rambles thro' Kerry on the Dingle puck goat.

25 Aug 10 - 07:13 PM (#2972882)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Dingle Puck Goat
From: GUEST,guest

My mother sings this song but it's not exactly the same (she doesn't mention petticoats!). I recall coming across this song in the music archives in Merrion Square in Dublin and if my memory serves me correctly it was said that this song was written about Piaras Feirtear, a local West Kerry hero who fought the Brits...