Back in Dublin after days all over the country. I’ve had little downtime, so not much time to blog. There is a little something I’d like to share with you about Irish music. It’s everywhere! Instruments are a bit different for those of us from the USA. For example in much of their music you’ll hear the concertina (a small accordion), the Irish flute or penny whistle, and the Irish handheld drum (called a bohdrán). In wandering the streets of Dublin, one can’t help but hear the song about Molly Malone. She’s sort of a mythical figure in Irish Song and storytelling. The song about her is an unofficial national anthem of sorts. It’s a sad story, and (spoiler alert!) it doesn’t end well for sweet Molly.
Here are the lyrics:
In Dublin’s fair city, Where the Girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes, On sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel barrow, Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels, Alive alive o!
Alive alive o! Alive alive o!
Crying cockles and mussels, Alive alive o!
She was a fish monger, And sure it was no wonder,
For so were her, Father and Mother before,
And they both wheeled their barrow, Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels, Alive alive o!
Alive alive o! Alive alive o!
Crying cockles and mussels, Alive alive o!
She died of a fever, And no one could save her,
And that was the end Of sweet Molly Malone,
But her ghost wheels her barrow, Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels, Alive alive o!
The photo above shows the statue of Sweet Molly here in Dublin. It’s saucy and bodaciously bosomed. Perhaps that’s why she’s sometimes referred to as, “the Tart with a Cart”. Enjoy this version of the class Irish song, and think about singing it the next time you have a pint of Guinness. 😉
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