What started out as a song about the loss of love in Irish became an English song about longing for Ireland. In Star of the Sea, a central character, Pius Mulvey, gets his start as a singer/performer (which eventually leads him to writing a ballad of his own) by singing a macaronic song.Though "Carrickfergus" and “Do Bhí Bean Uasal” are sung to the same tune, they are completely different. “The Land of the Gael” has some macaronic elements in that it has a few Irish place names in it. This type of song is sometimes called macaronic, meaning that it either is different in different languages, or alternates between two languages throughout the lyrics. And for comparison's sake, here is the first verse of the English version translated to Irish:īa mhaith liom ag snamh os cionn na farraige is doimhneĪn farraige is doimhne le mo ghrá a aimsiú And then he’s injured and drunk and roving - typical love song fare.īut here is the first verse of the Irish version:Īch go dtug sí svae léi os comhair an tsaoil. Michael’s day, and then leaving her because she has two daughters. However, it started out as a completely different song called “Do Bhí Bean Uasal” Or “There Was a Noblewoman.” There’s no really good English translation of the lyrics, but it’s essentially about a man loving a woman from County Clare, wanting to marry her on St. The deepest ocean, my love to find(And yes, there is similarity in the English version to an English folk song, “The Water is Wide,” in the second stanza that is not at all in the original Irish) The English version is the most well known today, and goes along the same vein as many of the other songs mentioned - wishing to be back in Ireland, as seen here:
Star of the Sea : A Postcolonial/Postmodern Voyage into the Irish Famine Main Menu About This Project Star of the Sea Overview Joseph O'Connor In this section, you will learn more about Joseph O'Connor and the other works he produced Postcolonial Theory Postmodernism The Gothic in Star of the Sea Historical Figures Language and Music in Irish Culture Biology of the Famine Landlords, Tenants, and Evictions In the following pages, you'll learn about landlords, tenants, and evictions during the Irish Potato Famine Government Policies and Emigration Media Memorials Contributors Brief biographies of the people who made this book. Please enable Javascript and reload the page. This may well form part of the song's context.This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Work there attracted Irish immigrants, and the local churchyard apparently holds their graves, some of which have black marble memorial stones. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries there was a successful stone quarry close to Ballygrant, in a place called Kilmeny. There is about 70 miles of Irish sea between the two places. What I can tell you is that Carrickfergus is in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and that Ballygrant (the Ballygran of the first verse) is on the island of Islay, in Scotland's Inner Hebrides. This mudcat thread is well worth reading. But beyond that, not much is known for certain.
It may have been based on an earlier gaelic language song called "Do bhí bean uasal" ("There Was a Noblewoman"), and there is an obvious similarity to " The Water is Wide". The song's history before O'Toole brought it to light is much more enigmatic. The Youtube version on this page is by Joan Baez, who sings the song beautifully. Carrickfergus subsequently grew in popularity and has been recorded by luninaries including The Dubliners and Van Morrison. Behan added what is now he middle verse, and recorded the song. In the 1960s, the Irish actor, Peter O'Toole, introduced it to Dominic Behan (it was O'Toole's favourite song, apparently). The song's recent history is an interesting one. There are obviously themes of exile, loss and love, and these, combined with the pathos of the tune, are what get to me. If you look closely at the words, you might argue that it seems to be composed of fragments of other songs, but to me that doesn't matter. Carrickfergus - Chords, Lyrics and Origins OriginsĬarrickfergus is, in my humble opinion anyway, one of the most beautiful ballads I've heard.