Teddy O'Neill

DESCRIPTION: The singer has a dreadful dream of Teddy courting another girl. She recalls where they used to meet. They cannot meet now; he has gone across the sea to seek his fortune. She would rather he were still present, even if poor
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1862 (Dime-Song-Book #9)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation emigration poverty dream
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES (5 citations):
O'Conor-OldTimeSongsAndBalladOfIreland, p. 14, "Teddy O'Neal" (1 text)
Williams-Wiltshire-WSRO Mi 718, "Teddy O'Neill" (1 text)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #2287, p. 154, "Teddy O'Neale" (1 reference)
Dime-Song-Book #9, p. 25, "Teddy O'Neale" (1 text)
DT, TEDONEIL
Roud #5207
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(3747), "Teddy O'Neale", J. Harkness (Preston)), 1840-1866; also Firth c.22(91), Harding B 11(3645), "Teddy O'Neale"; Firth b.28(6a/b) View 6 of 8, "Teddy O'Neal"; also 2806 c.15(168), Harding B 19(30), "Teddy O'Neile"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Maggie of Coleraine" (tune)
cf. "The Girls of Coleraine" (tune)
SAME TUNE:
Maggie of Coleraine (File: HHH657)
The Girls of Coleraine (File: HHH064)
NOTES [179 words]: The Bodleian broadsides reverse the first two verses so that the first line is "I went to the cabin ..." and the second verse begins "I dreamt but last night ..." - BS
Edwin Wolf 2nd, American Song Sheets, Slip Ballads, and Political Broadsides 1850-1870, Library Company of Philadelphia, 1963, p. 154, lists an early broadside published by Wrigley where the first line is "I've come to the cabin he danced his wee jigs in"; this is also the text printed in Dime-Song-Book #9. Thus there seems to have been a lot of variety in the form of the song from a very early date. According to William H. A. Williams, 'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream, University of Illinois Press, 1996, p. 73, this version was published in 1843, and is pretty clearly an "Irish Paddy" comedy song, since the next lines are "As neat a mud palace as ever was seen; And, consid'ring it served to keep poultry and pigs in, I'm sure it was always most elegant clean." It seems clear that there were both comic and serious versions of this from an early date, but I wouldn't bet on which came first. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: DTtedone

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