My Irish Molly-O

DESCRIPTION: The singer, (a Scotsman,) is in love with Molly. Her parents oppose the match (because he is not Catholic). Unable to win his love, he is ready to die (and makes preparations for burial). (Common versions often lose the plot, and simply speak of courting)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1842 (Joyce, The Native Music of Ireland)
KEYWORDS: love separation death courting
FOUND IN: US(MA,SE) Ireland Australia Britain(England(South),Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (15 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "IRISH MOLLY O"
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #111, p. 2, "Irish Molly" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan6 1088, "Irish Mally, O"; Greig/Duncan6 1158, "The Gipsy's Warning" (11 texts, 8 tunes)
Ord-BothySongsAndBallads, p. 131, "Irish Molly, O" (1 text)
Cazden/Haufrecht/Studer-FolkSongsOfTheCatskills 62, "My Irish Molly-O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morris-FolksongsOfFlorida, #234, Irish Mollie-O" (1 text)
Meredith/Covell/Brown-FolkSongsOfAustraliaVol2, pp. 177-178, "Irish Molly-O" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor-OldTimeSongsAndBalladOfIreland, p. 52, "Irish Molly O" (1 text)
Williams-Wiltshire-WSRO Mi 606, "Irish Molly O" (1 text)
Purslow-MarrowBones, p. 58, "My Charming Molly O!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hylands-Mammoth-Hibernian-Songster, p. 92, "Irish Molly O" (1 text)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #1057, p. 72, "Irish Molly, O" (1 reference)
DT, IRSHMOLL*
ADDITIONAL: Charles Gavan Duffy, editor, The Ballad Poetry of Ireland (1845), pp. 214-215, "Irish Molly"
H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 186-187, 512, "Irish Molly"
Roud #2168
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(1787), "Irish Molly, O!" ("As I walk'd out one morning all in the month of May"), J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 11(2121), Firth b.28(35) View 2 of 2[some words illegible], Johnson Ballads fol. 114, Harding B 11(4209), Harding B 17(140b), Johnson Ballads 2582, Firth c.26(181), Harding B 20(257), Firth c.26(137), 2806 c.15(243), Firth c.14(204), 2806 b.11(252), "Irish Molly, O[!]"; Johnson Ballads 340, "Irish Molly!"
LOCSinging, as106290, "Irish Molly, O," Harris (Philadelphia), 19C
NLScotland, L.C.1270(006), "Irish Molly, O," James Kay (Glasgow), c. 1845; also L.C.178.A.2(256), "Irish Molly O," unknown, c. 1860
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "I Often Think of Writing Home" (tune)
SAME TUNE:
The Lass of Swansea Town (Swansea Barracks) (per broadside Bodleian Harding B 11(2071) )
I Often Think of Writing Home (File: RcIOTOWH)
NOTES [207 words]: Greig/Duncan6 1158's two fragments entitled "The Gipsy's Warning," Roud #7358, are female and male variants of the "never lay your love On the top of a tree. The branches will wither ..." verse. The notes quote Greig: "Thinks this may be chorus of the 'Gipsy's Warning.'" The notes also say, "The printed text [of Cox's version of 'The Gypsy's Warning' in Folk-Songs of the South, Cox-FolkSongsSouth 149 in this index] does not contain [these] words"; neither does the text of "Gypsy's Warning" at Digital Tradition GYPWARN, quoted from Folk Songs Out of Wisconsin. For lack of evidence that this verse goes anyplace else I have stowed it with "Irish Molly, O" which often includes that verse and has been found in Scotland [see Greig/Duncan6 1088]. - BS
There was a 1905 pop song, "My Irish Molly-O," credited to William Jerome (words) and Jean Schwartz (music). Since the song was already in existence, that obviously was not the original.
The Purslow-MarrowBones text "My Charming Molly O!" has so little of the plot that I am not sure whether it is really the same song or if it is an independent song that has picked up a few words of "My Irish Molly-O." But until more versions turn up, I'm following Steve Roud in filing it here. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.8
File: FSC062

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