Paddy's Land (II)

DESCRIPTION: The singer is asked by a damsel "for a verse or two in praise of Paddy's land." He sings about pure air, pretty girls. The Irish are noble people driven from home by the failure of trade. Trade has now returned. He toasts Wellington, Duncan, and Jervis.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1820 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 17(233b))
KEYWORDS: emigration commerce Ireland
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Greig/Duncan8 1745, "Paddy's Land" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #12987
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 17(233b), "Paddy's Land" ("One evening all alone as I sat in my easy chair"), J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819; also Harding B 25(1453), Harding B 16(197b), "Paddy's Land"
NOTES [197 words]: Greig/Duncan8 is a fragment; broadside Bodleian Harding B 17(233b) is the basis for the description.
For more on trade problems at the end of the Napoleonic Wars see "The Ports Are Open."
Of the heroes toasted at the end of the song: Jervis is probably John Jervis, First Lord of the Admiralty (1735-1823) (source: Wikipedia article John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent); Duncan is probably Admiral Adam Duncan (1731-1804) who defeated the Dutch fleet at Camperdown in 1797 (source: Wikipedia article Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown).
The woman at the beginning of the song is familiar from the Aisling style of Irish poem [see "Granuaile"]; it would be unusual in that kind of poem for her to drop out of the text as she does in this song. - BS
Unusual, certainly, but it makes sense for a song that praises Wellington, Duncan, and Jervis to drop references to Granuaile, who stood for Irish independence. Wellington, Duncan, and Jervis were *British* heroes, implying that this is a song by a pro-Union, probably Protestant, Irishman.
Roud lumps this with a pro-Irish Freedom song called "Paddy's Land," but they don't have much in common in terms of content. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.1
File: GrD1745

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