Lovely Glenshesk (II)

DESCRIPTION: "This evening I take my departure from the lovely town where I was bred"; he is bidding farewell to friends and relatives. Having come of age, he must go to "a far foreign land." He describes the temptations faced by humanity, and hopes to avoid them
AUTHOR: John McCormick (?)
EARLIEST DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection; tune collected 1905?)
KEYWORDS: emigration farewell
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H28a, pp. 194-195, "Lovely Glenshesk (IIa)"; H547, pp. 195-196, "In Praise of the Glen" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Tunney-WhereSongsDoThunder, pp. 175-176, "Lovely Glenshesk" (1 text)
Roud #5281
NOTES [96 words]: The Biblical allusion, "The Israelites they were in bondage and they murmured at their going away," actually refers to a multitude of troubles during the Exodus; whenever the Israelites faced problems, or just decided they were tired of something, they "murmured" and talked about going back to Egypt.
A handful of examples: Exodus 14:10ff. (the people are afraid when pursued by Pharaoh); Exodus 16:2ff. (the people demand meat); Exodus 17:2ff. (the people want water); Numbers 11:4ff. (more demands for meat).
The story of the serpent tempting Eve is found in Genesis 3. - RBW
File: HHH028a

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