Irish Emigrant's Lament (I), The

DESCRIPTION: "I never will forget the sorrows of that day," when the singer sailed from home. He knows he will miss the land, the friends, "the trusty heart [of the girl] I once could call my own." He will eat strangers' bread, and feel their scorn, and wish for home
AUTHOR: William Kennedy
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration separation farewell
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H235, p. 203, "The Shamrock Sod No More" (1 text, 1 tune)
Graham-Joe-Holmes-SongsMusicTraditionsOfAnUlsterman 69, "The Shamrock Sod No More" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord-BothySongsAndBallads, pp. 352-353, "The Irish Emigrant's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST HHH235 (Full)
Roud #2747
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Emigrant (I)" (subject)
NOTES [64 words]: William Kennedy, a contemporary of William Motherwell, is reported by Ord-BothySongsAndBallads to have been one of the Whistle-Binkie poets. For a composed song, even one composed a century before, it's amazing how much variation there is, in both text and tune, in the Henry and Ord versions (the former in G major, the latter listed as being in F major but apparently in D minor). - RBW
Last updated in version 3.5
File: HHH235

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