Norah Magee

DESCRIPTION: "Oh Norah, dear Norah, I can't live without you... Come back to old Ireland, the land of our childhood...." The singer laments the absence of Norah, gone over the sea, and hopes she will return someday to Ireland.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love separation Ireland emigration
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H778, p. 387, "Norah Magee" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4718
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland L.C.Fol.70(86b), "Norah Magee," Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890
NOTES [80 words]: Sam Henry observed that this song was "in great vogue" around 1870, but I know of no other field collections. I do find myself strongly reminded of "Barney McCoy" -- but the similarity is at a level far removed from the details of the songs.
Poverty, of course, forced many Irish to migrate to America, and not just in the nineteenth century. It's not usual for the girl to go without the boy, but it's not unknown, either. And men need the chance to sing lost love songs, too. - RBW
File: HHH778

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