Four-Leaved Shamrock, The

DESCRIPTION: "I'll seek a four-leaved shamrock In all the fairy dells" and use its magic to cure the world of tears and aching hearts, mend estrangement between friends and see that "vanished dreams of love" return.
AUTHOR: Samuel Lover
EARLIEST DATE: before 1846 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 c.16(203))
KEYWORDS: magic healing nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
O'Conor-OldTimeSongsAndBalladOfIreland, pp. 137-138, "The Four-Leaved Shamrock" (1 text)
Hylands-Mammoth-Hibernian-Songster, pp. 127-128, "The Four-Leaved Shamrock" (1 text)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #670, p. 45, "The Four Leaved Shamrock" (2 references)
Roud #V5560
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.16(203), "The Four Leaved Shamrock", J. Paul and Co (London), 1838-1845; also Harding B 11(3888), Johnson Ballads 562, Harding B 11(1250), Firth b.25(599), Johnson Ballads 417, Harding B 11(1249), "The Four Leaved Shamrock"
LOCSinging, sb10120b, "The Four-Leaved Shamrock", H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878; also as104540, as104080, as201070, "[The] Four-Leaved Shamrock"
NLScotland, RB.m.143(139), "The Four-Leaved Shamrock", Poet's Box (Glasgow), c.1880
NOTES [94 words]: Broadside NLScotland RB.m.143(139): The text includes the statement that "This is supposed to be one of Sheilds' productions." The commentary states "It is not clear who Shields is, but this piece was in fact written by the Irish songwriter, painter and novelist, Samuel Lover (1797-1868)." That agrees with the O'Conor-OldTimeSongsAndBalladOfIreland attribution.
Broadside LOCSinging sb10130a: H. De Marsan dating per Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS
Last updated in version 6.1
File: OCon137

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