McTavish is Dead

DESCRIPTION: "Oh, McTavish is dead and his brother doesn't know it, His brother is dead and McTavish doesn't know it. They're both of them dead and they're lying in bed And neither one knows that the other is dead."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1983 (Warner-FolkSongsAndBalladsOfTheEasternSeaboard)
KEYWORDS: death campsong
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Warner-FolkSongsAndBalladsOfTheEasternSeaboard, p. 2, "MacTavish is Dead" (1 text)
Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, p. 122, "McTavish Is Dead" (1 text, tune referenced)
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 132, 315, "O'Riley is dead and O'Reilly doesn't know it"/"McKinney Is Dead" (notes only)
RECORDINGS:
Deborah Paulukaitis, "McKeeny Is Dead" (Piotr-Archive #724, recorded 10/28/2023)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Irish Washerwoman" (tune)
cf. "The Railroad Corral" (tune and references for the "Irish Washerwoman" tune)
cf. "John Dolan" (theme of two people both being dead)
NOTES [34 words]: Said to have been used as mouth music for dancing. Presumably it is one of the several attempts to provide a lyric for "The Irish Washerwoman" -- in this case, probably just to help remember the tune. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.7
File: PHCFS122

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