The Moorlough Shore (
Roud
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...
2742) is a
traditional
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
love song
A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order ...
.
Synopsis
A young man praises the beauties of the countryside and the girl he has fallen in love with. She refuses his advances on the ground that she already loves a sailor. She will wait for her true love for seven years. In frustration the boy leaves his childhood home and sails away, still praising the girl he loves that lives by the
Moorlough Shore. The song is set in
Strabane, and local names and places along the
River Mourne
The River Mourne ( ga, An Mughdhorn) is a river in County Tyrone (between Strabane and Newtownstewart), Northern Ireland, and is a tributary of the River Foyle It is formed at the meetings of the River Derg and River Strule below Ardstraw. At St ...
are mentioned.
Released versions
The earliest version is a broadside in the
Bodleian Library, dated 1886. The song is discussed in the "
Journal of the Irish folk Song Society" in 1905 and 1911. In the 1940s
Helen Hartness Flanders
Helen Hartness Flanders (May 19, 1890 – May 23, 1972), a native of the U.S. state of Vermont, was an internationally recognized ballad collector and an authority on the folk music found in New England and the British Isles. At the initiati ...
found a version in
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
.
There are notable recordings by:
* "
John McGettigan & his Irish Minstrels" on a single released in the 1930s in the USA
*
Paddy Tunney
Paddy Tunney (28 January 1921 – 7 December 2002) was an Irish traditional singer, poet, writer, raconteur, lilter and songwriter. He was affectionately known as the ''Man of Songs''.
From Glasgow to Garvery
Tunney was born in Glasgow to Ir ...
on the album ''Man of Songs'' (1963)
*
Peta Webb on the album ''I Have Wandered in Exile'' (1973)
*
Stan Rogers on the album ''
Fogarty's Cove'' (1976)
*
The Boys of the Lough
The Boys of the Lough is a Scottish-Irish Celtic music band active since the 1970s.
Early years
Their first album, called ''Boys of the Lough'' (1972) consisted of Aly Bain (fiddle), Cathal McConnell (flute), Dick Gaughan (vocals and guitar) and ...
on the album ''Regrouped'' (1980)
*
Yorkshire Garland
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
on the album ''The Twiddley-Men Tapes'' (1983)
*
Dolores Keane
Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) is an Irish folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the group De Dannan and has since embarked on a solo career.
Background
Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near ...
on the album ''Lion in a Cage'' (1989)
*
Caroline Lavelle
Caroline Lavelle is an English singer-songwriter and cellist who has created three solo albums and contributed vocals, music, and production help to many other artists and bands.
Career
Lavelle studied at the Royal College of Music in London. ...
on the album ''Spirit'' (1995)
*
Patrick Street
Patrick Street is an Irish folk group founded by Kevin Burke (formerly of The Bothy Band) on fiddle, Andy Irvine (Sweeney's Men, Planxty) on mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica and vocals, Jackie Daly ( De Dannan) on button accordion, and Art ...
on the album ''Corner Boys'' (1996)
*
Susan McKeown on the album ''
Lowlands
Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland.
Definitions
Upland and lowland are portions of p ...
'' (2000)
*
Sinéad O'Connor on the album ''
Sean-Nós Nua
''Sean-Nós Nua'' is the sixth studio album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, released on 8 October 2002, by Vanguard Records. It consists of traditional Irish songs, the title meaning "new old-style" and also referring to the popular style of t ...
'' (2002)
*
Karine Polwart
Karine Polwart ( ) (born 23 December 1970) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised f ...
on the compilation album ''Fishing Music I'' (2003)
*
Emm Gryner
Emm Gryner (born 8 June 1975 in Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian-Filipino singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author. She has released 20 albums as a solo performer, and has collaborated with artists including David Bowie and Chris Hadfie ...
on the album ''Songs of Love and Death'' (2005)
*
The Corrs
The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings, Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Carol ...
on the album ''
Home'' (2005)
Other versions
After the
Easter Rising in Ireland, the parish priest Canon Charles O’Neil wrote the lyrics for the well known political song
''Foggy Dew'' to this air.
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
' poem ''
Down by the Salley Gardens'' has been set to the same melody by
Herbert Hughes.
See also
*
List of folk songs by Roud number
This is a list of songs by their Roud Folk Song Index number; the full catalogue can also be found on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website. Some publishers have added Roud numbers to books and liner notes, as has also been done with ...
(Nº 2742)
*
The Mountains of Mourne
The lyrics to the song ''The Mountains of Mourne'' (originally spelt ''The Mountains o' Mourne'') were written by Irish musician Percy French (1854–1920). The music was adapted by Houston Collisson (1865–1920) from the traditional Folk music o ...
References
External links
''Banks of the Moorlough Shore'' Lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moorlough Shore, The
Irish folk songs
Year of song unknown