"Weela Weela Walya", also called "Weila Waile", "Wella Wallia" or "The River Saile", is an Irish schoolyard song that tells the story of an

infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of reso ...

in a light-hearted way. It was popularised in the 1960s by Irish folk bands

The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personn ...

and

The Clancy Brothers The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumper sweaters and are widely credited with popu ...

Origin

The song is a variation of a

murder ballad Murder ballads are a subgenre of the traditional ballad form dealing with a crime or a gruesome death. Their lyrics form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. The term refers to the content ...

called "

The Cruel Mother "The Cruel Mother" (a.k.a. "The Greenwood Side" or "Greenwood Sidey") () is a murder ballad originating in England that has since become popular throughout the wider English-speaking world. According to Roud and Bishop :''Widely collected in Bri ...

" or "The Greenwood Side" ( Child 20, Roud 9), but in an up-tempo version sung by children in the schoolyard. As in several versions of "The Cruel Mother", the woman stabs the baby in the heart using "a penknife long and sharp," but whereas in "The Cruel Mother" the woman is visited by the ghosts of the children she killed, in "Weela Weela Walya" it is "two policeman and a man" (two uniformed police and a detective, or possibly a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

), who come to her door and arrest her for the murder. Neither this version nor any adult Irish version is found in Child's '' English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', but it is listed in the

Roud Folk Song Index 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 ...

. The song was popular with

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

children. A similar song, "Old Mother Lee", is sung in playgrounds in Liverpool. The refrain "Weile Weile Waile" () is a version of the Middle English expression of grief ''" wellaway!"'' (

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''wā lā wā'', "woe, la!, woe).

Performance

The song was recorded by

as "Wella Wallia" on ''

Recorded Live in Ireland ''Recorded Live in Ireland'' is a 1965 album of Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was the first live album to be recorded in stereo in Ireland. It was their sixth LP for Columbia Records and, unusually for ...

'' (1965), and as "Weila Waile" by

on their 1967 album ''

A Drop of the Hard Stuff ''A Drop of the Hard Stuff'' is the debut studio album of the Irish folk group The Dubliners. It was originally released in 1967 on Major Minor Records (SMLP3 and MMLP3). When it was reissued, it was renamed ''Seven Drunken Nights'' after the f ...

''. It was a popular part of the Dubliners' repertoire for decades, appearing on several of their live albums, and was sung at the funeral of

Ronnie Drew Joseph Ronald Drew (16 September 1934 – 16 August 2008) was an Irish people, Irish singer, folk musician and actor who achieved international fame during a fifty-year career recording with The Dubliners. He is most recognised for his lead voc ...

in 2008.

Virgin Prunes Virgin Prunes were an Irish post-punk band formed in 1977 in Dublin, Ireland. They disbanded in 1986 after the departure of singer Gavin Friday. The other members continued under the name The Prunes until they split up in 1991. History The Vir ...

's singers

Guggi Guggi (born Derek Rowen) is an avant-garde Irish artist, once a member of the goth/post-punk band Virgin Prunes alongside his close friend Gavin Friday. Guggi was born in Dublin in 1959. He grew up with and remains best friends with U2's Bono ...

and

Gavin Friday Gavin Friday (born Fionán Martin Hanvey, 8 October 1959) is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter, best known as a founding member of the post-punk group The Virgin Prunes. Early life Friday was born in Dublin and attende ...

sung a version of the song in the 1981 video '' Sons Find Devils''.

Lyrics

There was an old woman and she lived in the woods ''Weela Weela Walya'' There was an old woman and she lived in the woods ''Down by the river Saile.''. From the Irish ''salach'' ("dirty"), it was a former nickname for the

River Poddle The River Poddle ( ga, An Poitéal) is a river in Dublin, Ireland, a pool which (', "black pool" or "dark pool" in Irish) gave the city its English language name. Boosted by a channel made by the Abbey of St. Thomas à Becket, taking water fro ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. She had a baby three months old ''Weela Weela Walya'' She had a baby three months old ''Down by the river Saile.'' She had a

penknife Penknife, or pen knife, is a British English term for a small folding knife. Today the word ''penknife'' is the common British English term for both a pocketknife, which can have single or multiple blades, and for multi-tools, with additional too ...

long and sharp ''Weela Weela Walya'' She had a penknife long and sharp ''Down by the river Saile.'' She stuck the penknife in the baby's heart ''Weela Weela Walya'' She stuck the penknife in the baby's heart ''Down by the river Saile.'' Three loud knocks came a'knocking on the door ''Weela Weela Walya'' Three loud knocks came a'knocking on the door ''Down by the river Saile.'' Two policemen and a man ''Weela Weela Walya'' Two policemen and a man ''Down by the river Saile.'' "Are you the woman that killed the child?" ''Weela Weela Walya'' "Are you the woman that killed the child?" ''Down by the river Saile.'' "I am the woman that killed the child" ''Weela Weela Walya'' "I am the woman that killed the child" ''Down by the river Saile.'' They took her away and they put her in jail ''Weela Weela Walya'' They took her away and they put her in jail ''Down by the river Saile.'' Alternate Ending: They took her up and strung her by the neck ''Weela Weela Walya'' They took her up and strung her by the neck ''Down by the river Saile.'' And that was the end of the woman in the woods ''Weela Weela Walya'' And that was the end of the woman in the woods ''Down by the river Saile.''

In culture

The song's morbid theme of

, juxtaposed with its childish nature, has made it popular as a cultural reference. It is mentioned in

Sebastian Barry Sebastian Barry (born 5 July 1955) is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2019–2021. He is noted for his lyrical literary writing style and is considered one of Ireland's finest writers. Barry's l ...

's novel ''

Annie Dunne ''Annie Dunne'' is a novel written by author and playwright Sebastian Barry. First published by Faber and Faber in 2002 it is currently under reprint from Penguin Books.Sebastian ISBN Set in rural Ireland in the late 1950s the novel recounts the l ...

'',

Hannah Kent Hannah Kent (born 1985) is an Australian writer, known for two novels – ''Burial Rites'' (2013) and ''The Good People'' (2016). Her third novel, ''Devotion'', was published in 2021. Early life and education Kent was born in 1985 grew up in t ...

's novel ''

The Good People ''The Good People'' is a 2016 historical novel by Australian author Hannah Kent. The novel takes inspiration from the case of the 1826 death of Michael Leahy in Kerry, Ireland. Background While researching her first novel, ''Burial Rites'', t ...

'', and Daniel Shortell's novel ''th!s'', and forms a substantial inspiration for the film '' The Hole in the Ground'', which also features

Lisa Hannigan Lisa Margaret Hannigan (born 12 February 1981) is an Irish musician, singer, composer, and voice actress. She began her musical career as a member of Damien Rice's band. Since beginning her solo career in 2007 she has released three albums: ''Se ...

's version of the song.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weela Weela Walya Murder ballads Irish folk songs Songs about child abuse Irish children's songs Traditional children's songs Year of song unknown The Dubliners songs Infanticide