Title
As I Rode Down Through Irishtown
Alternate Titles: The Crimean War
Subject
Folk songs, English -- New York (State) -- Adirondack Mountains Region
Folk songs, English -- Minnesota
War songs; Folk songs, Irish; Ballads, English; Crimean War, 1853-1856--Songs and music
Description
First Line: As I rode down through Irishtown one evening last July
Summary: Johnnie and his mother together tell of Johnnie's part in the Crimean War. Having fought at various battles on the "Russian shore" including Kurksharosko [Kurekdere?], Balaklava [Balaclava], and Sebastopol [Sevastopol], he longs to be home in Garryowne (Ireland) again.
Traditional Ballad Index Page: http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/LJ09.html
Creator
Michael Cassius Dean
Source
Robert Winslow Gordon Cylinder Collection (AFC 1928/002) http://lccn.loc.gov/2009655325; Archive of Folk Culture; American Folklife Center; Library of Congress
Publisher
Brian T. Miller
Date
Sep. 1924
Contributor
Robert Winslow Gordon
Rights
Duplication of sound recordings may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.
Relation
Full song text taken from M.C. Dean's 1922 self-published songster The Flying Cloud And 150 Other Old Time Poems and Ballads: A Collection of Old Irish Songs, Songs of the Sea and Great Lakes, The Big Pine Woods, The Prize Ring and Others
Format
mp3
Language
en-US
Type
Music Recording
Identifier
Roud #1924
Laws J9
AFS Preservation Reel: AFS 19011A
Gordon Cylinder Record No.: G85
AFS Item No.: Misc. 141
Coverage
St. Lawrence County, New York; Minnesota
Original Format
Wax Cylinder
Duration
0:36
Bit Rate/Frequency
128 kbps
Transcription
AS I RODE DOWN THROUGH IRISHTOWN.
As I rode down through Irishtown one evening last July,
The mother of a soldier in tears I did espy,
Saying, “God be with you, Johnnie dear, although you are far away,
For you my heart is breaking since you went to the Crimea.
“Oh, Johnnie, I gave you schooling, I gave you a trade likewise.
You need not have joined the army if you had taken my advise,
You need not go to face the foe where cannons loud do roar,
Think of the thousands that have fallen now upon that Russian shore.
He joined the Fourteenth regiment, it was a splendid corp,
They landed honorable mention upon the Russian shore;
He fought in foreign engagements with the loss of men each day,
And there is many a mother shedding tears for sons that are far away,
“You fought at Kurksharosko where you did not succeed,
Likewise at the valley of Inkerman, where thousands there did bleed,
You fought at Balaklava, too it was there you gained the day,
And my darling is a hero although he’s far away.
“It was when we attacked Sebastapool, it was there you’d see some play,
The very ground we stood upon it shook, the truth I say,
The clouds were black with heavy smoke from bomb shells firing there,
And thousands weltering in their blood that went to fight the Bear.
“The English said they would gain the seas whate’er might be their doom,
And thousands there a-falling, cut down in their youthful bloom,
There Paddy’s sons with English guns their valor did display,
And together with the sons of France, thank God, we gained the day.
“Had your heart been made of iron for them you would shed tears,
To see those heroes falling, cut down in their youthful years,
To see those heroes falling and weltering in their gore,
Far from their home and friends, my boys, upon that Russian shore.
“So now to end and finish and to conclude my song,
I thank the God above me for having survived so long,
Likewise my poor old mother, ’twas her I did adore,
And I hope, dear mother, to meet you safe in Garryowne once more.
As I rode down through Irishtown one evening last July,
The mother of a soldier in tears I did espy,
Saying, “God be with you, Johnnie dear, although you are far away,
For you my heart is breaking since you went to the Crimea.
“Oh, Johnnie, I gave you schooling, I gave you a trade likewise.
You need not have joined the army if you had taken my advise,
You need not go to face the foe where cannons loud do roar,
Think of the thousands that have fallen now upon that Russian shore.
He joined the Fourteenth regiment, it was a splendid corp,
They landed honorable mention upon the Russian shore;
He fought in foreign engagements with the loss of men each day,
And there is many a mother shedding tears for sons that are far away,
“You fought at Kurksharosko where you did not succeed,
Likewise at the valley of Inkerman, where thousands there did bleed,
You fought at Balaklava, too it was there you gained the day,
And my darling is a hero although he’s far away.
“It was when we attacked Sebastapool, it was there you’d see some play,
The very ground we stood upon it shook, the truth I say,
The clouds were black with heavy smoke from bomb shells firing there,
And thousands weltering in their blood that went to fight the Bear.
“The English said they would gain the seas whate’er might be their doom,
And thousands there a-falling, cut down in their youthful bloom,
There Paddy’s sons with English guns their valor did display,
And together with the sons of France, thank God, we gained the day.
“Had your heart been made of iron for them you would shed tears,
To see those heroes falling, cut down in their youthful years,
To see those heroes falling and weltering in their gore,
Far from their home and friends, my boys, upon that Russian shore.
“So now to end and finish and to conclude my song,
I thank the God above me for having survived so long,
Likewise my poor old mother, ’twas her I did adore,
And I hope, dear mother, to meet you safe in Garryowne once more.