Lyrics: Kilkelly, Ireland
Barrie McCombs
Someone requested this tune earlier, but my server has already trashed
the thread. I would be interested in finding the sheet music to it.
Apparently it was printed in Sing Out! magazine (volume 30-?). It is a
hard one to sing - the tears keep staining the music.
KILKELLY, IRELAND Time: 3/4 Tenor: G(Em) Bass: G(Em)
- Peter & Steve Jones, 1984, on: Clouds
- Record: Moloney, O'Connell & Keane, Kilkelly, 1988
6m * 1 *
Kilkelly, Ireland, eighteen and sixty
5 * 6m *
My dear and loving son John
6m * 1 *
Your good friend, the schoolmaster, Pat McNa-mara's
5 * 6m *
So good as to write these words down
1 * 5 *
Your brothers have all gone to find work in England
4 * 5 *
The house is so empty and sad
6m * 1 *
The crop of po-tatoes is sorely in-fected
5 * 6m *
A third to half of them bad
1 * 5 *
And your sister Bridget and Patrick O'Donnell
4 * 5 *
Are going to be married in June
6m * 1 *
Your mother says not to work on the railroad
5 * 6m *
And be sure to come on home soon
Kilkelly, Ireland, eighteen and seventy
My dear and loving son John
Hello to your missus and to your four children
May they grow healthy and strong
Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble
I suppose that he never will learn
Because of the darkness there's no turf to speak of
And now we have nothing to burn
And Bridget is happy you named a child for her
And now she's got six of her own
You say you found work, but you don't say what kind
Or when you will be coming home
Kilkelly, Ireland, eighteen and eighty
Dear Michael and John, my sons
I'm sorry to give you the very sad news
That your dear old mother passed on
We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly
Your brothers and Bridget were there
You don't have to worry, she died very quickly
Remember her in your prayers
And it's so good to hear that Michael's returning
With money he's sure to buy land
For the crop has been bad and the people are selling
At any price that they can
Kilkelly, Ireland, eighteen and ninty
My dear and loving son John
I suppose that I must be close on to eighty
It's thirty years since you're gone
Because of all the money you send me
I'm still living out on my own
Michael has built himself a fine house
And Bridget's daughters have grown
Thank you for sending your family picture
They're lovely young women and men
You say that you might even come for a visit
What joy to see you again
Kilkelly, Ireland, eighteen and ninty-two
My dear brother John
I'm sorry I didn't write sooner
To tell you that father passed on
He was living with Bridget, she says he was cheerful
And healthy right down to the end
Ah, you should have seen him play with the grandchildren
Of Pat McNamara, your friend
And we buried him alongside of Mother
Down at the Kilkelly churchyard
He was a strong and a feisty old man
Considering his life was so hard
ENDING: (CHORDS OF LAST SECTION OF THE VERSE):
And it's funny the way he kept talking about you
He called for you at the end
Oh, why don't you think about coming to visit
We'd (all) love to see you again
HISTORY: One hundred and thirty years after his great grandfather left
Kilkelly, County Mayo, Peter Jones found a bundle of letters sent to his great
grandfather by his father in Ireland. The letters tell of family news, and bad
harvests. They remind the son that he is loved and remembered by his family
in Ireland. The final letter informs him that his father, whom he has not
seen for 30 years, has died. Peter used these letters to make this song. The
"trouble" in verse two is probably the Fenian rising of 1867.
*****
SYMBOLS:
- Asterisk (*) = new measure, play same chord
- Period (.) = 1/8 note rest at start of a measure
- Underline(_) = sustain note into next measure
CHORDS (Number System):
- The numbers are the notes of the diatonic scale (do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do)
- The system lets you play a song in any key, using the same chart
Common Keys: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Key of C C D E F G A B (no sharps)
Key of G G A B C D E F# (1 sharp)
Key of D D E F# G A B C# (2 sharps)
Key of A A B C# D E F# G# (3 sharps)
- From: Barrie McCombs (bmcc...@acs.ucalgary.ca)