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"She Moved Through the Fair" (or "She Moves Through the Fair") is a traditional Irish folk song, existing in a number of versions and which has been recorded many times.
Contents |
Origins
The song was first collected in Donegal by poet Padraic Colum and musicologist Herbert Hughes, and published by Boosey & Hawkes in London in a work entitled Irish country songs in 1909.[1] The tune is in mixolydian mode.[2] The lyrics were also published in Colum's 1922 book Wild earth: and other poems (though the book doesn't mention their traditional origin).[3]
A longer variant of the song is called Our Wedding Day. A related song, Out of the Window, was collected by Sam Henry, from Eddie Butcher of Magilligan, Northern Ireland, around 1930, and published in Henry's Songs of the People.[4] Another song, I Once Had a True Love, also appears to be related, as it shares some lyrics with She Moved Through the Fair.[1]
The traditional singer Paddy Tunney learned it in County Fermanagh and recorded it in 1965. Other singers who sang it in the 50s/60s were Dominic Behan and Anne Briggs. It was a popular song among members of the Traveller Community in Ireland by that time.
Fairport Convention recorded the song in 1968, adopting the style of the song from the influential travelling singer Margaret Barry, though she herself had learned it from another a vinyl recording by Count John McCormack. Also of note are the recordings of the song by Alan Stivell in 1973.
Lyrics
One version of the lyrics is as follows:
My young love said to me,
My mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you
For your lack of kind"
And she laid her hand on me
And this she did say:
It will not be long, love,
Till our wedding day"
As she stepped away from me
And she moved through the fair
And fondly I watched her
Move here and move there
And then she turned homeward
With one star awake
Like the swan in the evening
Moves over the lake
The people were saying,
No two e'er were wed
But one had a sorrow
That never was said
And I smiled as she passed
With her goods and her gear,
And that was the last
That I saw of my dear.
Last night she came to me,
My dead love came in
So softly she came
That her feet made no din
As she laid her hand on me
And this she did say
It will not be long, love,
'Til our wedding day
Variants
Colum may have altered the traditional words significantly, perhaps cutting a number of verses; the variant of the song called Our Wedding Day has ten verses, to Colum's four. The song is often shortened further by omitting the third verse (above).
Several versions of the lyrics are in current use. For example, in the first line of Colum's version published in Wild earth:
- My young love said to me, "My brothers won't mind,
the word 'brothers' is usually changed to 'mother'.
Similarly, the second line:
- And my parents won't slight you for your lack of kind. [kind = kin or breeding]
is usually rendered:
- And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind.
or even as:
- And my father won't slight you for your lack of kine. [kine = cattle]
The original "My young love" in verse 4 is often rendered as "my dear love", "my own love", or "my dead love" (particularly when verse 3, which implies that the woman may have died, is omitted). In Colum's version, this final appearance of the woman is in a dream, whereas other versions imply she is a ghost.
In the variant called Our Wedding Day, the woman goes into the man's bedroom while he is asleep, but she is not dead; she then runs off with another suitor, and the man joins the army.
Recordings
In recent times, following Fairport Convention's version of the song in the sixties, hundreds of artists have recorded this song in its traditional form. Most have kept to some form of the traditional lyrics: however, the versions by Sinéad O'Connor (as used in the soundtrack of the film Michael Collins), Trees and Nana Mouskouri change the gender of the pronouns and so the song became "He Moved Through the Fair". O'Connor and Trees' versions keep the original "She Moved Through the Fair" title on their sleeves, although Mouskouri changes the name to suit the variant. An alternative version of the lyrics was also used in Mary Black's version of the song.
Other notable versions:
- Davey Graham recorded a version in 1962.
- John Martyn's version was present on his 1967 debut album, London Conversation.
- Alan Stivell's 1972 version, sung in English, is very close to the original song.
- Loreena McKennitt featured it on her 1985 album Elemental.
- In 1986, Eyeless in Gaza featured an a cappella version on the album Back from the Rains.
- All About Eve featured a version on their eponymous 1988 debut album, and often performed it live in their early days. Following an acrimonious departure from the band, guitarist Tim Bricheno would later use a sample of the vocal in the song "Wrong Thing", recorded by his later band, XC-NN.
- In 1988 Van Morrison and the Chieftains recorded a version for the album Irish Heartbeat and a live version of it also appeared on Van Morrison's 1990 concert video, Van Morrison: The Concert.
- In 1989 Simple Minds recorded a song called "Belfast Child", which made it to No. 1 in the UK Charts. This song uses the traditional tune associated with "She Moved Through the Fair", but with completely different words. The song appears on their album Street Fighting Years.
- Marianne Faithfull featured a version on her 1990 album Blazing Away, and has often sung it in concert.
- In 1991 it was recorded by Feargal Sharkey.
- Máire Brennan recorded a version as a B-side to her 1992 single, "Against the Wind".
- The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus recorded a version on their 1994 album, "Paradis".
- Australian Folk Singer Kavisha Mazzella recorded a version on her 1995 debut album Mermaids in the Well.
- Sinéad O'Connor performed it on The Chieftains' collaborative album The Long Black Veil in 1995.
- Sinéad O'Connor performed it on the soundtrack album Michael Collins in 1996.
- Irish Boyband Boyzone performed it on the album A Different Beat in 1996.
- English musician Mike Oldfield covered the song on his 1996 album, Voyager.
- Bert Jansch recorded a version for his 1998 album Toy Balloon.
- In 1998, Sarah Brightman recorded a version (as "He Moved Through the Fair") as a B-side to her "Eden" single.
- Charlie Zahm recorded it on his 1999 album The Celtic Balladeer.
- Anthony Kearns recorded it on the 2002 album The Very Best of the Irish Tenors.
- Maura Shaftoe recorded the song as "He Moved Through The Fair" on her 2003 CD Some Other Time.
- Celtic Woman recorded the song on their 2004 eponymous first album.
- Enter the Haggis covered the song on their 2005 album Casualties of Retail.
- The song was used by Granada Reports in one of their bulletins to commemorate the life of George Best who died in 2005.
- Hayley Westenra recorded a version in her 2005 album Odyssey.
- Michael Londra recorded a version in his 2006 album Celt.
- German techno group Scooter sampled the song on the track "Ratty's Revenge" from their 2007 album The Ultimate Aural Orgasm.
- Master Bagpiper Mike McNutt recorded the song on his 2008 album, Redline.
- Cara Dillon recorded the song on her 2009 Hill of Thieves album.
- Nyle Wolfe included a version in his 2009 album Home Ground.
- Camilla Kerslake includes a version in her debut Album due to be released on the 23rd November 2009
- Culann's Hounds are joined by Sara Gardner on their album One for the Road
Literary Usage
One Star Awake: Return of the Unknown Soldier is an allegorical gothic novel by Steven Cain that takes its title from the song and begins with a brief quotation.
References
- ^ Irish country songs / collected and arranged by Herbert Hughes. London ; New York : Boosey & Hawkes, 1909-1915
- ^ Allen, Patrick (1999). Developing Singing Matters. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers. pp. 22. ISBN 0-435-81018-9. OCLC 42040205.
- ^ Facsimile - see page 26.
- ^ Songs of the People: Selections from the Sam Henry Collection, edited by John Moulden. Blackstaff Press, 1979. ISBN 0856401323
External links
- Traditional Ballad Index, California State University: sources and notes about the song
- The lyrics and a MIDI version of the song
- Info/speculation about the history, origins and variations of this song
- Lyrics and chords
- Sheet Music
| Preceded by "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" by Gene Pitney & Marc Almond |
UK number-one single February 19, 1989 "Belfast Child" by Simple Minds |
Succeeded by "Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan |
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