“Dicey Reilly”

Description

"She walks along Fitzgibbon street with an independent air," but Dicey Riley is headed to the pawnshop to pay for her drinking: "Poor oul Dicey Reilly, she has taken to the sup, Poor oul Dicey Reilly, she will never give it up...."

Notes

I have encountered three independent versions of this. One has only two verses, and approximates the description above. The other two are much longer, and agree only on the material given in the description, with the rest being entirely independent. It's possible that we have three fragments of a longer piece -- but my guess is that the only truly traditional material is the two verses, and the tune is so strong that people have been patching on additional material when they record it. - RBW

References

  1. DT, DICYREIL*
  2. ADDITIONAL: Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, pp. 18-19, "Dicey Reilly" (1 text, 1 tune)
  3. BI, Har018

About

Author: unknown
Earliest date: 1978 (Harte)
Keywords: drink hardtimes
Found in: Ireland