A classic of
Irish folk music, extremely popular among Irish singers. The origins of this song can be traced back to a
Renaissance ballad from County
Donegal, with an original text in
Gaelic that was later adapted into
English. The song was so popular that it made its way up to the beginning of the
XXth century, when it was radically reworked by
Padraic Colum (for the text) and
Herbert Hughes (for the music).
There are as many versions of it as there are Irish musicians. Male, female, young, old, whatever, they've all made their own version of it, usually changing a few words, a few lines, or even happily zapping entire
verses (especially the third one, just to confuse the listener a little more).
Loreena McKennitt's version is technically impressive.
Sinead O'Connor's version (of which a snippet can be heard in the movie "
Michael Collins") is downright
heartbreaking - like anything that comes out of Sinead's throat, but even
more so.
Shane MacGowan of
Pogues fame recorded a, well, say, a "modern" version with
Neil Young-like guitar effects; if you've seen that
Kilkenny commercial with a guy that follows a girl through a fair and finds her again in a
pub (!) you know what I mean. If not,
hit Napster - it's worth the effort !