Molly Malone
"Molly Malone" (also known as "Cockles and Mussels" or "In Dublin's Fair City") (Irish: Mol Ní Mhaoileoin) is a popular song, set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin City. It has also in Ireland acquired the status of an Irish anthem.
The Molly Malone statue in Grafton Street was unveiled by then Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alderman Ben Briscoe during the 1988 Dublin Millennium celebrations, declaring June 13 as Molly Malone Day.
History
The song tells the tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin, but who died young, of a fever. Recently a legend has grown up that there was a historical Molly, who lived in the 17th century. She is typically represented as a hawker by day and part-time prostitute by night.[1] In contrast she has also been portrayed as one of the few chaste female street-hawkers of her day.
However, there is no evidence that the song is based on a real woman, of the 17th century or at any other time. The name "Molly" originated as a familiar version of the names Mary and Margaret. While many such "Molly" Malones were born in Dublin over the centuries, no evidence connects any of them to the events in the song.[1][2] Nevertheless, in 1988 the Dublin Millennium Commission endorsed claims concerning a Molly Malone who died on 13 June 1699, and proclaimed 13 June to be "Molly Malone day".[1] In fact the song is not recorded earlier than 1883, when it was published in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3] It was also published by Francis Brothers and Day in London 1884 as a work written and composed by James Yorkston, of Edinburgh, with music arranged by Edmund Forman. The London edition states that it was reprinted by permission of Kohler and Son of Edinburgh, implying that the first edition was in Scotland, though no copies of it have been located.[4] According to Siobhán Marie Kilfeather the song is from the music hall style of the period, and while one cannot wholly dismiss the possibility that it is "based on an older folk song", "neither melody nor words bear any relationship to the Irish tradition of street ballads." She describes the story of the historical Molly as "nonsense".
The song is in a familiar tragi-comic mode popular in this period, probably influenced by earlier songs with a similar theme, such as Percy Montrose's "My Darling Clementine", which was written circa 1880.
Frank Harte, one of the great Dublin singers, who also sang this song, used to say: "Never judge a song by the company it keeps!"
Lyrics
In Dublin's fair city,
where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"
"Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh",
Crying "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh".
She was a fishmonger,
But sure 'twas no wonder,
For so were her father and mother before,
And they each wheeled their barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"
(chorus)
She died of a fever[N 1],
And no one could save her,
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone.
Now her ghost wheels her barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"
(chorus)[5]
- ^ Before the Great Vowel Shift, /iː/ was pronounced [eɪ] This pronunciation lingered in Ireland (and Scotland, where the song was written) after it had virtually disappeared from England. The word "fever" would have been pronounced as "favour", rhyming with "save her" in the next line. That pronunciation is still sometimes used in this song, particularly in Ireland.
Statue
Molly is commemorated in a statue designed by Jeanne Rynhart, erected to celebrate the city's first millennium in 1987. Placed at the bottom of Grafton Street in Dublin, this statue is known colloquially as "The Tart With The Cart," "The Dish With The Fish," "The Trollop With The Scallop(s)," "The Dolly With the Trolley," and "The Flirt in the Skirt." The statue portrays Molly as a busty young woman in seventeenth-century dress. Her low-cut dress and large breasts were justified on the grounds that as "women breastfed publicly in Molly's time, breasts were popped out all over the place." [2]
Sporting anthem
The song is sung by supporters of Dublin GAA, Leinster Rugby teams, Berwick Rangers F.C., Terenure College, The King's Hospital and the Irish international rugby team.
Parodies
Bolton Wanderers supporters have their own version:
In Dublin's fair city,
Where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
She wheeled her wheelbarrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Singing Owen Coyle's Super White Army(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)Owen Coyle's Super White Army(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)
Londoners adapt the song for their own needs often in a light vein, the major change being the lines:
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,
Through Wealdstone and Harrow (pronounced Arra in this instance)
An altered first verse of the song is usually sung by supporters of Bohemian FC in Dublin. The changes being:
In Dublin's fair city,
Where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheelbarrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying (clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap) Bohs (pronunciation / bo-iz /)
A similar version of the Bohemian FC chant is also sung by Gillingham (Kent) Football Club supporters, replacing the last line with
Crying (clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap) The Gills! (pronunciation / Jills /)
The song has even made it's way to Columbus, Ohio where supporters of The Columbus Crew replace the first line with "Here in this fair city" and the last with
Singing (clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap) Go Crew!
Allan Sherman included a version in "Shticks of One and Half a Dozen of the Other," in the album My Son, the Celebrity:
She wheels her wheelbarrow
Through streets that are narrow,
Her barrow is narrow, her hips are too wide...
So wherever she wheels it
The neighborhood feels it
Her girdle keeps scraping the homes on each side!In Dublin's fair city
Where the girls are so pretty
My Molly stands out 'cause she weighs eighteen stone (Spoken: That's 256 pounds.)
I don't mind her fat but
It's not only that but
She's cock-eyed and musclebound Molly Malone!
See also
References
- ^ a b c Siobhán Marie Kilfeather, Dublin: a cultural history, Oxford University Press US, 2005, p. 6.
- ^ a b Irish Historical Mysteries: Molly Malone
- ^ Hills, William H (1883). Students' Songs. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Moses King. p. 55.
- ^ "Cockles and Mussels (Molly Malone)". Folkinfo.org (quoting book by Sean Murphy). 2002. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ^ James Yorkston (last modified 1998). "Molly Malone lyrics". Retrieved 2008-10-06.
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External links
