"The Parting Glass" (Roud 3004) is a Scottish traditional song, often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] It has also long been sung in Ireland, where it remains popular; this has strongly influenced how it is often sung today. [3] It was purportedly the most popular parting song sung in Scotland before Robert Burns wrote "Auld Lang Syne". [1] [5]
Exact lyrics vary between modern arrangements, but they include most, if not all, of the following stanzas appearing in different orders:[ citation needed ] [6] [7]
Of all the money that e'er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm I've ever done
Alas it was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
To mem'ry now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be to you all
So fill to me the parting glass
And drink a health whate’er befall,
And gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
Of all the comrades that e'er I had
They're sorry for my going away
And all the sweethearts that e'er I had
They'd wish me one more day to stay
But since it falls unto my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
If I had money enough to spend
And leisure time to sit awhile
There is a fair maid in this town
That sorely has my heart beguiled.
Her rosy cheeks and ruby lips
I own she has my heart in thrall
Then fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all.
A man may drink and not be drunk
A man may fight and not be slain
A man may court a pretty girl
And perhaps be welcomed back again
But since it has so ought to be
By a time to rise and a time to fall
Come fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all
Good night and joy be with you all
The "parting glass", or "stirrup cup", was the final hospitality offered to a departing guest. Once they had mounted, they were presented one final drink to fortify them for their travels. The custom was practised in several continental countries. [8]
The earliest tentative evidence for the existence of the text is from the Skene Manuscript, a collection of Scottish airs written in tablature for the lute and mandora at various dates between 1615 and 1635., [9] as a different tune bearing the name Good Night, and God Be With Yow [10] The tune appeared to have been popular and variants of it appear in many collections, often with similar names, including in Henry Playford's 1700 A collection of original Scotch-tunes, [11] Neil Gow's The complete repository of original Scots slow strathspeys and dances. [12] [13]
The first complete text that bears resemblance to the Parting Glass first appears on a broadside published in 1654 (or circa 1670 according to another dating) called Neighbours farewel to his friends: [13]
Now come is my departing time,
And here I may no longer stay,
There is no kind comrade of mine
But will desire I were away.
But if that time will me permit,
Which from your Company doth call,
And me inforceth for to flit,
Good Night, and GOD be with you all.
For here I grant some time I spent
In loving kind good Company;
For all offences I repent,
And wisheth now forgiven to be;
What I have done, for want of wit,
To Memory I'll not recall:
I hope you are my Friends as yet
Good Night, and GOD be with you all.
In 1776 untitled fragment, which appears to be a relic of the longer song, appears in David Herd's Ancient And Modern Scottish Songs, Vol. 2: [14]
O this is my departing time!
For here nae langer maun I stay:
There's not a friend or foe of mine
But wishes that I were away.
What I hae done for lack o' wit,
I never, never can recall!
I hope you a' my friends as yet:
Good-night and joy be wi' you all.
A a similar fragment later appears in Walter Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border as Armstrong's Goodnight. According to Scot, is said to have been written by one of the Border Reivers executed for the murder in 1600 of Sir John Carmichael, Warden of the Scottish West March. [15] However, Scott does not vouch for the authenticity of the story, and it appears to be first published by him, later repeated and embellished by other sources. [16] [13]
More important for the development of the song as we know it today was another text that appears in a Scottish chapbook from ca. 1815-1822 printed by Thomas Duncan in Glasgow. [13] Here included are verses 1, 2 and 4, which are similar to modern variants:
All the money e'er I had,
I spent it in good company,
All the hardships e'er I had,
Alas they were to none but me.
From what I've done for want of wit;
My memory I will recal,
I hope to mend it all as yet,
Good night and joy be with you all.
If I had money for to spend,
And time and place to sit awhile,
There is a fair maid in this town,
So fain I would her heart beguile.
Her cherry cheeks, her ruby lips,
alas! she has my heart withal;
Come, give me the parting kiss,
Good night and joy be with you all.
...
But now the time is drawing near,
when here no longer I can stay,
There was ne'er a comrade ever I had,
But was sorry at my going away.
But since it's happened so with me,
That you're to rise and I'm to fall,
Come give me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.
This variant later appeared to have migrated to Ireland and appears on a broadside published by J. & H. Baird in Cork: "Good Night And Joy Be with you all. A New Song" (Madden Ballads 12, Frame 8341). The exact date of publication is not known but the Bairds were active as printers in Cork during the 1830s. However, a more recognizable variety was also published in Dublin as A New Song caled the Parting Glass by W. Birmingham at least a decade later in the 1840's or perhaps even in the 1850's. The first three verses appear in modern variants almost verbatim, but the final, which is not included here, is usually replaced by "A man may drink and not be drunk...".: [13]
All the money that e’er I had,
I spent it in good company.
And all the harm ever I done,
Alas! it was to none but me,
And all I have done for the want of wit,
To memory now I can't recall,
So fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.
Chorus:
Be with you all, be with you all
Good night and joy be with you all
So fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.
All the comrades that e’er I had,
They’re sorry for my going away,
All the sweethearts e’er I had,
They’d wish me one day more to stay,
But since it came unto me lot,
That I should rise and you should not,
I gently rise and with a smile,
Good night and joy be with you all.
If I had money enough to spend,
And leisure time to sit awhile,
There a fair maid in this town
That sorely has my heart beguiled,
Her rosy cheeks and ruby lips,
I own she has my heart enthralled;
Then fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.
The earliest known appearance of the tune today associated with this text is as a fiddle tune called "The Peacock", included in James Aird's A Selection of Scots, English, Irish and Foreign Airs in 1782. [17] [18] [19]
Robert Burns referred to the air in 1786 as "Good night, and joy be wi' ye a'." when using it to accompany his Masonic lyric "The Farewell. To the brethren of St. James's Lodge, Tarbolton". [20] [21]
In 1800–1802, the song was incorrectly attributed to Joseph Haydn by Sigismund von Neukomm (1778-1858), who entered it in the Hoboken catalogue as "Good night and joy be wi' ye. Hob XXXIa 254. Mi mineur", [22] which text has been wrongly attributed to Sir Alexander Boswell (1775-1822).
Patrick Weston Joyce, in his Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (1909), gives the tune with a different text under the name "Sweet Cootehill Town," noting, "The air seems to have been used indeed as a general farewell tune, so that—from the words of another song of the same class—it is often called 'Good night and joy be with you all.'" [23] The celebrated Irish folk song collector Colm Ó Lochlainn has taken note of this identity of melodies between "The Parting Glass" and "Sweet Cootehill Town". [24] "Sweet Cootehill Town" is another traditional farewell song, this time involving a man leaving Ireland to go to America.
The tune appeared, with sacred lyrics, in 19th century American tunebooks. "Shouting Hymn" in Jeremiah Ingalls's Christian Harmony (1805) is a related tune. [25] The tune achieved wider currency among shape note singers with its publication, associated with a text first known in the 1814 Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, "Come Now Ye Lovely Social Band", in William Walker's Southern Harmony (1835), and in The Sacred Harp (1844). [26] [27] This form of the song is still widely sung by Sacred Harp singers under the title "Clamanda".
Dr Lori Watson, a lecturer in Scottish Ethnology at the University of Edinburgh states that it’s difficult to fully trace the origins of many traditional songs: Although it currently seems that Scotland has evidence of the earliest published melody and several beautiful song variants, the popular Parting Glass currently in circulation has strong Irish and North American influences to thank. [28]
In regard to a modern version by Irish musician Hozier, Scottish singer-songwriter Karine Polwart notes: "It really knocked my socks off. He clearly comes from a place where he understands his roots, singing in that really old ornamented Irish style. This would be one mark against the Scots claiming it, the tune of it is very like a lot of Irish traditional tunes and the way they sing it is with much more flourish and ornamentation, becoming a fluttering kind of melody. I find that really moving – my favourite versions are almost all by Irish singers." [28]
"The Parting Glass" was re-introduced to mid-20th century audiences by the recordings and performances of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. [29] Their rendition featured a solo vocal by youngest brother Liam and first appeared on their 1959 Tradition Records LP Come Fill Your Glass with Us as well as on a number of subsequent recordings, including the group's high-charting live performance album, In Person at Carnegie Hall . [30] The rendition by the Clancys and Makem has been described as "by all accounts... the most influential" of the many recorded versions. [18]
The song "Restless Farewell", written by Bob Dylan and featured on The Times They Are a-Changin' from 1964, uses the melody of the nineteenth century versions of "The Parting Glass" with Dylan's original lyrics. Dylan had learned the tune from the singing of the Clancys and Makem. [18]
In 1998, the traditional words were set to a new, different melody (reminiscent of Mo Ghile Mear, another Irish traditional song) by Irish composer Shaun Davey. In 2002, he orchestrated this version for orchestra, choir, pipes, fiddle, and percussion to commemorate the opening of the Helix Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland. His version appears in the film Waking Ned Devine .[ citation needed ]
At the request of Margaret Atwood, to end her guest-edited edition of BBC Radio 4's Today programme with the song, a version by singer Karine Polwart and pianist Dave Milligan was commissioned. [4]
The song was featured in the conclusion of the 2013 video game Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag , where pirate Anne Bonney sings the song to protagonist Edward Kenway after the two say their farewells and Edward prepares to meet his daughter and return with her to England.
In 2023, boygenius collaborated with Ye Vagabonds to release a cover of "The Parting Glass", paying tribute to the late Sinéad O'Connor, an Irish singer and activist who had also recorded the song and who had died earlier that year. All proceeds were donated to the Aisling Project, Sinéad O’Connor Estate's charity of choice. [31]
"Haddocks' Eyes" is the nickname of the name of a song sung by The White Knight from Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass, chapter VIII.
Bonnie Dundee is the title of a poem and a song written by Walter Scott in 1825 in honour of John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse, who was created 1st Viscount Dundee in November 1688, then in 1689 led a Jacobite rising in which he died, becoming a Jacobite hero.
"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scottish song. In the English-speaking world, it is traditionally sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve/Hogmanay. By extension, it is also often heard at funerals, graduations, and as a farewell or ending to other occasions; for instance, many branches of the Scouting movement use it to close jamborees and other functions.
The Times They Are a-Changin' is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was released on February 10, 1964, through Columbia Records. Whereas his previous albums, Bob Dylan (1962) and The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963), combined original material and cover songs, this was the first to feature only original compositions. The album consists mostly of stark, sparsely arranged ballads concerning issues such as racism, poverty, and social change. The title track is one of Dylan's most famous; many feel that it captures the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s.
George Thomson (1757–1851) was a Scottish music publisher and a friend of Robert Burns. He was clerk to the board of trustees in Edinburgh for 60 years. His A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice came out in six volumes between 1793 and 1841, and included contributions from Burns, Lord Byron, Thomas Moore, Walter Scott and Thomas Campbell. Thomson published folksong arrangements by Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ignaz Pleyel, Leopold Kozeluch, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Carl Maria von Weber, Henry Rowley Bishop, and Robert Archibald Smith.
"She Moved Through the Fair" is a traditional Irish folk song, with a number of iterations, that has been performed and recorded by various artists. The narrator sees his lover move away from him through the fair, after telling him that since her family will approve, "it will not be long [love] 'til our wedding day". She returns as a ghost at night, and repeats the words again, intimating her own tragic death and the couple's potential reunion in the afterlife. There are numerous alternate versions, some sung about a male lover, with different lyrics, such as "Our Wedding Day" and "My Young Love Said to Me", among others.
"Highland Laddie", also known as "Hielan' Laddie", is the name of a Scottish popular folk tune "If Thou'lt Play Me Fair Play", but as with many old melodies various sets of words can be sung to it, of which Robert Burns's poem "Highland Laddie" is probably the best known. "If Thou'lt Play Me Fair Play" has been reworked several times since Burns set down his words, Donkey Riding being one variant.
"A Red, Red Rose" is a 1794 song in Scots by Robert Burns based on traditional sources. The song is also referred to by the title "(Oh) My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose" and is often published as a poem. Many composers have set Burns' lyric to music, but it gained worldwide popularity set to the traditional tune "Low Down in the Broom"
"The Girl I Left Behind", also known as "The Girl I Left Behind Me", is an English folk song dating back to the Elizabethan era. It is said to have been played when soldiers left for war or a naval vessel set sail. According to other sources the song originated in 1758 when English Admirals Hawke and Rodney were observing the French fleet. The first printed text of the song appeared in Dublin in 1791. A popular tune with several variations, "The Girl I Left Behind Me", may have been imported into America around 1650 as "Brighton Camp", of which a copy dating from around 1796 resides in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Karine Polwart is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised for her solo career, winning three awards at the BBC Folk Awards in 2005, and was previously a member of Malinky and Battlefield Band.
"Over the Hills and Far Away" is a traditional English song, dating back to at least the late 17th century. Two versions were published in the fifth volume of Thomas D'Urfey's Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy; a version that is similar to the second Wit and Mirth one appears in George Farquhar's 1706 play The Recruiting Officer. A further version appears in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera of 1728.
"Annie Laurie" is an old Scottish song based on a poem said to have been written by William Douglas of Dumfriesshire, about his romance with Annie Laurie (1682–1764). The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Scott in 1834/5. The song is also known as "Maxwelton Braes".
The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie is a Scottish folk song about a thwarted romance between a soldier and a woman. Like many folk songs, the authorship is unattributed, there is no strict version of the lyrics, and it is often referred to by its opening line "There once was a troop o' Irish dragoons". The song is also known by a variety of other names, the most common of them being "Peggy-O", "Fennario", and "The Maid of Fife".
"Sam Hall" is an English folk song about an unrepentant criminal condemned to death for robbing the rich to feed the poor. Prior to the mid-19th century it was called "Jack Hall", after Jack Hall, a thief who was hanged at Tyburn in 1707. Jack Hall's parents sold him as a climbing boy for one guinea, which is why most versions of the song identify Sam or Jack Hall as a chimney sweep.
A bawbee was a Scottish sixpence. The word means a debased copper coin, valued at six pence Scots, issued from the reign of James V of Scotland to the reign of William II of Scotland. They were hammered until 1677, when they were produced upon screw presses.
The Scots song "Ae fond kiss and then we sever" by the Scottish poet Robert Burns is more commonly known as "Ae fond kiss". It is Burns's most recorded love song.
"South Australia" is a sea shanty and folk song, also known under such titles as "Rolling King" and "Bound for South Australia". As an original worksong it was sung in a variety of trades, including being used by the wool and later the wheat traders who worked the clipper ships between Australian ports and London. In adapted form, it is now a very popular song among folk music performers that is recorded by many artists and is present in many of today's song books.
"The Moonshiner" is a folk song with unknown origins. In Ireland and America, it is sung with similar lyrics but different melodies. It is catalogued as Roud Folk Song Index No. 4301. The song's structure is very similar to The Wild Rover, but instead extolling the virtues of moonshining.
The Ash Grove is a traditional Welsh folk song whose melody has been set to numerous sets of lyrics. The best-known English lyrics were written by Thomas Oliphant in the 19th century.
The Voice of the People is an anthology of folk songs produced by Topic Records containing recordings of traditional singers and musicians from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
