The Queen of the Rushes

Date: Aug 2018
Duration: 2:45
View Count: 230

Traditional Irish double jig arranged by Eoin Conway for the voices of 4 in a Bar.
The delivery is based on the old Irish practice of lilting, a vocal style that imitated instruments – perhaps born of necessity when a house or community had no instruments (the musical instruments of many Catholic families were confiscated, even burned under the Penal laws)

It seems this tune was popular in Connaught in the first part of the 20th century, being one of four songs performed by the Ballinakill Céilí Band (East Galway) when they travelled to Dublin in July 1930 to record for the Parlophone-Columbia company. Having first come to Ireland in the previous year and recorded thirty-eight 78rpm records of Irish speech, poetry and music, Parlophone returned in 1930 and set up in Jury’s Hotel on Dame Street to record artists from all over the island of Ireland. These recordings are now very rare. Some tracks can be heard on the Irish Traditional Music Archive website www.itma.ie.

Lyrics (Gaelic Irish):
Dye-rye dee dl dye, doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dye dye rye doo-dl-dye doo-dl-dee dee-dl-dye
Dye-rye dee dl dye, doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dye dye rye doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dee dah, ro-dl (hmmm)
Dye-rye dee dl dye, doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dye dye rye doo-dl-dye doo-dl-dee dee-dl-dye
Dye-rye dee dl dye, doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dye dye rye doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dee dah, dl-dee
dye rye dee-dl-dee dye ree doo-dl-dee dye dl-oo-dl-eye dee-dl eye doo-dl-ee
dye-dl-doo-dl-eee dah da dee-dl-dye doo-dl eye dam, doo dee
dah dat, dah dat, dah dat, da, da, da dah dat.

English translation:
Dye-rye dee dl dye, doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dye dye rye doo-dl-dye doo-dl-dee dee-dl-dye
Dye-rye dee dl dye, doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dye dye rye doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dee dah, ro-dl (hmmm)
Dye-rye dee dl dye, doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dye dye rye doo-dl-dye doo-dl-dee dee-dl-dye
Dye-rye dee dl dye, doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dye dye rye doo-dl-dye dee-dl-dee dah, dl-dee
dye rye dee-dl-dee dye ree doo-dl-dee dye dl-oo-dl-eye dee-dl eye doo-dl-ee
dye-dl-doo-dl-eee dah da dee-dl-dye doo-dl eye dam, doo dee
dah dat, dah dat, dah dat, da, da, da dah dat.