Collection of Irish Song Lyrics
Whiskey on a Sunday
CHORUS
Come day go day, I wish in my heart it was Sunday
drinkin' buttermilk through the week and whiskey on a Sunday
He sits on the corner by ould beggar's bush atop of an ould packing crate
He's got three wooden dolls who can dance and can sing
and he sits with a smile on his face CHORUS
His tired ould hands tug away on the strings, the puppets they dance up and down
It's a far better show than you ever will see
in the fanciest theatre in town CHORUS
I'm sad to relate that ould Sad Davie died in nineteen hundred and four
his three wooden dolls in the dustbin are laid
their songs will be heard never more CHORUS
Some dark stormy night should your passin' that way and the winds blowin' up from the sea you can still hear the voice of ould Sad Davie
as he sings to his dancin' dolls three CHORUS
Hi Donal,
This song is called "The Ballad of Seth Davey" set on the River Mersey.
Right where do we start, a dancing doll is a manikin about 18 inches high
pivoted at the shoulders hip and knees. It is held by hand using a piece of
dowling about 18 inches long is drilled into it's back. The perfomer half
sits on a thin plank of wood 4 inches by 24 and places the doll on the
flexible end. He then drums the plank in time to the song he sings. This
causes he doll to jiggle upand down and the arms and legs to swivel round.
Done well, the doll really does dance.
Bevington is an area of Liverpool (England) a formerly thickly wooded area
bewtween Bevington Hill and Everton Hill which at one time had a pub called
"The Bush" The Pavy is the Pavilion Theatre in New Brighton, again an area
of Liverpool.
The version of the song I know goes:-
He sat on the corner of Bevington Bush
astride of an old packing case
and the dolls at the end of his plank went dancing
as he crooned with a smile of his face.
Chorus
Come day go day
wish in my heart for Sunday
drinking buttermilk all the week
Whisky on a Sunday
His tired old hands drummed a wooden beam
and the puppets dolls they danced the gear
a far better show than you ever did see
at the Pavy on New Brighton Pier
In 1905 old Seth davy died,
his songs were heard no more
the three dancing dolls
in a jowler bin ended
and the plank went to mend
some back door
But on some stormy nights
down Scotty Road way
when the wind whistles up from the sea
you can still hear the sound of old Seth Davy
as he croons to his dancing dolls three
The version you perform seems to have eminated from the Irish Rovers who
may have altered the song to fit a Dublin location, Beggars Bush being a part of Dublin.
Hope this is of interest to you. If you log onto www.mudcat.org you will
find a thread I put on. it is quite an interesting site for finding lyrics
if you can cut your way through the tedious correspondence.
Finally a jowler bin is simply a refuse bin, normally located in the
alleys at the back of the house. Two other site you may find of interest are
www.cromarty.freeserve.co.uk which has lyrics and www.louisville.edu which
has Liverpool slang
Nick
