

On the bottom of the page on the next link you can listen to a soundfile of Capt.There are numerous variations of the lyrics. SEE ALSO: Paddy Works on the Railway Mark Page Mark Page, whose sea experience spanned 1849-1879, sang it for James Madison Carpenter in 1928 or 1929, at the old mariners' almshouses at Trafalgar Square in Sunderland. In 19 James Madison Carpenter, an American folklorist, went to England, Scotland and Wales, to collect folk songs.Ĭapt. Mark Page (1928-1929) (as "Paddy Works on the Railway") In the 1920's several versions of this chanty were audio-recorded from the singing of veteran sailors by folklorists like R.W. Paddy Works On The Railway Capstan Chanty (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS) In ApCecil Sharp collected a version in Somerset, England, sung by John Short.
Paddy on the railway lyrics full#
Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library | HathiTrust Digital Library Popular college songs : a collection of the latest songs as sung. This "Fi-Li-Mi-Oo-Re-Ay" refrain and the "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" tune, were most likely derived from John and Alan Lomax's influential book "American Ballads and Folk Songs" (1934), where the song was titled ""Paddy Works on the Erie".Īmerican ballads & Folk Songs - 0Īmerican ballads & Folk Songs - 1Īmerican ballads & Folk Songs - 2īut the Lomaxes might have borrowed the "Fi-Li-Mi-Oo-Re-Ay" refrain from "Working on the Railway", a song contained in "Popular College Songs" compiled by Lockwood Honoré in 1891. In addition, the American version adds a " Fi-Li-Mi-Oo-Re-Ay" refrain.

327-329, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (1 text, 1 tune) The Originals © by Arnold Rypens - WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME AGAIN When Johnny comes marching home | Library of Congress : Joseph Bryan Geoghegan, travelling singer, 1800sįor a number of (mainly American) versions, the melody of the first lines of each stanza resembles the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" published in 1863. Geoghegan in 1854 ( note : though he had Irish anchestors, Geoghegan was really born in England, with a mother from Manchester) But just before that it was popularized by the Irish stage singer J.B. It was published in Boston about 1854-56 by Oliver Ditson. In fact in the book "Folksongs of the Catskills" Peggy Seeger refers to a sheet-music copy of "Pat Works on the Railway" with a different tune.
Paddy on the railway lyrics archive#
: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive In "The American Songbag" (1927), the writer Carl Sandburg claims that "Pat Works on the Railway" has been published in sheet music since the early 1850s. SEE: Reminiscences of a Liverpool shipowner, 1850-1920

Forwood, remembers hearing the song being sung in 1857 on the Liverpool Pierhead SEE: On board the "Rocket" : Adams, Robert Chamblet, Adams published a version of the song, which suggests an English origin. In 1879, on page 321 of "On Board the Rocket", Robert C. So the "Irish" version of the song might be a decade or so older than the "American" version and also had a different melody (so NOT the "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" tune, which accompainied the American version, which was published in 1863).

The song most likely originated around or even before the 1850's in England, when Irish navvies were working on the Liverpool and Manchester railways and emigrated to America, when the Irish navvies were recruited to participate in building American canals and railways. There are numerous titles of the song including, "Pat Works on the Railway" / "Paddy on the Railway" / "Fi-Li-Mi-Oo-Re-Ay" / "Paddy Works on the Erie" and "Working on the Railway" The song portrays an Irish worker working on a railroad. Historically, it was often sung as a sea chanty. "Poor Paddy Works on the Railway" is a popular Irish folk and American folk song.
