Annotation:Her Mantle so Green

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HER MANTLE SO GREEN. AKA - "A Brat Chomh Deas Glas," "A Fallaing Chomh Glas." AKA and see "George Reilly," "Plains of Waterloo (2) (The)]," "Young Willie of Famed Waterloo." Irish, Slow Air (3/4 time). A Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). This melody is published in Colm O'Lochlainn's Irish Street Ballads (No. 7), and was taken from early twentieth century broadsides. The ballad tells of a young woman visited in the meadows by a young man; he tests her to see if her love is true; she passes, having remained faithful to her William Reilly, whom she believed killed at the battle of Waterloo. He reveals himself and they are wed. A similar situation occurs in Homer's Odyssey, when Ulysses returns home after his voyages of twenty years. The melody also belongs to the 18th century song "George Reilly."

When I was a-roving one morning in spring,
To view the sweet flowers and the meadows so queen,
I met a young damsel, she appeared like a queen
With her costly fine robes and her mantle so green.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources:

Recorded sources: Cló Iar-Chonnachta CICD 167, Peter Horan & Gerry Harrington - "The Merry Love to Play" (2007. Learned from the playing of Cork accordion player Jackie Daly and Séamus Creagh). Green Linnet GLCD 1151, Seamus McGuire - "The Wishing Tree" (1995).

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