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Annotation:To seek for the lambs I have sent my child
X:1 T:To seek for the lambs I have sent my child M:C L:1/8 R:Air B:George Petrie – Ancient Music of Ireland (1855, pp. 14-15), via B:Cowdery (Melodic Tradition of Ireland) K:A E2|(A>Bcd) (e2 dB)|(AG) E2 E2 zE|(A>Bcd) (ef)dB|A6 zE| (A>Bcd) e2 (dB)|(AG) E2 E2 zE|(A>Bcd) (ef)dB|A6|| (cd)|e2 (ef) =g2 (ga)|{a}(=g2 ec) d2 (cd)|e2a2 (a>c') (bg)|T(a3g e3) (e/f/)| =g2 (ga) (g2 fe)|{e}d2 B>A G2 E2|(A>Bcd) (ef)dB|A6||
TO SEEK FOR THE LAMBS I HAVE SENT MY CHILD. Irish, Air (4/4 time). A Major (Cowdery). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. A version of "Boyne Water (1)” printed by collector Wikipedia:George_Petrie_(artist) in his Ancient Music of Ireland (1855). Petrie printed both the Irish and and English translation of the song as sung in Limerick and County Clare:
To seek for the calves
I have sent my child,
But one of them this night
She'll not find;
Turlogh the Strong
Is on the skirt of the wood,
And Peter O'Beary
Beside him;
These have been ever
After the girls,
Nor bridle shall ever
Restrain them;
But if there is law to be had,
On to-morrow it is certain
That I'll make them pay
For my darling.
'Turlogh the Strong', or Turlogh Laidir (O'Brien), referenced in the song was a well-known character in County Tipperary around the year 1770, and the song is thought to date from that time.
