John Francis McCormack was born in Athlone, Ireland, the fourth of eleven children of Andrew and Hannah Watson on 14 June 1884, and was baptised in St. Mary's Church, Athlone on 23 June 1884. His father was employed in Athlone Woollen Mills.
John received his early education from the Marist Brothers in Athlone, and later attended Summerhill College, Sligo. In 1903 he won the coveted gold medal in the Dublin Feis Ceoil and it was this event which set him on his climb to success. John married Lily Foley in 1906 and the couple had two children Cyril and Gwen.
Fundraising enabled his voice to be trained under Sabbatini in Italy. In 1907 John McCormack made his first important operatic appearance at Covent Garden in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. By 1912 he began to turn his attention to the concert stage, where his voice quality and charisma ensured that he became the greatest lyric tenor of his day.
He made numerous recordings, the first on phonograph cylinder in 1904. His most commercially successful series of records were those for the Victor Talking Machine Company in the 1910s and 1920s. He was the first artist to record It's a Long Way to Tipperary, in 1914. He also regularly broadcast on the radio and appeared in a number of sound films.
In 1917 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
To many people the highlight of McCormack's Irish career was his singing of César Franck's Panis Angelicus to the thousands who thronged Dublin's Phoenix Park for the 1932 Eucharistic Congress.
He was much honoured and decorated for his services to the world of music. His greatest honour came in 1928, when he received the title Count from Pope Pius XI in recognition of his work for Catholic charities. Although he often came to be referred to as "Count John McCormack" in his professional life, this title was officially recognised within only the Catholic Church ever.
McCormack retired in 1944, and died the following year at his home in Glena, Booterstown, Dublin.
The Garden Where the Praties Grow
John Mccormack Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or have you felt the pain?
I'd rather be in jail myself
Than be in love again;
For the girl I loved was beautiful
I'd have you all to know,
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow.
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world me boys,
Without the Grecian Bend,
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know.
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow.
Says I, "My lovely pretty Kathleen,
I'm tired of single life,
And if you've no objection,
Sure, I'll make you my sweet wife."
She answered me right modestly
And curtsied very low,
"O you're welcome to the garden
Where the praties grow."
She was just the sort of creature boys,
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world me boys,
Without the Grecian Bend,
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know.
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow.
Says I my pretty Kathleen,
I hope that you'll agree.
She was not like your city girls
Who say you're making free;
Says she, "I'll ax my parents
And tomorrow I'll let you know
If you'll meet me in the garden
Where the praties grow."
She was just the sort of creature boys,
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world me boys,
Without the Grecian Bend,
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know.
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow.
O the parents they consented
And we're blessed with children three:
Two boys just like their mother
And a girl the image of me, (joke)
And now we're goin' to train them up
The way they ought to go
For to dig in the garden
Where the praties grow.
She was just the sort of creature boys,
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world me boys,
Without the Grecian Bend,
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know.
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow.
John McCormack's song "The Garden Where the Praties Grow" is a charming tale of love and marriage in rural Ireland. The song portrays the songspeaker's encounter and eventual marriage to a girl he met in a garden where potatoes are grown. In the first verse, the songspeaker reflects on the pain of being in love and appears to have a cynical view of relationships. However, he later introduces his love interest, a beautiful woman named Kathleen, who is described as a creature of nature, someone who walks through the world without any affectations. The songspeaker proposes marriage to her and is pleased when she promises to consider his proposal. The song ends with the revelation that they are blessed with three children and are raising them to work in the garden where "the praties grow".
This song is evocative of Ireland and its romance with farming and agriculture. The reference to the garden where potatoes are grown conjures an image of the typical Irish countryside. Furthermore, the lyrics allude to the revered position of potatoes in Irish cuisine and their vital role in sustaining the population. The theme of love and marriage is also captured in the song, where the songspeaker's reluctance to fall in love is overcome by meeting Kathleen.
Line by Line Meaning
Have you ever been in love me boys,
Have you ever experienced loving someone, my friends?
Or have you felt the pain?
Or have you experienced the pain that comes with love?
I'd rather be in jail myself
Personally, I would prefer being in jail
Than be in love again;
Than being in love once more
For the girl I loved was beautiful
This is because the girl I loved was incredibly beautiful
I'd have you all to know,
And I want everyone to be aware of this fact
And I met her in the garden
I first met her in the garden
Where the praties grow.
The very same garden where potatoes grow.
She was just the sort of creature boys,
She was just the type of person, my friends,
That Nature did intend
That nature designed and intended for the world
To walk right through the world me boys,
To move effortlessly through the world
Without the Grecian Bend,
Without the fashionable bend in the posture known as Grecian Bend
Nor did she wear a chignon
And she did not wear her hair in a bun
Says I, "My lovely pretty Kathleen,
I then said, "My lovely, pretty Kathleen
I'm tired of single life,
I'm tired of being single,
And if you've no objection,
And if you don't mind,
Sure, I'll make you my sweet wife."
I'd like to marry you, my dear.
She answered me right modestly
She responded very politely and modestly
And curtsied very low,
And she performed a low respectful bow
"O you're welcome to the garden
"You're welcome to visit the garden
Where the praties grow."
Where potatoes grow."
Says I my pretty Kathleen,
I then said to my lovely Kathleen
I hope that you'll agree.
I hope you'll say yes.
She was not like your city girls
She was not like other girls from the city
Who say you're making free;
Who accuse you of flirting with them;
Says she, "I'll ax my parents
She said, "I'll ask my parents
And tomorrow I'll let you know
And tomorrow, I'll inform you
If you'll meet me in the garden
If you'll join me in the garden
Where the praties grow."
Where potatoes grow."
O the parents they consented
The parents gave their approval
And we're blessed with children three:
And we were blessed with three children:
Two boys just like their mother
Two boys who strongly resemble their mother
And a girl the image of me, (joke)
And a girl who's a spitting image of me (just joking)
And now we're goin' to train them up
And now, we're going to raise and educate them
The way they ought to go
To lead them in the right direction
For to dig in the garden
So that they can dig in the garden
Where the praties grow.
Where potatoes grow.
Writer(s): Samuel Liddle
Contributed by Ryan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jonathan3372
Have you ever been in love my boys
Or have you felt the pain?
I'd sooner be in jail myself
Than be in love again
For the girl I loved was beautiful
I'd have you all to know
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow
She was just the sort of creature boys
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world my boys
Without the Grecian bend
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow
Says I: "My pretty Kathleen
I'm tired of single life
And if you've no objection, sure
I'll make you my sweet wife"
She answered me right modestly
And curtsied very low
"O you're welcome to the garden
Where the praties grow"
She was just the sort of creature boys
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world my boys
Without the Grecian bend
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow
Says I: "My pretty Kathleen
I hope that you'll agree"
She was not like your city girls
Who say you're making free
Says she: "I'll ask my parents
And tomorrow I'll let you know
If you'll meet me in the garden
Where the praties grow"
She was just the sort of creature boys
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world my boys
Without the Grecian bend
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow
O the parents they consented
And we're blessed with children three
Two boys just like their mother
And a girl the image of me
And now we're goin' to train them up
The way they ought to go
For to dig in the garden
Where the praties grow
She was just the sort of creature boys
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world my boys
Without the Grecian bend
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow
@maggiedeveney
I'm 72, and like other commenters grew up with this song. My mother used to sing it to me teaching me how to sing it. Happy memories. Thank you for posting.
@jonathan3372
Have you ever been in love my boys
Or have you felt the pain?
I'd sooner be in jail myself
Than be in love again
For the girl I loved was beautiful
I'd have you all to know
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow
She was just the sort of creature boys
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world my boys
Without the Grecian bend
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow
Says I: "My pretty Kathleen
I'm tired of single life
And if you've no objection, sure
I'll make you my sweet wife"
She answered me right modestly
And curtsied very low
"O you're welcome to the garden
Where the praties grow"
She was just the sort of creature boys
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world my boys
Without the Grecian bend
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow
Says I: "My pretty Kathleen
I hope that you'll agree"
She was not like your city girls
Who say you're making free
Says she: "I'll ask my parents
And tomorrow I'll let you know
If you'll meet me in the garden
Where the praties grow"
She was just the sort of creature boys
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world my boys
Without the Grecian bend
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow
O the parents they consented
And we're blessed with children three
Two boys just like their mother
And a girl the image of me
And now we're goin' to train them up
The way they ought to go
For to dig in the garden
Where the praties grow
She was just the sort of creature boys
That Nature did intend
To walk right through the world my boys
Without the Grecian bend
Nor did she wear a chignon
I'd have you all to know
And I met her in the garden
Where the praties grow
@Jessica-zf2df
I am 63 and remember singing this song in school when I was about 5 along to this recording. Brings tears to my eyes. .thanks so much for posting.
@queenpatcine
I came across some papers, and found that this was my Grandfather's favorite song. My mother is 86, and we never met her father,because he died quite early, but it was a lovely connection to me, to hear this.
@joehill33
We had an Irish lodger when i was young, I'm 68 now and he was in his seventies, he used to sing this song when he'd had a drink or two. I'd never heard it since he died until i found it on here, Precious Memories. Thank You.
@jokepy4230
It must be 60 years since I first learned this song. Thank you for posting it.
@petenvee
I was brought up on McCormack from 2 years old, in both Canada and England. It was played on a wind up gramophone, It just brings back so many memories.
@ladylaois8184
I grew up with this wonderful man records being played.
@phyllisramsey9531
A wonderfully spirited Irish song sung by the best Irish tenor--John McCormack! He was the great storyteller of song!
@anthonymaher9489
Im 66 and i remember our Irish lodger singing this when i was just a child. I remembered it but never heard it sang all through ,til today.its brought back happy childhood memories.R.I.P Jim