Reportedly, it was first collected around 1840 in Limerick by Patrick Weston Joyce; also in Donegal by George Petrie.[1] The roots of this song, however, likely link back to the 17th century, given Ireland's involvement in the Glorious Revolution (1688), the Nine Years War(1688-97), and especially the Williamite War in Ireland (1689-1691), since the song refers to being "sent to France," which suggests the Flight of the Wild Geese: the departure of the Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691.
In the song, the narrator and his cousin, Arthur McBride were taking a walk when they were approached by three British military recruiters, a recruiting sergeant, a Corporal and a young drummer. The recruiters attempt to induce the narrator and Arthur McBride into military service, extolling the virtues of serving the King, having money to spend, and wearing nice clothes. Arthur McBride tells the recruiter, if they joined, the clothes would merely be loaned to them and that they would be made to go to war in France where they would certainly be killed. The recruiter, taking offence at Arthur's disrespect of the offer, becomes angry at Arthur and the narrator, and threatens to use his sword on them. Then, Arthur and the narrator use their shillelaghs to hit the recruiters and the drummer over their heads, and after doing so, take their pouch of money, and throw their swords and the drummer's drum into the ocean.
"Arthur MacBride" has been recorded by numerous performers, including Planxty (on their 1973 self-titled debut album, Planxty); Andy Irvine; Dave Swarbrick; Martin Carthy; Paul Brady; a US-based band, Ourselves Alone, and in his later years (1992), by Bob Dylan. Most contemporary performers who have "Arthur McBride" in their repertoires were inspired by and acquired it via Irish and UK sources. While Planxty's 1973 release may be thought of as the vector renewing the song's present-day familiarity, Paul Brady's 1977 rendition is of special interest due to significant lyrical variations from the "usual" versions of the tune, including several additional verses. Brady is from Strabane in County Tyrone but, ironically, he hadn’t heard the song while living in Ireland.[2] He came across it while working in America in 1972. He was given a copy of book called, A Heritage of Songs, compiled by collector Carrie Grover. One of the songs listed was Arthur McBride. Brady started to perform it to a virtuoso guitar accompaniment using an open G tuning. Brady's eight verse version of the song contains the Irish word spalpeen meaning layabout, rascal or ruffian.
Arthur McBride
Planxty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He and I took a stroll down by the by the sea side
A seeking good fortune and what might be tide
'Twas just as the day was a dawning
After resting we both took a tramp
We met Sergeant Harper and Corporal Cramp
Besides the wee drummer who beat up for camp
With his rowdy dow dow in the morning
Says he me young fellows if you will enlist
A guinea you quickly have in your fist
Likewise the crown for to kick the dust
And drink the king's health in the morning
From a soldier he leads a very fine life
He always is blessed with a charming young wife
And he pays all his debts without sorrow or strife
And always lives happy and charming
Ah now me bold sergeant we are not for sale
We'll make no such bargain, your bribe won't avail
We're not tried of our country we don't care to sail
Although that your offer is charming
And if we were such fools as to take the advance
This right bloody slander would be our poor chance
For the Queen wouldn't scruple to send us to France
Where we would be shot with out warning
He says me young fellows if I hear but one word
I instantly now will out with my sword
And into your body as strength will afford
So now my gay devils take warning
But Arthur and I we took in the odds
We gave them no chance for to launch out their swords
Our whacking shillelaghs came over their heads
And paid them right smart in the morning
As for the wee drummer we rifled his pouch
And we made a foot- ball of his rowdy dow dow
And into the ocean to rock and to roll
And bade it a tedious returning
As for the old rapier that hung by his side
We flung it as far as we could in tide
To devil I pitch you sez Arthur McBride
To temper your steel in the morning
The lyrics of Planxty's song "Arthur McBride" tell the story of the titular character and his first cousin, taking a walk by the seaside, seeking their fortune. They encounter Sergeant Harper and Corporal Cramp, accompanied by a drummer boy, who attempt to bribe the young men into enlisting in the army. However, Arthur and his cousin are not convinced, refusing the offer and instead engaging in a physical altercation with the soldiers, ultimately defeating them. In the end, they even toss the drummer's instrument into the ocean and throw away the soldier's rapier.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a first cousin called Arthur McBride
I once knew a man named Arthur McBride who was my cousin
He and I took a stroll down by the by the seaside
Arthur and I went for a walk by the sea
A seeking good fortune and what might be tide
We were looking to improve our luck and see what fate had in store for us
'Twas just as the day was a dawning
We set out early in the morning
After resting we both took a tramp
We walked for a while before encountering some soldiers
We met Sergeant Harper and Corporal Cramp
We encountered two soldiers named Harper and Cramp
Besides the wee drummer who beat up for camp
There was also a young drummer boy with them who played music to gather troops for camp
With his rowdy dow dow in the morning
The boy played his drum loudly to make noise in the morning
Says he me young fellows if you will enlist
The sergeant offered us a bribe to join the army
A guinea you quickly have in your fist
He promised to pay us a guinea if we enlisted
Likewise the crown for to kick the dust
He promised us the king's coin to earn and spend
And drink the king's health in the morning
He promised us the privilege of drinking to the health of the king
From a soldier he leads a very fine life
The sergeant told us that a soldier's life is great
He always is blessed with a charming young wife
He said a soldier always has a beautiful wife
And he pays all his debts without sorrow or strife
He told us that a soldier has no worries about debt
And always lives happy and charming
The sergeant painted a picture of soldiers living a happy and blessed life
Ah now me bold sergeant we are not for sale
We declined the sergeant's offer
We'll make no such bargain, your bribe won't avail
We refused his bribe, it wouldn't sway us
We're not tried of our country we don't care to sail
We were not tired of our country, nor did we wish to sail away
Although that your offer is charming
Despite the tempting offer he presented
And if we were such fools as to take the advance
If we were naive enough to accept the bribe
This right bloody slander would be our poor chance
Then we would be at risk of false accusations
For the Queen wouldn't scruple to send us to France
The queen would send us to France without hesitation
Where we would be shot with out warning
We would be in danger of being executed without being given a chance to defend ourselves
He says me young fellows if I hear but one word
The sergeant threatened us with violence if we spoke against him
I instantly now will out with my sword
He said he would draw his sword if provoked
And into your body as strength will afford
He would resort to violence if given the chance
So now my gay devils take warning
He warned us to be careful and not fool around
But Arthur and I we took in the odds
Arthur and I assessed the situation
We gave them no chance for to launch out their swords
We made sure that they couldn't draw their swords
Our whacking shillelaghs came over their heads
We hit them with our clubs
And paid them right smart in the morning
We gave them a good beating and showed them who's boss
As for the wee drummer we rifled his pouch
We took the young drummer boy's bag of money
And we made a foot-ball of his rowdy dow dow
We took his drum and played with it like a football
And into the ocean to rock and to roll
We threw the drum into the sea
And bade it a tedious returning
We didn't care if the drum never came back
As for the old rapier that hung by his side
We took the sergeant's sword
We flung it as far as we could in tide
We threw it into the ocean
To devil I pitch you sez Arthur McBride
Arthur cursed the sergeant for causing trouble
To temper your steel in the morning
He wished the sword would rust and lose its effectiveness
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDY IRVINE, CHRISTY MOORE, DONAL LUNNY, LIAM O'FLYNN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
asburystan
Quite apart from the fuckin' epic music, isn't this one of the greatest album covers of all time?
Nicolas Torin
Instablaster
NocturnalHurdles
Paul Brady's live version from 1977 is a masterpiece. But this is great too.
r3d3y3si
NocturnalHurdles bradys version is totally spellbinding.
It's a shame you don't hear many singers like that on the radio these days
MrMusicguyma
I heard Andy's version first, then Paul's stunning version, Martin Carthy has a third version, all are wonderful. That is the beauty of traditional music, many variant of tune and text. Although some pop music is quite moving and fun, and I play a lot of it, IMHO trad music reaches a depth and soulfulness that most pop music can't even approach. Slainte, Planxty. RIP Liam Og.
Dermot McElholm
this is my favourite version of this song
Mária Mayer
mine too :)
Calum Carlyle
Fascinating, hearing this for the first time after hearing Paul Brady's version, based on the Carrie Grover book. It would have been interesting to witness Andy Irvine hearing Paul Brady's version for the first time, after Planxty had been performing it this way for most of their career.
2468pebble
Slowly inclining to Paul Brady's version, but will always treasure this one.
Michael Barry
Here's to rowdy dow dows!