Callin… Read Full Bio ↴The Prodigals are a New York Irish band that started in 1997.
Calling their genre of music "jig punk", the Prodigals fall within a tradition epitomized by the Pogues and Black 47, merging traditional Irish melodic roots with rock rhythms. As of 2007, the band members are Gregory Grene (button accordion and lead vocals), Ed Kollar (bass and backup vocals), Dave Fahy (guitar and lead vocals), Darren Maloney (banjo), and Chris Higginbottom (drums). The Prodigals call Paddy Reilly's (the world's only all-draft Guinness bar) their home when in New York City. The band has its own distinctive sound, particularly distinguished by the lead melodic roles being filled by button-key accordion and bass along with the vocals, and has received substantial critical notice through the years.
Albums
* The Prodigals (1997)
* Go On (1999), effectively the band's breakout album
* Dreaming in Hell's Kitchen (2001, produced by Scottish fiddler and record producer Johnny Cunningham)
* Needs Must When the Devil Drives (2003, produced by Howie Beno, who notably also produced the Red Hot Chili Peppers single Give It Away Now)
* a live album/DVD, Beachland Bootleg (2005) recorded at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio.
* Momentum (2006)
Ballybay
The Prodigals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
a very tragic tune about a woman with a wooden leg
who dumped her husband in a quarry."
Crowd: "Yay!"
In the town of Ballybay-hay
There was a maiden dwelling.
And her story's worth a telling.
And her father kept a still,
And he was a good distiller....
When she took to drink as well
Well the devil couldn't fill her
A ring-a-dom a doo, a ring-a-dom a delly
She had a wooden leg it was hollow down the middle
She used to tie a sting in it and play it like a fiddle
She fiddled in the hall, she fiddled in the alleyway
She didn't give a damn sure she had to fiddle anyway
A ring-a-dom a doo, a ring-a-dom a delly
She said she wouldn't dance unless she had her welly
But when she had it on she would dance as well as any.
Once said she wouldn't go to bed unless she had her shimmy
But when she had it on she would go as quick as any.
A ring-a-dom a doo, a ring-a-dom a delly
She had lovers by the score every Tom, Dick and Harry
And she courted night and day but still she wouldn't marry
Then she fell in love with a fellow with a stammer
When he tried to get away, she hit him with a hammer
A ring-a-dom a doo, a ring-a-dom a delly
Greg:"Andrew Harkin on bass!" (bass solo)
Childer on the stairs and childer in the pyre
And another ten or twelve sitting rolling by the fire
And she fed him on potatoes
and a soup she made with nettles
And a lot of hairy bacon that she boiled in a kettle
A ring-a-dom a doo, a ring-a-dom a delly
She led a sheltered life, eating porridge and black pudding.
And she terrorized her man until he died quite sudden.
And when her husband died she was feeling very sorry
She rolled him in a bag and she threw him in a quarry
The Prodigals' song "Ballybay" is a tragic and comical tune about a woman with a wooden leg who is known to the town of Ballybay. The lyrics tell the story of an outlandish woman who had a reputation for drinking, playing her wooden leg like a fiddle and indulging in lovers by the score. The singer in the song had an abusive relationship with her husband, whom she terrorized until he suddenly died. The woman then dumped her husband's body in a quarry and regretted her actions later.
The song juxtaposes dark and humorous elements, showcasing the complexities of the human experience. The lyrics highlight the flaws and imperfections in human behavior, whilst still lacing the song with a jaunty and irreverent tone. The lyrics speak to the idea that human beings are capable of both greatness and ugliness, and that we are all a product of our environment and circumstances. The Prodigals' song "Ballybay" is a testament to the power of music to convey the complexities of the human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
In the town of Ballybay-hay
This song is about a woman from Ballybay
There was a maiden dwelling.
The woman in question was unmarried
I knew her very well
The singer knows the woman personally
And her story's worth a telling.
Her story is interesting and worth sharing
And her father kept a still,
Her father was a bootlegger
And he was a good distiller....
Her father was skilled at making moonshine
When she took to drink as well
When she started drinking too
Well the devil couldn't fill her
She was a heavy drinker
She had a wooden leg it was hollow down the middle
The woman had a prosthetic leg with a hollow center
She used to tie a sting in it and play it like a fiddle
She would tie a string to her prosthetic leg and play music with it
She fiddled in the hall, she fiddled in the alleyway
She played music in public places
She didn't give a damn sure she had to fiddle anyway
She didn't care what others thought, she played music regardless
She said she wouldn't dance unless she had her welly
She needed her prosthetic leg to dance
But when she had it on she would dance as well as any.
Even with her prosthetic, she was a good dancer
Once said she wouldn't go to bed unless she had her shimmy
She needed her undergarment to sleep
But when she had it on she would go as quick as any.
She slept just like anyone else once she had her shimmy
She had lovers by the score every Tom, Dick and Harry
She had many lovers
And she courted night and day but still she wouldn't marry
She refused to get married despite courting many men
Then she fell in love with a fellow with a stammer
She fell in love with a man who had a speech impediment
When he tried to get away, she hit him with a hammer
She became violent when her lover tried to leave her
Childer on the stairs and childer in the pyre
There were children in the house, both alive and dead
And another ten or twelve sitting rolling by the fire
There were several people gathered around the fire
And she fed him on potatoes
She cooked potatoes for her husband
and a soup she made with nettles
She made soup using stinging nettles
And a lot of hairy bacon that she boiled in a kettle
And she boiled bacon in a pot
She led a sheltered life, eating porridge and black pudding.
She lived a simple life, eating basic Irish foods
And she terrorized her man until he died quite sudden.
She was abusive to her husband and he died suddenly
And when her husband died she was feeling very sorry
She was remorseful when her husband passed away
She rolled him in a bag and she threw him in a quarry
She disposed of her husband's body by dumping it in a quarry
Contributed by Madelyn K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.