The melody was also used in an Irish folk song called "My Love Nell".[2] The lyrics of "My Love Nell" tell the story of a young man who courts a girl but loses her when she emigrates to America.[3] The only real similarity with "Star of the County Down" is that Nell too comes from County Down. This may have inspired MacGarvey to place the heroine of his new song in Down as well.[citation needed] MacGarvey was from Donegal. The chorus of a similar song, "The Flower of the County Down" names landmarks local to Down, in contrast to those in "Star" which are from across Ireland. [4]
"The Star of the County Down" uses a tight rhyme scheme. Each stanza is a double quatrain, and the first and third lines of each quatrain have an internal rhyme on the second and fourth feet: [aa]b[cc]b. The refrain is a single quatrain with the same rhyming pattern.
The song is sung from the point of view of a young man who chances to meet a charming lady by the name of Rose (or Rosie) McCann, referred to as the "star of the County Down". From a brief encounter the writer's infatuation grows until, by the end of the ballad, he imagines himself marrying the girl.
The song usually begins with the opening verse:
Near Banbridge town, in the County Down, One morning last July Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen, And she smiled as she passed me by
Israeli singer Ehud Banai recorded a Hebrew version of the song titled "Ha-Kochav shel Mechoz Gush Dan" (Hebrew: הכוכב של מחוז גוש דן or "The Star of Gush Dan District"). It appeared first on his 1998 album Tip Tipa.
Dublin folk artist Dylan Walshe recorded a live version of the song which appeared on the 2015 album Soul Hell Cafe released on Muddy Roots Records.
German schlager music band Santiano recorded a version of the song called "Mädchen von Haithabu" with the same melody.
American folk-jazz band Béla Fleck and the Flecktones included an instrumental arrangement of the song in their 1991 Grammy-nominated album "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo".
Irish-Canadian band The Irish Rovers recorded versions of the song for the 1996 album Gems and the 2020 Saints and Sinners.
Irish YouTuber Colm McGuinness uploaded a version of the song to his channel in 2021 titled "The Star of the County Down (Cover)".[5]
British vocal ensemble The King's Singers recorded an arrangement by Howard Goodall on their albums Watching the White Wheat (1985) and Postcards (2014).
Irish band The High Kings uploaded a version of the song to their YouTube channel in 2011 titled "Star of the County Down".[6]
ReferencesEdit
^O'Lochlainn, Colm (1967). Songwriters of Ireland in the English Tongue. Dublin: Three Candles Press.
^Folksongs&Ballads popular in Ireland, Volume 3, Loesberg,pp 72
^"Axon Ballads No.95 - My love Nell; Kitty Tyrrell; Rory of the hills". Retrieved 11 July 2016.
^"The Star of the County Down (Cover) Colm R. McGuinness". YouTube.
^"The High Kings - "Star of the County Down"". YouTube.
External linksEdit
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The Star of the County Down
Link to a free download of Slainte's version of the song (hosted by archive.org).
A free sound recording of Droit's version
"Star of the County Down" at MusicBrainz (information and list of recordings)
August 25, 2023
star, county, down, irish, ballad, near, banbridge, county, down, ireland, words, cathal, macgarvey, 1866, 1927, from, ramelton, county, donegal, macgarvey, song, first, collected, herbert, hughes, irish, country, songs, tune, traditional, known, dives, lazaru. Star of the County Down is an Irish ballad set near Banbridge in County Down Ireland The words are by Cathal MacGarvey 1866 1927 from Ramelton County Donegal 1 MacGarvey s song was first collected in Herbert Hughes Irish Country Songs The tune is traditional and may be known as Dives and Lazarus or as a hymn tune Kingsfold The melody was also used in an Irish folk song called My Love Nell 2 The lyrics of My Love Nell tell the story of a young man who courts a girl but loses her when she emigrates to America 3 The only real similarity with Star of the County Down is that Nell too comes from County Down This may have inspired MacGarvey to place the heroine of his new song in Down as well citation needed MacGarvey was from Donegal The chorus of a similar song The Flower of the County Down names landmarks local to Down in contrast to those in Star which are from across Ireland 4 The Star of the County Down uses a tight rhyme scheme Each stanza is a double quatrain and the first and third lines of each quatrain have an internal rhyme on the second and fourth feet aa b cc b The refrain is a single quatrain with the same rhyming pattern The song is sung from the point of view of a young man who chances to meet a charming lady by the name of Rose or Rosie McCann referred to as the star of the County Down From a brief encounter the writer s infatuation grows until by the end of the ballad he imagines himself marrying the girl The song usually begins with the opening verse Near Banbridge town in the County Down One morning last July Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen And she smiled as she passed me byVersions EditBelfast singer songwriter Van Morrison recorded a version of the song for the 1988 album Irish Heartbeat in collaboration with The Chieftains The Pogues recorded a version of the song that was included the 2005 reissue of their 1989 album Peace and Love Canadian singer Loreena McKennitt recorded a version of the song for her 2010 album The Wind That Shakes the Barley Serbian band Orthodox Celts recorded a version of the song for the 1997 album The Celts Strike Again Israeli singer Ehud Banai recorded a Hebrew version of the song titled Ha Kochav shel Mechoz Gush Dan Hebrew הכוכב של מחוז גוש דן or The Star of Gush Dan District It appeared first on his 1998 album Tip Tipa Dublin folk artist Dylan Walshe recorded a live version of the song which appeared on the 2015 album Soul Hell Cafe released on Muddy Roots Records German schlager music band Santiano recorded a version of the song called Madchen von Haithabu with the same melody American folk jazz band Bela Fleck and the Flecktones included an instrumental arrangement of the song in their 1991 Grammy nominated album Flight of the Cosmic Hippo Irish Canadian band The Irish Rovers recorded versions of the song for the 1996 album Gems and the 2020 Saints and Sinners Irish YouTuber Colm McGuinness uploaded a version of the song to his channel in 2021 titled The Star of the County Down Cover 5 British vocal ensemble The King s Singers recorded an arrangement by Howard Goodall on their albums Watching the White Wheat 1985 and Postcards 2014 Irish band The High Kings uploaded a version of the song to their YouTube channel in 2011 titled Star of the County Down 6 References Edit O Lochlainn Colm 1967 Songwriters of Ireland in the English Tongue Dublin Three Candles Press Folksongs amp Ballads popular in Ireland Volume 3 Loesberg pp 72 Axon Ballads No 95 My love Nell Kitty Tyrrell Rory of the hills Retrieved 11 July 2016 Lyr Add THE FLOWER OF THE COUNTY DOWN The Star of the County Down Cover Colm R McGuinness YouTube The High Kings Star of the County Down YouTube External links Edit Wikisource has original text related to this article The Star of the County Down Link to a free download of Slainte s version of the song hosted by archive org A free sound recording of Droit s version Star of the County Down at MusicBrainz information and list of recordings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Star of the County Down amp oldid 1159298312, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
