The lyrics to the song "The Mountains of Mourne" were written by Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 musician Percy French. It is normally sung to the traditional Irish folk

Folk music of Ireland

The folk music of Ireland is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres in Ireland.-History:...

 tune Carrigdonn or Carrigdhoun as it is sometimes spelt. This was the same tune used by Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...

 (1779–1852) for his song "Bendemeer's Stream".

The song is representative of French's many works concerning the Irish diaspora

Irish diaspora

thumb|Night Train with Reaper by London Irish artist [[Brian Whelan]] from the book Myth of Return, 2007The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa,...

. The Mourne Mountains of the title are located in County Down

County Down

-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

 in present-day Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

The song is a whimsical look at the styles, attitudes and fashions of late nineteenth century London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 as seen from the point of view of a somewhat naive young visitor from a village near the Mountains of Mourne. It is written as if the singer is sending a message to his friend back home.

It contrasts the artificial attractions of the city with the more natural beauty of his homeland.

Notable versions

• Baritone
  Baritone
  Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
  
   Australian singer Peter Dawson popularised this song in the 1920s.
• The Kingston Trio recorded the song in their 1960 album "Sold Out." Nick Reynolds sang the lead.
• The song featured on the 1958 album, The Immortal Percy French, featuring the voice of Irish tenor
  Tenor
  The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
  
  , Brendan O'Dowda
  Brendan O'Dowda
  Brendan O'Dowda was an Irish tenor who popularised the songs of Percy French.O'Dowda was born in Dundalk, County Louth and was educated at the De la Salle Brothers' school in the town. His early promise as a singer brought him to the attention of Dr. Vincent O'Brien, who had taught John McCormack...
  
  .
• Singer-songwriter
  Singer-songwriter
  Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
  
   Don McLean
  Don McLean
  Donald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
  
  , of "American Pie" fame, recorded a version of this song titled "Mountains O'Mourne".
• The song was also recorded by Tarkio
  Tarkio
  Tarkio may refer to:*Tarkio River, river in Iowa and Missouri**Tarkio, Missouri, the city which Brewer & Shipley's album was named after;***Tarkio College, a college no longer in existence in the city of Tarkio, Missouri;...
  
  , an alt-country band led by Colin Meloy
  Colin Meloy
  Colin Patrick Henry Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for the Portland, Oregon, folk-rock band The Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica, percussion and interpretive hand gestures.-Early life...
  
   later of Decemberists fame for their self-released EP "Sea Songs for Landlocked Sailors" in 1998, and also included on Omnibus, a collection of Tarkio's recordings released by Kill Rock Stars
  Kill Rock Stars
  Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...
  
   in 2006.
• Spanish composer and guitarist Fernando Sor
  Fernando Sor
  Josep Ferran Sorts i Muntades was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer. While he is best known for his guitar compositions, he also composed music for a wide range of genres, including opera, orchestra, string quartet, piano, voice and ballet...
  
   set the melody in the second section of opus 6 number 11, one of a set of his celebrated studies for guitar, first published in 1815.
• In 2008 Celtic Thunder
  Celtic Thunder
  Celtic Thunder is a singing group composed of male soloists who perform both solo and ensemble numbers. Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland...
  
   released the song on their debut album, also named Celtic Thunder. Their recording is adapted from Don McLean
  Don McLean
  Donald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
  
  's version of the song. The song is performed by Keith Harkin.
• During World War I, the song "Old Gallipoli's A Wonderful Place" used phrases from this song as a basis for some of its verses. Verses in the Gallipoli song include: "At least when I asked them, that's what they told me" and "Where the old Gallipoli sweeps down to the sea."
• Finbar Furey of The Fureys
  The Fureys
  The Fureys are an Irish male folk band of four brothers - Eddie, Finbar, Paul and George, from Ballyfermot, Dublin. They have also been credited as The Fureys and Davey Arthur.The group formed in 1978 and consisted initially of four brothers....
  
  covered the song on the album Chasing Moonlight: Love Songs of Ireland in 2003.
• It was used in the jingle of Ulster Television's first logo appearing in 1959.

Lyrics

"The Mountains of Mourne"

by Percy French (1896)

Oh, Mary, this London's a wonderful sight,

With people all working by day and by night.

Sure they don't sow potatoes, nor barley, nor wheat,

But there's gangs of them digging for gold in the street.

At least when I asked them that's what I was told,

So I just took a hand at this digging for gold,

But for all that I found there I might as well be

Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

I believe that when writing a wish you expressed

As to know how the fine ladies in London were dressed,

Well if you'll believe me, when asked to a ball,

They don't wear no top to their dresses at all,

Oh I've seen them meself and you could not in truth,

Say that if they were bound for a ball or a bath.

Don't be starting such fashions, now, Mary mo chroi,

Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

I've seen England's king from the top of a bus

And I've never known him, but he means to know us.

And tho' by the Saxon we once were oppressed,

Still I cheered, God forgive me, I cheered with the rest.

And now that he's visited Erin's green shore

We'll be much better friends than we've been heretofore

When we've got all we want, we're as quiet as can be

Where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

You remember young Peter O'Loughlin, of course,

Well, now he is here at the head of the force.

I met him today, I was crossing the Strand,

And he stopped the whole street with a wave of his hand.

And there we stood talkin' of days that are gone,

While the whole population of London looked on.

But for all these great powers he's wishful like me,

To be back where the dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea.

There's beautiful girls here, oh never you mind,

With beautiful shapes nature never designed,

And lovely complexions all roses and cream,

But let me remark with regard to the same:

That if of those roses you venture to sip,

The colours might all come away on your lip,

So I'll wait for the wild rose that's waiting for me

In the place where the dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea..

External links

• Music (MIDI)
• http://www.irishmusicforever.com/mountains-of-mourne