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Origins: The Brown and the Yellow Ale
DigiTrad:
THE BROWN AND THE YELLOW ALE
THE BROWN AND YELLOW EARL
Related threads:
ADD: The Brown and the Yellow Ale^^^ (28)
Chords Req: The Brown and the Yellow Ale (41)
Lyr Add: S oro londubh bui (11)
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Origins: The Brown and the Yellow Ale DigiTrad: THE BROWN AND THE YELLOW ALE THE BROWN AND YELLOW EARL Related threads: ADD: The Brown and the Yellow Ale^^^ (28) Chords Req: The Brown and the Yellow Ale (41) Lyr Add: S oro londubh bui (11) |
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Subject: james joyce yellow ale From: Date: 28 Nov 96 - 02:13 PM I'm looking for the lyrics of a favorite song of the Irish author James Joyce. It's known as The Yellow Ale and sometimes as The Noble Enchanter. Thanks prospero@netins.net See Ulysses Pub Songs |
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Subject: RE: james joyce yellow ale From: dick greenhaus Date: 28 Nov 96 - 09:37 PM Hi- a version (folk-processed) called The Brown and Yellow EARL is in the database. I'm told that James didn't write it--only quoted it. |
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Subject: Lyr Add: THE BROWN AND THE YELLOW ALE From: Colm Doyle Date: 29 Nov 96 - 02:08 AM If your looking for the version that the Voice Squad and Phil Callery sing on the album Hollywood and if my memory serves me well it goes something like this... THE BROWN AND THE YELLOW ALE As I went down the road one fine summer's morning, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale, I met with a young man without any warning. Oh, love of my heart. He asked me if the woman by my side was my daughter. Oh, the brown and the yellow ale, When I said, “she's my wife,” well, his manner didn't alter. Oh, love of my heart. He asked me if he could lend her for an hour and a day. Oh, the brown and the yellow ale, “If my wife thinks it fine, you may take her away.” Oh, love of my heart. Then you take the high road and I'll be off with her, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale, And I'll meet you again by the ford on the river. Oh, love of my heart. I waited by the bridge for an hour and a quarter, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale, And when she arrived 'twas without shame I saw her. Oh, love of my heart. When she told me what she'd done, sure I laid down and died. Oh, the brown and the yellow ale, She sent for timber and she never even cried. Oh, love of my heart. If my own little mother had never been a woman, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale, I'd tell you many's the tale about women. Oh, love of my heart. |
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Subject: RE: james joyce yellow ale From: MRYAN@server1.rtc-athlone.ie Date: 04 Dec 96 - 11:49 AM "The Brown and the Yellow Ale" appears to derive from a Gaelic song which goes under various titles e.g. Cumha an Londobh Bui (Lament? of the yellow blackbird) Thugamar Fein an samhradh linn/ Summer is coming. Its a long story - but the explanation offered in the DT looks most unlikely.There are some curious translations at work. Martin Ryan |
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Subject: RE: james joyce yellow ale From: dick greenhaus Date: 06 Dec 96 - 10:55 PM Hi- The contents of the DT are, laregely, what people send in. And people are, at best, unreliable. If you know of a better translation (or even a more plausible one), send it in. That way leads us on another tiny step of the journey towards perfection. please.
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Subject: RE: james joyce yellow ale From: Martin Ryan Date: 10 Dec 96 - 10:58 AM The comment on the "plausibility" of the Brown and Yellow Earl was not intended to be hypercritical! In fact "ale" is not all that common a word in songs in the Irish tradition either.The Gaelic versions mention neither beer nor nobles - hence my feeling that what appear to be keywords are actually later add-ons. Versions of this song often involve the old man coming back to watch his own funeral - and not being impressed with the arrrangements made by the widow! The death and resurrection theme probably explains Joyce's interest. It is thought in Ireland that the oldest versions come from Tory Island (off the northwest coast). Keep up the good work. |
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Subject: RE: james joyce yellow ale From: dick greenhaus Date: 10 Dec 96 - 08:19 PM Hi- Interesting. I'll try to contact Frank Harte about this-- he had a particular interest in the song. dick |
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Subject: RE: james joyce yellow ale From: Joe Offer Date: 01 Jul 97 - 01:36 AM Was somebody looking for this thread? Just set the search calendar back to 365 days and search under "ale." -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: james joyce yellow ale From: Martin Ryan Date: 02 Jul 97 - 04:22 AM Thanks Joe! I had got lazy and only searched on "brown"! I'll post some comments later. Regards |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Brown and the Yellow Ale From: Anglo Date: 25 Mar 16 - 05:32 PM I just linked to this old thread from a current one. But here goes... As far as I know, Brown & Yellow "Earl" comes from American singer Debby McClatchy, who learned the song on one of her many trips to Britain (from the 70s, 80s or so). Her version was published in the Chicago folk music mag Come For To Sing, and did get some circulation in the US. She misheard the words; it's a mondegreen. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Brown and the Yellow Ale From: GUEST,MartinRyan Date: 25 Mar 16 - 05:39 PM Yes, Anglo - we sussed that out alright. Great song. Regards |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Brown and the Yellow Ale From: MGM·Lion Date: 25 Mar 16 - 06:22 PM Wonderful mondegreen it was too, with lots of scholarly observations in her sleevenotes as to the significance of the colours in the oh-so-mondegreened nobleman's escutcheon... ≈M≈ |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Brown and the Yellow Ale From: MartinRyan Date: 25 Mar 16 - 06:40 PM "... nobleman's escutcheon..."? I thought she said "kitchen"... Regards |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Brown and the Yellow Ale From: NightWing Date: 25 Mar 16 - 08:30 PM "... nobleman..." I thought she said "double mint" and wondered how Wrigley got involved. ;-> BB, NightWing |
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Subject: DT Correction: The Brown and the Yellow Ale From: Joe Offer Date: 25 Apr 22 - 07:24 PM The Digital Tradition is a fairly good transcription of the Voice Squad recording, but there are a few differences.
Traditional Ballad Index entry: Brown and Yellow Ale, TheDESCRIPTION: The singer and his wife are walking when they meet the Brown and Yellow (Ale/Earl). He asks to take the wife aside. When she returns, he is so ashamed that he dies and is buriedAUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: 1973 (Behan-IrelandSings), and said to have been sung by James Joyce; the Irish is older KEYWORDS: seduction drink nobility death adultery FOUND IN: REFERENCES (3 citations): Behan-IrelandSings, #13, "The Brown and Yellow Ale" (1 text, 1 tune, modified) DT, BRWNYLLW BRWNYEL2 ADDITIONAL: Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, pp. 80-81, "The Brown and Yellow Ale" (1 text, 1 tune) ALTERNATE TITLES: The Brown and Yellow Earl NOTES [245 words]: Reportedly a translation of the Irish "Chuaca Lan De Bui." Several translations are said to exist, including one by James Joyce. What's interesting is the two titles: "The Brown and Yellow Ale," Dominic Behan's title (said to have been translated by James Stephens) and followed by Harte, and "The Brown and Yellow Earl," which I heard from Debby McClatchy. Obviously one could be an error of hearing for the other -- indeed, *must* be an error of hearing, since the mistake could not occur in print. And yet, how could such an error slip through? There seem to be no genuinely traditional collections to explain it. And which is original? Presumably the Irish Gaelic would make it clear, but I failed to turn up a reliable text, and Cliff Abrams did an earlier search which didn't net much either, at least in the way of genuine folk sources. "Ale" seems much the more strongly attested -- but it hardly makes sense. Harte offers Sean O'Boyle's explanation, which is that drink has rendered the husband impotent so that his wife prefers a younger man. This is possible, but a stretch. Whereas if the Brown and Yellow item is an Earl, then he is exercising droit de siegneur, and the husband is a cuckold and commits suicide as a result. This makes perfect sense. The flip side is, it makes such perfect sense that it's hard to imagine the change going the other way. So I think the weight of evidence favors "Brown and Yellow Ale." I wouldn't bet much on it, though. - RBW Last updated in version 3.2 File: Hart080 Go to the Ballad Search form Go to the Ballad Index Instructions The Ballad Index Copyright 2022 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. |
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Subject: ADD Version: The Brown and the Yellow Ale (Behan) From: Joe Offer Date: 26 Apr 22 - 03:51 AM THE BROWN AND THE YELLOW ALE (translated from the Irish by James Stephens, new music by Dominic Behan) 1. As I was going down the road one fine morning, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale, I met a man who was no right-man Oh oh, love of my heart. 2. He asked me if the woman by me side was me daughter Oh the brown and the yellow ale, When I said she was my wife his manner didn't alter, Oh oh, love of my heart. 3. He asked me if I'd lend her for an hour and a day, Oh the brown and the yellow ale, I said if yeh think it's fair then take her away, Oh oh, love of my heart. 4. He said then you take the high road and I'll take the upper, Oh the brown and the yellow ale, And we'll meet again by the ford of the river, Oh oh, love of my heart. 5. I was waiting by the ford for an hour and three-quarters Oh the brown and the yellow ale, When she came to me 't'was without shame I saw her, Oh oh, love of my heart. 6. When she told me her story I lay down and I died, Oh the brown and the yellow ale, She sent two men for timber and she never even cried, Oh oh, love of my heart. 7. A board of alder and a board of holly, Oh the brown and the yellow ale, And two great yards of sack about me, Oh oh, love of my heart. 8. Now had my own little Mother never been a woman, Oh the brown and the yellow ale, I'd sing you many another song about women, Oh oh, love of my heart. #13 in Dominic Behan's Ireland Sings (Music Sales Corporation, 1973) pages 24-25 I'll transcribe a MIDI if somebody asks me nicely. |
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Subject: ADD Version: The Brown and the Yellow Ale (Harte) From: Joe Offer Date: 26 Apr 22 - 04:24 AM THE BROWN AND THE YELLOW ALE (from Harte) As I was a going down the road one fine morning, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale! I met with a young man without any warning, Oh, love of my heart! Well, he asked me if the woman by my side was my daughter, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale! When I said she was my wife then his manner didn’t alter, Oh, love of my heart! He asked me if I’d lend her for an hour and a day, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale! I said, ‘if she thinks it’s fair you may take her away’, Oh, love of my heart! She said, ‘you take the high road and I’ll take off with him’. Oh, the brown and the yellow ale! And we’ll meet again by the ford of the river’. Oh, love of my heart! I was waiting by that ford for an hour and three quarters, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale! When she came to me, ’twas without shame I saw her, Oh, love of my heart! When she told me her story I lay down and I died, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale! She sent two men for timber, she never even cried, Oh, love of my heart! A board of alder and a board of holly, Oh, the brown and the yellow ale! And two great yards of a shroud about me, Oh, love of my heart! Now, if my own little mother had never been a woman Oh, the brown and the yellow ale! I’d sing you many’s another song about women. Oh, love of my heart! James Joyce was no stranger to the ballad tradition, and throughout Ulysses he makes constant references to the songs. In fact he named his book Finnegans Wake after the ballad of that same name. In Richard Ellman's biography of Joyce, he tells that Joyce's favourite song was a song called ‘The Brown and The Yellow Ale’. Now most of us learned a version of it in Irish when we were at National School, however we thought it had something to do with cuckoos and yellow blackbirds... ‘Cuach agus Londubh Bui’:
S oro gra mo chroi. Casadh ’n gruagach eadrom og dom, ’S cuach mo londubh bul In fact it is a song of youth and old age, of sex and impotence, as well as a comment on the social conditions that existed in rural Ireland at that time. It was a time when men married late in life, and there was many an arranged unhappy union of an old man married to a young women. In the song the old man walks out with his young wife and they meet with a young man on the road, who asks the old man if the woman with him is his daughter. When he is told that the woman is his wife he is not put off by the answer, but asks the old man for a lend of the woman. The old man being aware, probably, of his impotence, leaves the choice up to the woman, and she being young and lustful decides to go off with the young man. The tide of the song translates as ‘Goblets of Brown and Yellow Ale' and I remember professor Seal O’Boyle from Armagh suggesting to me that the impotence of the older man may well have been from drinking too much of the brown and yellow ale. Whatever is the reason, here’s the song. #121 in A Living Voice: The Frank Harte Collection (edited by Terry Moylan, Craft Recordings, Dublin, 2020) pp 253-254 |
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Subject: RE: Origins: The Brown and the Yellow Ale From: Richard Mellish Date: 26 Apr 22 - 04:24 AM The James Stephens translation is little different from the other versions quoted. Does anyone have access to Irish words which might clarify what's really going on in the story? It seems very likely that "earl" is a mondegreen, but that would kybosh the droit de seigneur explanation. (And did that practice ever exist in Ireland anyway?) The Sean O'Boyle explanation, that drink has rendered the husband impotent so that the wife prefers a younger man, is somewhat more plausible. Asking whether she is the daughter does indicate that the husband is a lot older, and there are other songs about cuckolds including "never wed an old man". I suppose the air of mystery helps to explain the attraction of the song. There's an inconsistency anyway between the husband apparently being perfectly willing to "lend" the wife but then reacting so badly when she comes back. I suppose we have to presume that it's his ghost telling the tale. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: The Brown and the Yellow Ale From: Reinhard Date: 26 Apr 22 - 04:31 AM The Collected Works in Verse & Prose of William Butler Yeats (1908) include his play The Hour-Glass where he noted in the appendix: One sometimes has need of more lines of the little song, and I have put into English rhyme three of the many verses of a Gaelic ballad: I was going the road one day (O the brown and the yellow beer!) And I met with a man that was no right man (O my dear, my dear). ‘Give me your wife,’ said he, (O the brown and the yellow beer!) ‘Till the sun goes down and an hour of the clock’ (O my dear, my dear). ‘Good-bye, good-bye, my husband,’ (O the brown and the yellow beer!) ‘For a year and a day by the clock of the sun’ (O my dear, my dear). |
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