Does anyone know of a website similar to this format, but one which provides the lyrics of traditional music and not the tunes? Most of the websites I've found are sub-standard.
I've never found one website that had comprehensive lyrics to a song I wanted. Even when it had a verse or two I didn't know, it would tend to lack a verse or two that I knew (or at least, "felt") should be there. I was looking up the lyrics of Clare's Dragoons not so long ago, and I was only partially satisfied by incorporating results from four different sites. It can be fun or infuriating finding different versions of lyrics, depending on your own mood.
Someone somewhere always has a better version of what you are looking for than what you can find on the internet. It's called "The Oral Tradition".
Often there are versions you have heard yourself ( or think you have heard ) which are better than any you can find.
I an sure that I heard once a version of "She Moved Through the Fair" which started about three verses earlier than what we commonly hear, and filled out this enigmatic story, but can I find it ?
Every source seems to say this is so-and-so's poem, set to music by x, or I come up with parodies; "and she moved through the fair, where she won three goldfish, and one teddy bear...."
Mick, are there particular songs or types or versions of songs you’re interested in? I’ve been collecting ballad resources for a long time and might be able to point you to something useful.
In the liner notes to his "Journeyman" cd, Gerry O'Connor (fiddle) talks about an air he plays from a song called Bessie the Beauty of Rossinure Hill.
"This is an air to a song learned from Gabriel McArdle from near Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh. ...Gabriel tells the story of how some verses of the song eluded him for years until one day, while on a visit to Derrygonnelly, a young boy thrust a sheaf of papers in his hand, saying "My father said to give you this". The complete handwritten version fo the song thus landed in Gabriel's lap. The boy vanished and left Gabriel wondering to this day as to the source of this fine song."
I love that story.
I'd agree with Graham, Mudcat's the best source for song lyrics I've found, not the least because often many people give their versions of lyrics in any given thread.
TyroneMick -- the best and biggest site by far for trad lyrics is The Digital Tradition. Go to http://www.mudcat.org/threads.cfm and use the search functions on that page. There are lyrics to several thousand songs.
Lyrics
Lyrics
Does anyone know of a website similar to this format, but one which provides the lyrics of traditional music and not the tunes? Most of the websites I've found are sub-standard.
Cheers
# Posted on January 23rd 2006 by TyroneMick
Re: Lyrics
Which ones have you found?
# Posted on January 23rd 2006 by Bob himself
Re: Lyrics
I've never found one website that had comprehensive lyrics to a song I wanted. Even when it had a verse or two I didn't know, it would tend to lack a verse or two that I knew (or at least, "felt") should be there. I was looking up the lyrics of Clare's Dragoons not so long ago, and I was only partially satisfied by incorporating results from four different sites. It can be fun or infuriating finding different versions of lyrics, depending on your own mood.
# Posted on January 23rd 2006 by Innocent Bystander
Re: Lyrics
Someone somewhere always has a better version of what you are looking for than what you can find on the internet. It's called "The Oral Tradition".
Often there are versions you have heard yourself ( or think you have heard ) which are better than any you can find.
I an sure that I heard once a version of "She Moved Through the Fair" which started about three verses earlier than what we commonly hear, and filled out this enigmatic story, but can I find it ?
Every source seems to say this is so-and-so's poem, set to music by x, or I come up with parodies; "and she moved through the fair, where she won three goldfish, and one teddy bear...."
# Posted on January 23rd 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Lyrics
I agree with the oral tradition being the best method of learning songs, but sometimes you're just in the mood to learn one at that present moment!
# Posted on January 23rd 2006 by TyroneMick
Re: Lyrics
Mick, are there particular songs or types or versions of songs you’re interested in? I’ve been collecting ballad resources for a long time and might be able to point you to something useful.
# Posted on January 23rd 2006 by Bob himself
Re: Lyrics
In the liner notes to his "Journeyman" cd, Gerry O'Connor (fiddle) talks about an air he plays from a song called Bessie the Beauty of Rossinure Hill.
"This is an air to a song learned from Gabriel McArdle from near Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh. ...Gabriel tells the story of how some verses of the song eluded him for years until one day, while on a visit to Derrygonnelly, a young boy thrust a sheaf of papers in his hand, saying "My father said to give you this". The complete handwritten version fo the song thus landed in Gabriel's lap. The boy vanished and left Gabriel wondering to this day as to the source of this fine song."
I love that story.
I'd agree with Graham, Mudcat's the best source for song lyrics I've found, not the least because often many people give their versions of lyrics in any given thread.
# Posted on January 23rd 2006 by Zina Lee
Re: Lyrics
You could try this composite lyrics site thread for some links. (Originally found in a Mudcat thread.)
http://www.geocities.com/george_seto.geo/lyric.htm
# Posted on January 23rd 2006 by Zhenya
Re: Lyrics
http://sniff.numachi.com/~rickheit/dtrad/
# Posted on January 24th 2006 by dafydd
Re: Lyrics
TyroneMick -- the best and biggest site by far for trad lyrics is The Digital Tradition. Go to http://www.mudcat.org/threads.cfm and use the search functions on that page. There are lyrics to several thousand songs.
Cheers,
Michael
# Posted on January 29th 2006 by michaelr