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I'll Tell Me Ma

from Jam by The Elderberries

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about

The earliest written accounts of this old children's song come from various places in Victorian England. As with many folk songs, names of people and places are often changed to reflect regional cultures. This version refers to "Belfast City," Northern Ireland.

lyrics

I'll tell me ma when I go home
The boys won't leave the girls alone.
They pulled my hair and stole my comb
But that's alright 'til I go home.
She is handsome, she is pretty
She is the belle of Belfast city
She is courting one, two, three,
Please won't you tell me who is she

Albert Mooney says he loves her
All the boys are fightin' for her
They knock at and they ring that bell
Saying, "Oh, my true love, are you well?"
Out she comes as white as snow
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
Ol' Jenny Murray says she'll die
If she doesn't get the fella with the rovin' eye

Let the wind and the rain and hail blow high
And the snow come tumbling from the sky
She's as nice as apple pie
And she'll get her own lad by and by.
When she gets a lad of her own
She won't tell her ma when she comes home
Let them all come as they will,
It's Albert Mooney she loves still.

credits

from Jam, released February 22, 2015

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The Elderberries image

The Elderberries Oakland, California

We are "fine lads," or so some say, but that cannot be
because, among other reasons, we are not all lads. We are all friends
who met at the Starry Plough in Berkeley, united by our love of
traditional Irish music and dance. You can expect from us free and roving
sets of several hours or more, comprising jigs, reels, hornpipes, aires,
waltzes, slides, slip jigs, a variety of songs, and dance. ... more

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