Drahareen O Machree
| TYPE | 3 - Complex Melody |
| TOPIC | Lamentation |
| TUNE STRUCTURE | abba |
| VERSE STRUCTURE | 6v 8l |
| TIME SIGNATURE | 34 |
| KEY SIGNATURE | ♭ |
| TONAL CENTRE | F |
| INCIPIT | GABBG'F♯'E'D'E'BAG |
| GENRE | Ballad |
| TEXT SOURCE | Oxford, Bodleian Library. Undated ballad sheet. Harding B.26 (150) |
| TUNE SOURCE | P.W. Joyce, Ancient Irish Music (Dublin: McGlashan and Gill, 1873), p.40 |
| FIRST LINE | I am a young fellow |
| NOTATED INCIPIT | |
| The words given on the music facsimile belong to an older song which Joyce states was also sung to the melody. The text facsimile was widely disseminated and Joyce states that at the time of printing his book, it was still being printed by ballad printers. | |
Drahareen O ma ChreeI am a young fellow,That always loved rural sport, The fairs and the patrons of Erin,I often used to resort,Where the true sons of Bacchus,Were chiefly my companyUntil I was deprived ofMy Drahareen O ma ChreeFrom the Cove of Cork City,My brother he first sailed away,On board of a steamer,To cross o’er to Spain by the seaWhere cannons to rattle,And bullets like lightning fly,Perhaps in the battleMy Drahareen ma chree did die.When we both lived together,We did each other adore.This lovely green IslandWe rambled it o’er and o’er;We worked at our tradeAnd our earnings we spent in gleeUntil I was deprived ofMy Drahareen O ma Chree.The womb turned to earthThat gave birth to my brother and me,And likewise my good fatherIs gone to eternity:Like the babes in the forest,Poor forlorn orphans are we,Which makes me lament forMy Drahareen O ma Chree.If providence should aid meAnd send to me Spain where he beMy life and existence I’d ventureTo set him at his liberty;like a true loyal brotherI would fight for him manfullyand die in the arms ofMy Drahareen O ma Chree.The name of a nymphThat Jupiter did much-admirethe head and the tail of a fowlYou must next enquire;the name of a beastExchange in a letter of threeWill give you the name of -My Drahareen O ma Chree.