Muldoon, The Solid Man

Original Track ID

SA1960.167.A6

Original Tape ID

SA1960.167

Summary

A fragment of a popular music-hall song, 'Muldoon, the Solid Man':

I'll set you down and I'll treat you decent,
I will set you down and I'll fill your can.
When I walk the street, each friend I meet
Says, "Here goes Muldoon, he's an honest man."

Item Notes

1 verse of 4 lines. 'Muldoon, the Solid Man' was composed by Edward 'Ned' Harrigan of New York (1844-1911), and first performed by him in an Irish-themed sketch in 1874 in his native city. The song proved popular and eventually found its way to the music halls of Britain and Ireland, where it became the progenitor song for various folk adaptations entering into oral tradition. Jeannie Robertson learned several verses from her mother, and in turn provided the Scottish Folk Revival with a very popular seduction song often called 'I'll Lay ye Doon Love', which later included extra verses by Glasgow singer Enoch Kent.

See:
'Flying Cloud' (M. C. Dean, 1922) pp. 102-103
'The Scottish Folksinger' (N. Buchan & P. Hall, 1973) p. 67
'The Life and Times of "Muldoon, the Solid Man"' (D. Meade, New York Irish History Vol.11, 1997)
'Jeannie Robertson: Emergent Singer, Transformative Voice' (J. Porter & H. Gower, 1995) pp. 187-188

Item Subject/Person

Muldoon, Michael

Recording Location

Language

English

Genre

Song

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R3355

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good