Finnegan's Wake
Unknown Person
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1964.160.A9
Original Tape ID
Summary
In this comic song, Tim Finnegan falls off a ladder, drunk as usual, and hits his head on the ground. Thinking him dead, his friends take his body home and a wake is held. A row breaks out among the mourners, leading to a melee, during which Tim's corpse is splashed with whisky. This causes him to revive miraculously, and he rises from the bed, asking grumpily, "do you think I'm dead?"
Item Notes
Recorded at Sandy Bell's, Forest Road, Edinburgh. 5 verses of 8 lines, with a chorus of 4 lines. Company joins in with chorus.
See:
'Irish Street Ballads' (C. O'Lochlainn, 1978) pp. 180-181
Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, Axon Ballad Collection, no. 33
Item Subject/Person
Finnegan, Tim
Recording Location
County - Midlothian
Parish - Edinburgh
Village/Place - Edinburgh
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Fair