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​PADDY AND THE WHALE
(As sung by John Thomas Edison of Fleur de Lys (NL), 1929. 
​Collected by Elizabeth B. Greenleaf and (musicologist) Grace Y. Mansfield  in 1929,
​and published by Harvard University in "Ballads and sea songs of Newfoundland," 1933, page 138)


​Under Construction - Everything needs checking
​

Time signature:  6/8   ( Normally fast, with marked rhythm)
​
Primary/Secondary Beats per bar = 2     
Primary/Secondary Beat symbol = Dot (
; ) or equivalent
Tertiary Beat symbol = Double quote ( " ) or equivalent, if played more slowly

Traditional (Irish?)
ACCORDION (BUTTON) NOTATION
Either row   = Buttons  4* to 9*
Verse 1 (of 5)

 "5*  "7*  "7*  "7* "6   "7*   |   "5*  "5    "5    .5  
Pad-dy    O '  Bri-en  left       Ire-land  in   glee;

"5*  |   "4* "5*   "6      "6   "5*  "5   |   "5*  "6*   "6   .7*
He     had  a  strong  no-tion  old   Eng-land  to  see;

"7*   |      "7*     "8  "8    "8  "8*  "8   |  "9*  "8       "8*     .7*  
He     shipped  in  the  Nel-lie   for    Eng-land  was  bound,

   '7    '7   |   "8*   "7    "8*    "5*      "5      "5   |    "6    "7*   "6    "5* "5
And the     whis-key  he  drank  made  his     head  go     a - round.


 
Refrain:     '5  '5   |    '"7*     '7    "7*  "7*   "6  "5*   |   "5*   "5  "4*  ;5    | 
                 Lad-dy     WHACK, fol     de   DOL,   fol   de         ROL     i     de   DEE.


Embedded youTube VIDEOS
Sijx videos in musical keys of:     Ab=1    F=1    Gb= 1    G=2     (??=1)

The following three videos follow (fairly closely) the lyrics given on this web page.

Key:  Ab 

Singer:  Burl Ives  
             (Recorded around 1960)

​Posted by:  Burl Ives - Topic

Except for refrain and the first two lines of Verse 4,the Burl Ives rendition closely follows the version sung by John Thomas Edison of Fleur de Lys (NL) in 1929.

Key:   Gb 

Singer:  Niall Hanna

​Posted by:  ​desiodineen

Kathryn Clements House Concert 2016

Same theme, with some slightly different lyrics 

The next video uses lyrics referring to Greenland whaling.

Key:  G 

Singer:  Steve Benbow  
​
Posted by:  steffenLarsen54
​


The next two videos have lyrics referring to Southern Ocean / Ross Sea whaling. 

Key:  G 

Singer:  A. L. Lloyd
​ 
​Posted by:  A. L. Lloyd - Topic
​

Key:  F 

CD:  Wind Force Eight -
        On the Wild Canal

Singers &
Musicians:  Bert Aalbers,
                   Peer van der Burgh

Posted by: Windkracht Acht - Topic

Country:  Netherlands

Same tune as above, but somewhat different lyrics.


​An American Instrumental (whistle) number.
Key:   ? ?

Artist:  Ellen R. Cohn

​Posted by:  Various Artists - Topic






​


Background Materials, Information & Links

​Lyrics:

Paddy O'Brien left Ireland in glee;
He had a strong notion old England to see;
He shipped in the Nellie for England was bound,
And the whiskey he drank made his head go around.

Refrain:  Laddy whack, fol de dol, fol de roi i de dee.

O, Paddy been never sailing before;
It made his heart ache when he heard the loud roar,
For the glance of his eye, a whale he did spy:
"I'm going to be ate," says Paddy, "by-and-by."

O, Paddy run forward and caught hold of the mast;
He grasped his arms round and there he held fast;
The boat gave a tip, and, losing his grip,
Down in the whale's belly poor Paddy did slip.

He was down in the whale six months and five days,
Till luck one day to his throat he did pop.
The whale give a snort and then give a blow,
And out on the land poor Paddy did go.

 O, Paddy is landed and safe on the shore;
He swears that he'll never go to sea any more.
The next time he wishes old England to see,
It will be when the railroad runs over the sea.
​


Background Links:
Some sources suggest that this song dates to the 1890's.  The earliest source I can find online is the version from John Thomas Edison of Fleur de Lys (NL), as collected by Elizabeth B. Greenleaf and Grace Y. Mansfield in 1929.   Most likely, it originated in Ireland or England in the latter part of the 19th century.  Recordings in the 1950's, and later, were probably influenced by the John Thomas Edison version, as published  by Harvard University in 1933.

Click HERE  for additional (wikipedia) info on Elizabeth Bristol Greenleaf

Click HERE  for a copy of "Ballads and sea songs of Newfoundland" from the Memorial University of Newfoundland - Digital Archives Initiative.  Then, in the Content box at right of the site window, scroll to and select Page 138 (and later Page 139) for the folksong "Paddy and the whale".  Among other features of the site, these pages can be individually viewed, downloaded and printed using buttons near the top-right of the song-page screen.

Since the earliest record (1929) of this song is Newfoundland and Labrador (although it may be older, and probably Irish), it is listed under the drop-down menu CANADA, NL-older.