“Lanigan's Ball”

Description

Jimmy Lanigan had "batter'd away till he hadn't a pound"; coming into money from his father, he determines to have a party. A fight ends the ball when "Old Shamus the piper" was tangled in "pipes, bellows, chanters" and "the girls in their ribbons"

Supplemental text

Lanigan's Ball
  Partial text(s)

          *** A ***

From Sigmund Spaeth, Weep Some More, My Lady, pp. 222-224. No source
indicated.

In the town of Athol liv'd one Jimmy Lanigan,
  He batter'd away till he hadn't a pound;
His father he died, and made him a man again,
  Left him a farm of ten acres of ground.
He gave a large party to all his relations,
  That stood beside him when he went to the wall;
So if you but listen I'll make your eyes glisten
  With the rows and the ruptions at Lanigan's Ball.

Chorus:
Whack! fal lal, fal lal, tal ladeddy,
Whack! fal lal, fal lal, tal daded-dy,
Whcak! fal lal, fal lal, tal ladeddy,
Whack hurroo! for Lanigan's ball!

(5 additional stanzas)

Notes

This reminds me quite a bit of "The Blythesome Bridal," in that the minimalist plot is offered simply to offer a justification for the party that the song is really about. - RBW

OLochlainn: "Air and fragment of words from my mother who learnt them in Kilkee about 1880.... I have seen a full music sheet of this song published about the 'seventies, where words were ascribed to 'Mr. Gavan, the celebrated Galway poet.'" - BS

Same tune

• Larry Magee's Wedding (File: OCon083)

Cross references

• cf. "The Blythesome Bridal" (theme)

Broadsides

• Bodleian, Harding B 11(2058), "Lannigan's Ball", H. Such (London), 1863-1885; also Harding B 15(167a), Harding B 11(3172), Harding B 26(345), 2806 c.8(124), "Lannigan's Ball"; 2806 b.11(154), "Lannigan's Ball!"

Recordings

• Warde Ford, "Jimmie Lanigan" [fragment] (AFS 4212 A4, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell)

References

1. Spaeth-WeepMore, pp. 222-224, "Lanigan's Ball" (1 text, 1 tune)
2. O'Conor, pp. 100-101, "Lannigan's Ball" (1 text)
3. OLochlainn 52, "Lanigan's Ball" (1 text, 1 tune)
4. cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 480, "Lanigan's Ball" (source notes only)
5. DT, LANIBALL*
6. ST SWM222 (Partial)
7. Roud #3011
8. BI, SWM222