Giles Watson's poetry and prose
Knockgrafton Faeries
Knockgrafton Faeries
There was a man of Galtee with a hump upon his back,
Disdained by all he wandered off upon a lonely track.
His belt was hung with herbs and charms
And baskets swung beneath his arms,
He passed by hills and upland farms
And then put down his pack.
This man of Galtee laid him down and rested for awhile,
“Methinks I hear a pretty sound from over yonder style.”
Soon he was dancing to the song
Of a whimsical faery throng,
He left his pack and jogged along
For almost half a mile.
They sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Tum-tum te tum te tum
Tum-tum te tum te tum!”
This man of Galtee cocked his head and grinned a happy grin,
“O when the faeries end each round they once again begin!”
And round and round the fairies danced,
The man of Galtee then advanced
And for a while he stood entranced
By all the faerie kin.
This man of Galtee, being versed in arts of melody,
Felt his sadness lifting off, his heart felt young and free,
And so he sang, and fairly soon,
He had embellishèd the tune,
And on they danced by light of moon:
Enchanting sight to see.
He sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
This man of Galtee’s faerie friends all joined in the round,
Without the tum-te-tum they made an even happier sound,
The faeries all their hats did doff,
The fellow gave a little cough,
And all at once his hump fell off
And rolled upon the ground.
This man of Galtee fell asleep and woke up in the morn,
He’d never felt more hale and hearty since the lad was born,
So happily he skipped back home,
And never after felt alone,
For in his ear, with sprightly tone
Songs banished thoughts forlorn.
He sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
This man of Galtee made his fortune, quietly settled down,
And how the fellow lost his hump became the talk o’town.
One day a woman knocked at the door,
He’d never seen her e’er before
Her eyes were cast down on the floor
And she wore a pitiful frown.
“A son of mine, he has a hump, it’s really quite unsightly,
Pray tell me, fellow, how it is that you got off so lightly?”
“Oh I saw the faeries o’er the style,
They made me laugh and jump and smile,
I sang with them a little while:
I never felt so sprightly!”
We sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
Well off the lady went at once, she went to tell her son,
And he was quite excited too, when her speech was done.
“Oh me! Oh my! How my heart thumps!
I shall no more be down i’ th’ dumps
If faeries help men lose their humps!”
And off the lad did run.
This lady’s son, he laid him down and rested for awhile,
“Methinks I hear a pretty sound from over yonder style.”
Soon he was dancing to the song
Of a whimsical faery throng,
He left his pack and jogged along
For almost half a mile.
They sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
This lady’s son cocked his head and grinned a happy grin,
“O when the faeries end each round they once again begin!”
And round and round the fairies danced,
And the hunchback then advanced
And for a while he stood entranced
By all the faerie kin.
This lady’s son was quite unversed in arts of melody,
“Now all you have to do,” he said, “is hearken unto me”,
And so he sang, and fairly soon,
He had embellishèd the tune,
The faeries screeched by light of moon:
A horrible sight to see.
He sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Hena!”
The faeries cried, they bawled aloud, with fingers in their ears,
The lady’s son’s cacophonous voice had brought them all to tears.
“Oh Da Hena,” he was bawling,
They cried, “Now stop your caterwauling:
It really is the most appalling
Sound we’ve heard in years!”
The faeries bared their milk-white fangs, their magic wands a-glowing;
The lad flew lightly through the air into the river flowing,
And something hit him with a thump,
They cried, “You fool! Your hump we’ll trump!”
And on his back a second lump
Was seen to be a-growing.
They laughed, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
The fellow dragged himself back home, the sight was quite appalling,
And all the way the wind blew cold, the rain was wildly squalling.
He fell beside his mother’s gate,
(It seems the doctor came too late),
And there was no time to debate
The thing that caused his falling.
The moral of this song is plain: don’t dance beneath the moon,
And if you happen on a faerie, don’t expect a boon.
But if you find them by mistake,
Dancing by a stream or lake
Then, my friend, for goodness’ sake
Be sure to sing in tune.
And sing, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
Words by Giles Watson. Music by Kathryn Wheeler, 1999. Inspired by an Irish fairy tale. Joseph Jacobs, More Celtic Fairy Tales, Twickenham, 1994, pp. 156-163. His source was Croker’s Fairy Legends of South of Ireland.
Knockgrafton Faeries
Knockgrafton Faeries
There was a man of Galtee with a hump upon his back,
Disdained by all he wandered off upon a lonely track.
His belt was hung with herbs and charms
And baskets swung beneath his arms,
He passed by hills and upland farms
And then put down his pack.
This man of Galtee laid him down and rested for awhile,
“Methinks I hear a pretty sound from over yonder style.”
Soon he was dancing to the song
Of a whimsical faery throng,
He left his pack and jogged along
For almost half a mile.
They sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Tum-tum te tum te tum
Tum-tum te tum te tum!”
This man of Galtee cocked his head and grinned a happy grin,
“O when the faeries end each round they once again begin!”
And round and round the fairies danced,
The man of Galtee then advanced
And for a while he stood entranced
By all the faerie kin.
This man of Galtee, being versed in arts of melody,
Felt his sadness lifting off, his heart felt young and free,
And so he sang, and fairly soon,
He had embellishèd the tune,
And on they danced by light of moon:
Enchanting sight to see.
He sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
This man of Galtee’s faerie friends all joined in the round,
Without the tum-te-tum they made an even happier sound,
The faeries all their hats did doff,
The fellow gave a little cough,
And all at once his hump fell off
And rolled upon the ground.
This man of Galtee fell asleep and woke up in the morn,
He’d never felt more hale and hearty since the lad was born,
So happily he skipped back home,
And never after felt alone,
For in his ear, with sprightly tone
Songs banished thoughts forlorn.
He sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
This man of Galtee made his fortune, quietly settled down,
And how the fellow lost his hump became the talk o’town.
One day a woman knocked at the door,
He’d never seen her e’er before
Her eyes were cast down on the floor
And she wore a pitiful frown.
“A son of mine, he has a hump, it’s really quite unsightly,
Pray tell me, fellow, how it is that you got off so lightly?”
“Oh I saw the faeries o’er the style,
They made me laugh and jump and smile,
I sang with them a little while:
I never felt so sprightly!”
We sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
Well off the lady went at once, she went to tell her son,
And he was quite excited too, when her speech was done.
“Oh me! Oh my! How my heart thumps!
I shall no more be down i’ th’ dumps
If faeries help men lose their humps!”
And off the lad did run.
This lady’s son, he laid him down and rested for awhile,
“Methinks I hear a pretty sound from over yonder style.”
Soon he was dancing to the song
Of a whimsical faery throng,
He left his pack and jogged along
For almost half a mile.
They sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
This lady’s son cocked his head and grinned a happy grin,
“O when the faeries end each round they once again begin!”
And round and round the fairies danced,
And the hunchback then advanced
And for a while he stood entranced
By all the faerie kin.
This lady’s son was quite unversed in arts of melody,
“Now all you have to do,” he said, “is hearken unto me”,
And so he sang, and fairly soon,
He had embellishèd the tune,
The faeries screeched by light of moon:
A horrible sight to see.
He sang, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Hena!”
The faeries cried, they bawled aloud, with fingers in their ears,
The lady’s son’s cacophonous voice had brought them all to tears.
“Oh Da Hena,” he was bawling,
They cried, “Now stop your caterwauling:
It really is the most appalling
Sound we’ve heard in years!”
The faeries bared their milk-white fangs, their magic wands a-glowing;
The lad flew lightly through the air into the river flowing,
And something hit him with a thump,
They cried, “You fool! Your hump we’ll trump!”
And on his back a second lump
Was seen to be a-growing.
They laughed, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
The fellow dragged himself back home, the sight was quite appalling,
And all the way the wind blew cold, the rain was wildly squalling.
He fell beside his mother’s gate,
(It seems the doctor came too late),
And there was no time to debate
The thing that caused his falling.
The moral of this song is plain: don’t dance beneath the moon,
And if you happen on a faerie, don’t expect a boon.
But if you find them by mistake,
Dancing by a stream or lake
Then, my friend, for goodness’ sake
Be sure to sing in tune.
And sing, “Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Luan, Da Mort,
Augus Da Cadine!
Augus Da Cadine!”
Words by Giles Watson. Music by Kathryn Wheeler, 1999. Inspired by an Irish fairy tale. Joseph Jacobs, More Celtic Fairy Tales, Twickenham, 1994, pp. 156-163. His source was Croker’s Fairy Legends of South of Ireland.