Mursheen Durkin

Lyrics

In the days I went a-courtin', I was never tired resortin'
To the alehouse and the playhouse and many's the house besides,
But I told me brother Seamus I'd go off and go right famous
And before I'd return again I'd roam the whole world wide.

Chorus
So goodbye, Muirsheen Durkin, I'm sick and tired of working,
No more I'll dig the praties, no longer I'll be poor.
For as sure as me name is Carney
I'll be off to California, where instead of digging praties
I'll be digging lumps of gold.

I've courted girls in Blarney, in Kanturk, and in Killarney
In Passage, and in Queenstown—that is, the Cobh of Cork.
But goodbye to all this pleasure, for I'm going to take me leisure
And the next time that you hear t'will be
A letter from New York.

Goodbye to all the boys at home, I'm sailing far across the foam
To try to make me fortune in far America,
For there's silver there aplenty for the poor man and the gentry
And when I do come back again I never more will stray.

The Irish folk song "Mursheen Durkin" tells the story of an emigrant from Ireland who goes to mine for gold in California during the California Gold Rush, 1849.^[1] The song is about emigration, although atypically optimistic for the genre. The name "Muirsheen" is a good phonetic approximation to the pronunciation of "Máirtín" (Martin) in the West of Ireland; it could alternatively be construed as a diminutive of "Muiris" (Maurice). A pratie is a potato, the historical staple crop of Ireland. "America" is pronounced "Americay", to rhyme with "stray", "away", etc.

The air to which it is sung is "Cailíní deasa Mhuigheo" (pretty girls of Mayo), which is a popular reel dating from the 19th century.^[2]

Performers

The song reached prominence when sung by Johnny McEvoy.^{[citation needed]} It has been covered by the following artists (and others):

• Christy Moore
• Sharon Shannon
• Four to the Bar on their live album Craic on the Road.
• The Pogues
• The Vandon Arms
• The Irish Rovers (as "Goodbye Mrs. Durkin")
• Johnny McEvoy
• The Dubliners
• The Poxy Boggards
• Golden Bough
• The Mollys on their album Hat Trick

The Irish Rovers made several changes to the lyrics:

• Retitled to "Goodbye Mrs. Durkin"
• "I was never tired resortin'"
• "and the other house besides", suggesting a "house of ill repute"
• "as sure as my name is Barney"
• "I'll write you from New York", which fits the meter better
• Includes some lyrics contained in the song "Molly Durkin"

See also

• Molly Durkin
• California Gold Rush

References

1. ^ Sean McMahon, A Little Bit of Heaven
2. ^ Colm Ó Lochlainn, More Irish Street Ballads, Dublin, 1965. p. 72

External links

• http://www.affthecuff.org.uk/songs/mursheen.html
• http://www.owlrecords.com/l40ir.htm
• http://www.8notes.com/scores/5619.asp?ftype=midi