This is a traditional Irish song arranged by The Bothy Band. It appears on The Bothy Band’s second album Old Hag You Have Killed Me, released in 1976.  It is also found on on Altan’s album Another Sky and on The Cassidy’s album Singing From Memory.

Singer Mícheál Seosamh Ó Domhnaill was born 7 October 1951 in Dublin, Ireland and grew up in Kells, County Meath. His father, Aodh, was a teacher, a singer, and a collector of traditional music for the Irish Folklore Commission. Mícheál became famous for his work with Skara Brae, The Bothy Band, Relativity, Nightnoise, and a successful collaboration with fiddler Kevin Burke.

From The Doegen Records

This is a very popular song in Donegal. It was also popular in Omeath when Irish was the vernacular language of the area. There are several different versions which generally tell the story of a man, often a sailor, who loses his lover to another man. The last two verses sung here are closely related to Mánus Ó Creag’s version of ‘An Táilliúir Aerach’ which can be found elsewhere in the Doegen collection. The whole melody is structured as follows: first phrase, second phrase, second phrase, first phrase. Each phrase consists of four bars. This is often referred to as ABBA form. Quatrain verses are easily set to such melodies and this structure is very popular in the Irish song tradition. Lorcán Ó Muireadhaigh published an eight-verse version with tonic solfa in Amhráin Chúige Uladh (Dundalk, 1927), no. 32. For staff notation of the melody, an alternative version of the song collected in Gaoth Dobhair, county Donegal, and additional bibliographic notes, see Colm Ó Baoill, Amhráin Chúige Uladh (Indreabhán, 2009) 85-6, 159, 185. A five-verse version of this song appears in Liam Ó Conchubhair and Derek Bell, Traditional songs of the north of Ireland (Dublin, 1999), 111-12. The melody closely relates to that sung on the present recording. Other songs set to the same melody include: ‘The summer is come and the grass is green’ (see P.W. Joyce, Ancient Irish music (Dublin, 1873), 19) and ‘Rich and rare were the gems she wore’, composed by Thomas Moore (see Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish melodies of Thomas Moore (London, 1894), 18). Another verse (i.e. part 2) of this song is to be found on a separate track in the Doegen collection.