The River Saile

"The River Saile" (known also as "Weile Waile") is a children's nursery rhyme from Ireland.[1] This type of song is also known as a murder ballad or Child ballad, named for Francis James Child who was the first person to catalogue them before his death in 1896.[1] The ballad was popularised by Irish folk band The Dubliners.

Lyrics

There are many variations on the lyrics but this is the version popularised by The Dubliners. Even they changed the lyrics and the mention of the Special Branch detective was added during the 1970s when the Special Branch of the Garda Síochána, the Irish police force, were used for matters of national security. Previously, that line read "There were two policemen and a man, [etc.]" suggesting two uniformed officers and an investigating detective.

There was an old woman and she lived in the woods, weile weile waile.
There was an old woman and she lived in the woods, down by the river Saile.

She had a baby three months old, weile weile waile.
She had a baby three months old, down by the river Saile.

She had a penknife, long and sharp, weile weile waile.
She had a penknife, long and sharp, down by the river Saile.

She stuck the penknife in the baby's heart, weile weile waile.
She stuck the penknife in the baby's heart, down by the river Saile.

There were three loud knocks come a'knocking on the door, weile weile waile.
There were three loud knocks come a'knocking on the door, down by the river Saile.

There were two policemen and a Special Branch man, weile weile waile.
There were two policemen and a Special Branch man, down by the river Saile.

They took her away and they put her in the jail, weile weile waile.
They took her away and they put her in the jail, down by the river Saile.

They put a rope around her neck, weile weile waile.
They put a rope around her neck, down by the river Saile.

They pulled the rope and she got hung, weile weile waile.
They pulled the rope and she got hung, down by the river Saile.

And that was the end of the woman in the woods, weile weile waile.
And that was the end of the baby too, down by the river Saile.

History of the ballad

The River Saile is believed to refer to the Salach which is the local name given to the River Poddle in the city of Dublin. Salach is an Irish language word meaning "filthy".[2] The river Saile is an Achill stream between the townlands of Cashel and Saile. The song is a reference to famine time practices in the west of Ireland when extreme hunger and poverty didn't allow families the ability to feed all their kin. This song is about the great unspoken legacy of the great famine or Gorta mor of 1845–49.

Child documented thirteen versions of the ballad, which he named "the cruel mother". All have variations on the same theme, a leal maiden[3] giving birth to two children. The children are killed in different ways such as stabbing with a penknife, bound hand and foot and buried alive, or strangled.[4]

The meaning of the phrase "weile weile waile" is unknown, but by a curious coincidence is remarkably similar to the Middle English lamentation "wailowai", "weilewei" etc. from Old English. It is an interjection, an exclamation of expressive grief,[5] and is noted in the 14th-century poem, the "Song of Michael", the fourth of the Kildare Poems,[6] a collection of sixteen poems composed in Middle English from a manuscript discovered in Ireland, some of which were evidently composed by English colonists in Ireland.

Usage in popular culture

The ballad has been cited in the following books: Out of History by Christina Hunt Mahony,[7] Annie Dunne by Sebastian Barry,[8] and More Bread or I'll Appear by Emer Martin.[9] It was sung at the funeral of Ronnie Drew by a member of The Dubliners.[10]

"Weile weile waile" was the preferred title for the book Annie Dunne by Sebastian Barry, who first heard the song aged four. He used the ballad in his novel to prepare readers for the violent anger of the protagonist, Annie, towards a young boy who had ruined a present.[7][11]

References

  1. 1 2 Child p218
  2. ↑ Old Dublin Society p156
  3. ↑ Pittock, Malcolm (1956). "A Question of spelling". Essays in Criticism. 3 (VI): 363. doi:10.1093/eic/VI.3.363.
  4. ↑ Child p218-219
  5. ↑ Kurath, H.; Kuhn, S.M.A.; Lewis, R.E. (1999). Middle English dictionary. University of Michigan Press. p. 232. ISBN 9780472012282. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Part 4 of Anglo-Irish poems of the Middle Ages: The Kildare Poems". ucc.ie. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  7. 1 2 Mahony p172
  8. ↑ Barry pp58, 94
  9. ↑ Martin p227-228
  10. ↑ Anderson, Nicola (20 August 2008). "Mourners give Ronnie a rare ould send-off". The Irish Independent.
  11. ↑ Barry p177

Bibliography

  • Francis James Child The English and Scottish Popular Ballads Riverside Press. 1882.
  • Christina Hunt Mahony. Out of history: essays on the writings of Sebastian Barry Carysfort Press. February 2006. ISBN 978-1-904505-18-1
  • Sebastian Barry. Annie Dunne Penguin. May 2003. ISBN 978-0-14-200287-2
  • Emer Martin. More Bread Or I'll Appear Anchor. June 2000. ISBN 978-0-385-72009-0
  • Old Dublin Society. Dublin historical record Volumes 13–15
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