The Rare Ould Times

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The Rare Ould Times (also titled Dublin in the Rare Ould Times or spelled The Rare Auld Times or The Rare Old Times ) is a popular Irish song that lamented how Dublin and its traditional way of life changed in the 1960s and 1970s have changed. The song was written in 1977 by Irish songwriter Pete St. John.

background

Pete St. John was born as "Peter Mooney" in Dublin and grew up there. He later wrote songs like The Fields of Athenry or The Ferryman . In the 1960s he went to Canada and the United States to work. When he returned to Dublin afterwards, he was dismayed at how the cityscape had changed with new building complexes and architecture. Famous old buildings such as the Royal Theater or the Hotel Metropole (the Met) had been demolished or monuments such as the Nelson Pillar destroyed, and the traditional way of life had changed dramatically in the few years he was gone.

content

The Liffey with O'Connell Bridge and the only skyscraper that existed in Dublin in 1977 (photo from 2003)

The song tells about the craftsman ( Cooper , barrel maker) Sean Dempsey and his memories of childhood days in Dublin. But the house where he was born in the Pimlico district was torn down and replaced by new buildings, and the profession he learned is only part of the history of the craft. Dempsey's great love was Peggy Dignan, but he could not hold her, she left him and went to Birmingham with a student. All these experiences have made him bitter and especially the tall concrete and glass buildings that seem to sprout from the ground along the quay destroy the rest of what was once Dublin's charm for him. And so the song ends with the words:

“Fare thee well sweet Anna Liffey , I can no longer stay,
And watch the new glass cages, that spring up along the quay,
My mind's too full of memories, to old to hear new chimes,
I'm a part of what was Dublin, in the Rare Oul Times. "

"Take it easy, sweet Anna Liffey, I can no longer stand here
and watch the new glass cages along the quay as they sprout.
My mind is overflowing with memories, too old to hear new bells.
I am part of it what Dublin was in the rare old days. "

- Pete St. John : The Rare Ould Times.

The chorus is based on an old nursery rhyme from the 18th century, when English ring a ring a rosie , calendula marigolds Roses' is known. Here in the form: “ Ring a ring a rosie as the lights declines, I remember Dublin city in the rare oul times. ”( Pete St. John : The Rare Ould Times. )

Recordings (selection)

Chart placement
In the Irish charts, the song, interpreted by Danny Doyle, occupied the following positions:

  • January 26, 1978 number 1, represented in the charts for 11 weeks
  • October 14, 1979 number 14, represented in the charts for 7 weeks

literature

  • Gerry Smyth: The representation of Dublin in story and song - 'The Rare Ould Times'… In: Music and Irish Identity. Celtic Tiger Blues (=  Ashgate popular and folk music series ). Taylor & Francis, Basingstoke 2016, ISBN 978-1-317-09244-5 , pp. 62–63 ( books.google.de ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Out in '16' 6 song suite launches - Pete St John Biography on dublincity.ie.
  2. Dublin City Ramblers * - Rare Ould Times. In: discogs.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018 .
  3. ^ Daniel O'Donnell - Irish Collection. discogs.com, accessed January 29, 2018 .
  4. Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies. discogs.com, accessed January 29, 2018 .
  5. Rare Ould Times on irishcharts.ie.