The Parting Glass
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"The Parting Glass" is a traditional song, often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. It was purportedly the most popular parting song sung in Scotland before Robert Burns wrote "Auld Lang Syne".[1] The song is also popular in Ireland and amongst Irish communities.
History
Text
The earliest known printed version was as a broadside in the 1770s and it first appeared in book form in "Scots Songs" by Herd.[1] An early version is sometimes attributed to Sir Alex Boswell. The text is doubtless older than its 1770 appearance in broadside, as it was recorded in the Skene Manuscript, a collection of Scottish airs written at various dates between 1615 and 1635.[2] It was known at least as early as 1605, when a portion of the first stanza was written in a farewell letter, as a poem now known as "Armstrong's Goodnight", by one of the Border Reivers executed that year for the murder in 1600 of Sir John Carmichael, Warden of the Scottish West March.[3]
Tune
The earliest known appearance of the tune today associated with this text is as a fiddle tune called "The Peacock", included in James Aird's A Selection of Scots, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 2 (1782).[4]
Patrick Weston Joyce, in his Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (1909), gives the tune with a different text under the name "Sweet Cootehill Town," noting, "The air seems to have been used indeed as a general farewell tune, so that—from the words of another song of the same class—it is often called 'Good night and joy be with you all.'"[5] The celebrated Irish folk song collector Colm O Lochlainn has taken note of this identity of melodies between "The Parting Glass" and "Sweet Cootehill Town".[6] "Sweet Cootehill Town" is another traditional farewell song, this time involving a man leaving Ireland to go to America.
The tune appeared, with sacred lyrics, in 19th century American tunebooks. "Shouting Hymn" in Jeremiah Ingalls's Christian Harmony (1805) is a related tune.[7] The tune achieved wider currency among shape note singers with its publication, associated with a text first known in the 1814 Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, "Come Now Ye Lovely Social Band", in William Walker's Southern Harmony (1835), and in The Sacred Harp (1844).[8] This form of the song is still widely sung by Sacred Harp singers under the title "Clamanda".
Modern adaptations
The song Restless Farewell written by Bob Dylan and featured on The Times They Are a-Changin' from 1964 is heavily based on The Parting Glass.
In 1998, the traditional words were set to a new, slightly different melody by Irish composer Shaun Davey. In 2002, he orchestrated this version for orchestra, choir, pipes, fiddle, and percussion to commemorate the opening of the Helix Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland.
Recordings
| Year | Artist | Release | Notes and/or Peak Chart Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem | Come Fill Your Glass with Us | ||
| 1968 | The Dubliners | Drinkin' and Courtin' | ||
| 1979 | Ronnie Drew (of The Dubliners) | Together Again | ||
| 1982 | Ryan's Fancy | Irish Love Songs | ||
| 1985 | The Pogues | "The Parting Glass" (single); 2004 re-release of Rum Sodomy & the Lash | ||
| 1994 | John McDermott | Old Friends | A cappella | |
| 1994 | Father, Son and Friends | "Rebels, Rogues & Rascals" | ||
| 1996 | Poxy Boggards | Bawdy Parts - Original and Traditional Songs of Drinking and Revelry | ||
| 1998 | Steeleye Span | Horkstow Grange | ||
| 1998 | Liam O'Maonlai and The Voice Squad | Recording with an original melody by Shaun Davey for the closing titles of the movie Waking Ned Devine | ||
| 2002 | Sinéad O'Connor | Sean-Nós Nua | ||
| 2003 | The Tossers | Purgatory | Hidden track | |
| 2003 | Voice Male | Approved | Belgian all-male a cappella group | |
| 2004 | The Wailin' Jennys | 40 Days | ||
| 2007 | Mark Seymour | Titanic | ||
| 2008 | The Holy Sea | A Beginner's Guide to the Sea | ||
| 2008 | The High Kings | The High Kings | ||
| 2008 | Cara Dillon | Hill of Thieves | ||
| 2009 | The Spooky Men's Chorale | Deep | ||
| 2010 | Luke Macfarlane | Brothers & Sisters – Season 4, Episode 23 | ||
| 2010 | Loreena McKennitt | The Wind That Shakes the Barley | ||
| 2011 | Hannah Peel | The Broken Wave | ||
| 2011 | Celtic Woman | Celtic Woman: Believe | ||
| 2011 | Ed Sheeran | + | Hidden track | |
| 2011 | The Felice Brothers | God Bless You Amigo | ||
| 2011 | Bruce Guthro | Celtic Crossing | ||
| 2012 | Emily Kinney and Lauren Cohan | The Walking Dead: Original Soundtrack – Vol. 1 | Recorded for The Walking Dead – Season 3, Episode 1[9] | |
| 2013 | UCD Choral Scholars | The Parting Glass (EP) | ||
| 2013 | Sarah Greene (uncredited) | Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag[10] | Closing cinematic of the game's main story. | |
| 2013 | Face Vocal Band | How Was the Show Last Night | ||
| 2013 | Celtic Woman | Celtic Woman: Emerald - Musical Gems | ||
| 2014 | Gregory Page | Gregory Page – One Way Journey Home | ||
| 2014 | Peter Hollens | Self-Titled | ||
| 2014 | Glen Hansard and guests | Céilúradh at Royal Albert Hall | ||
| 2015 | Damien Leith | Songs From Ireland | No.11 album in Australia | |
| 2015 | Scythian | Old Tin Can |
References
- 1 2 "The Parting Glass". Contemplator.com. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ↑ George Grove and John Alexander Fuller-Maitland. (1908.) Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, The Macmillan Company, p. 479.
- ↑ George MacDonald Fraser. (1995.) Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers, Harper Collins, London, pp. 140–143.
- ↑ Some notes on the history of "The Parting Glass". Aird 1782 at IMSLP.
- ↑ Joyce 1909, pp. 191f.
- ↑ O Lochlainn, Colm. Irish Street Ballads, Pan, 1978, p. 225
- ↑ "Shouting Hymn" in Ingalls's Christian Harmony
- ↑ Prof. Warren Steel's page; "Clamanda" in The Sacred Harp (1991 revision).
- ↑ "'The Walking Dead' Sisters Get Mournful on 'The Parting Glass' – Premiere". Rolling Stone. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ↑ "'Assassin's Creed 4 Black FlagEnding Song 'Parting Glass' - AC4 Ending Song/Music - YouTube". Ubisoft. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.