P stands for Paddy

For all instruments -- please read F.A.Q. before posting.
Post Reply
User avatar
pipersgrip
Posts: 2454
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:43 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: Land-of-Sky

P stands for Paddy

Post by pipersgrip »

I just don't get this song. I love it, but I don't quite understand it. P for Paddy, J for Johnny, and W for false William. Is there some sort of significance between these letters? The only thing clear about this song is that Johnny is the fairest one.
"In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart." John Bunyan
User avatar
Cathy Wilde
Posts: 5591
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2003 4:17 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: Somewhere Off-Topic, probably

Re: P stands for Paddy

Post by Cathy Wilde »

D stands for Drunk as in "Drunk songwriter"?
Deja Fu: The sense that somewhere, somehow, you've been kicked in the head exactly like this before.
User avatar
fearfaoin
Posts: 7975
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2003 10:31 am
antispam: No
Location: Raleigh, NC
Contact:

Re: P stands for Paddy

Post by fearfaoin »

That's a good question. Mudcat also has a version called
"T Stands for Thomas", so I suspect there is no other
significance to the letters. I think the context is that the
woman has lost Johnny so she's musing over other men
"Paddy's OK but boring, and Willie's a jerk. Man, I sure
miss my love Johnny."

There are kids songs I'm sure I've heard from jump-ropers
that throw out random letters like that.
User avatar
Nanohedron
Moderatorer
Posts: 38224
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.

Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps.
Location: Lefse country

Re: P stands for Paddy

Post by Nanohedron »

fearfaoin wrote:That's a good question. Mudcat also has a version called
"T Stands for Thomas", so I suspect there is no other
significance to the letters. I think the context is that the
woman has lost Johnny so she's musing over other men
"Paddy's OK but boring, and Willie's a jerk. Man, I sure
miss my love Johnny."
I always figured that there was nothing more to it than that, myself. It's just a way to deal with the matter of crafting lyrics.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
User avatar
s1m0n
Posts: 10069
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2004 12:17 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
Location: The Inside Passage

Re: P stands for Paddy

Post by s1m0n »

She's choosing between suiters.
And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')

C.S. Lewis
User avatar
Nanohedron
Moderatorer
Posts: 38224
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.

Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps.
Location: Lefse country

Re: P stands for Paddy

Post by Nanohedron »

s1m0n wrote:She's choosing between suiters.
Right.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
User avatar
pipersgrip
Posts: 2454
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:43 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: Land-of-Sky

Re: P stands for Paddy

Post by pipersgrip »

ahhh, ok. Thanks for clearing that. I thought that was it, but I wasn't sure if I was missing a hidden meaning or something.
"In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart." John Bunyan
User avatar
Innocent Bystander
Posts: 6816
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2005 12:51 pm
antispam: No
Location: Directly above the centre of the Earth (UK)

Re: P stands for Paddy

Post by Innocent Bystander »

They make suits? Ah, suitors!...
Wizard needs whiskey, badly!
User avatar
Nanohedron
Moderatorer
Posts: 38224
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2002 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Been a fluter, citternist, and uilleann piper; committed now to the way of the harp.

Oh, yeah: also a mod here, not a spammer. A matter of opinion, perhaps.
Location: Lefse country

Re: P stands for Paddy

Post by Nanohedron »

Innocent Bystander wrote:They make suits? Ah, suitors!...
Someone had to say it. :wink:
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
User avatar
colomon
Posts: 2140
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2001 6:00 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Whistle player, aspiring C#/D accordion and flute player, and aspiring tunesmith. Particularly interested in the music of South Sligo and Newfoundland. Inspired by the music of Peter Horan, Fred Finn, Rufus Guinchard, Emile Benoit, and Liz Carroll.

I've got some compositions up at http://www.harmonyware.com/tunes/SolsTunes.html
Location: Midland, Michigan
Contact:

Re: P stands for Paddy

Post by colomon »

It's just basically a nonsense chorus added to the song, no? (Altan sings a version without the chorus, for instance.) The verses don't name the characters at all.
Sol's Tunes (new tune 2/2020)
Infernaltootler
Posts: 360
Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2008 6:42 am
antispam: No
Location: Darkest Buckinghamshire, UK
Contact:

Re: P stands for Paddy

Post by Infernaltootler »

Meh. C is for Cookie and that's good enough for me.
Finally feel like I'm getting somewhere. It's only taken 6 years.
Post Reply