the origin and/or meaning of...
-
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:08 pm
the origin and/or meaning of...
Whack-fol-lol-de-ra. -from The Rocky Road to Dublin
With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay. -from The Galway Races
musha ring dumma do damma da
whack for the daddy 'ol -from Whiskey in the Jar
Do those words mean anything?
With me whack fol the do fol the diddlely idle ay. -from The Galway Races
musha ring dumma do damma da
whack for the daddy 'ol -from Whiskey in the Jar
Do those words mean anything?
- 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
Words that you can sing loudly to the right rhythm.
They're more akin to lilting than to lyrics.
They're more akin to lilting than to lyrics.
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
C.S. Lewis
- djm
- Posts: 17853
- Joined: Sat May 31, 2003 5:47 am
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Canadia
- Contact:
They are, in fact, power words taken from ritual chants originally used as part of some of the sun worship ceremonies practised by the ancient druids during vacations in the south of France. You will find these words widely used in many Celtic cultures, both in western Europe and certain areas around the eastern end of the Mediterranean. No-one can truthfully claim to know exactly what these words mean with any certanty, but there have been some plausible suggestions about a source in Siberia, carved into mammoth tusks still frozen into the tundra.
In order to appreciate these words fully, it is suggested you practise chanting them to yourself slowly and in silence. Work them into your breathing pattern, and refrain from bathing for a week before and after your practise to ensure the appropriate degree of celibacy. This is especially important during holy months such as July and August.
djm
In order to appreciate these words fully, it is suggested you practise chanting them to yourself slowly and in silence. Work them into your breathing pattern, and refrain from bathing for a week before and after your practise to ensure the appropriate degree of celibacy. This is especially important during holy months such as July and August.
djm
I'd rather be atop the foothills than beneath them.
- Congratulations
- Posts: 4215
- Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 6:05 pm
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
- Location: Charleston, SC
- Contact:
I can confirm this to be 100% true.djm wrote:They are, in fact, power words taken from ritual chants originally used as part of some of the sun worship ceremonies practised by the ancient druids during vacations in the south of France. You will find these words widely used in many Celtic cultures, both in western Europe and certain areas around the eastern end of the Mediterranean. No-one can truthfully claim to know exactly what these words mean with any certanty, but there have been some plausible suggestions about a source in Siberia, carved into mammoth tusks still frozen into the tundra.
In order to appreciate these words fully, it is suggested you practise chanting them to yourself slowly and in silence. Work them into your breathing pattern, and refrain from bathing for a week before and after your practise to ensure the appropriate degree of celibacy. This is especially important during holy months such as July and August.
djm
oh Lana Turner we love you get up
- Redwolf
- Posts: 6051
- Joined: Tue May 28, 2002 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
- Location: Somewhere in the Western Hemisphere
They are a form of lilting, actually.s1m0n wrote:Words that you can sing loudly to the right rhythm.
They're more akin to lilting than to lyrics.
We get asked about this kind of thing several times a month at IGTF. No meaning whatsoever.
Redwolf
...agus déanfaidh mé do mholadh ar an gcruit a Dhia, a Dhia liom!
- anniemcu
- Posts: 8024
- Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2003 8:42 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
- Location: A little left of center, and 100 miles from St. Louis
- Contact:
I've always felt they mean that whoever wrote it couldn't come up with anything that rhymed for that, so made it up, or whoever sang it couldn't remember what was 'supposed' to go there, so made it up, or, what*was* supposed to got there was not fit ofr the ears of the audience on hand at the time, so made up the substitute ... either way, it doesn't negate the other answers. It certainly is fun to sing.
anniemcu
---
"You are what you do, not what you claim to believe." -Gene A. Statler
---
"Olé to you, none-the-less!" - Elizabeth Gilbert
---
http://www.sassafrassgrove.com
---
"You are what you do, not what you claim to believe." -Gene A. Statler
---
"Olé to you, none-the-less!" - Elizabeth Gilbert
---
http://www.sassafrassgrove.com
- Nanohedron
- Moderatorer
- Posts: 38239
- 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
- Redwolf
- Posts: 6051
- Joined: Tue May 28, 2002 6:00 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
- Location: Somewhere in the Western Hemisphere
It's actually more a matter of coming up with sounds you can make with your mouth that emulate the sounds you might make with instruments. Lilting got its start as a way of supplying music for dancers in the absence of instruments. It's only natural that it later got incorporated into songs as a sort of "bridge."anniemcu wrote:I've always felt they mean that whoever wrote it couldn't come up with anything that rhymed for that, so made it up, or whoever sang it couldn't remember what was 'supposed' to go there, so made it up, or, what*was* supposed to got there was not fit ofr the ears of the audience on hand at the time, so made up the substitute ... either way, it doesn't negate the other answers. It certainly is fun to sing.
Redwolf
...agus déanfaidh mé do mholadh ar an gcruit a Dhia, a Dhia liom!
- anniemcu
- Posts: 8024
- Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2003 8:42 pm
- antispam: No
- Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
- Location: A little left of center, and 100 miles from St. Louis
- Contact:
Right... I left out this one - "... or that whoever was 'playing the tune' didn't have any other instrument at hand, so made it up."Redwolf wrote:It's actually more a matter of coming up with sounds you can make with your mouth that emulate the sounds you might make with instruments. Lilting got its start as a way of supplying music for dancers in the absence of instruments. It's only natural that it later got incorporated into songs as a sort of "bridge."anniemcu wrote:I've always felt they mean that whoever wrote it couldn't come up with anything that rhymed for that, so made it up, or whoever sang it couldn't remember what was 'supposed' to go there, so made it up, or, what*was* supposed to got there was not fit ofr the ears of the audience on hand at the time, so made up the substitute ... either way, it doesn't negate the other answers. It certainly is fun to sing.
Redwolf
anniemcu
---
"You are what you do, not what you claim to believe." -Gene A. Statler
---
"Olé to you, none-the-less!" - Elizabeth Gilbert
---
http://www.sassafrassgrove.com
---
"You are what you do, not what you claim to believe." -Gene A. Statler
---
"Olé to you, none-the-less!" - Elizabeth Gilbert
---
http://www.sassafrassgrove.com
- straycat82
- Posts: 1476
- Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:19 pm
- antispam: No
- Location: Arizona
- Contact:
- Innocent Bystander
- Posts: 6816
- Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2005 12:51 pm
- antispam: No
- Location: Directly above the centre of the Earth (UK)
Irish Scat-singing.
There are those who will tell you that words such as these are sung because either something rude or vulgar is going on, or the original (now alas, lost in antiquity) words are too explicit to be sung in current company. Believe it if you like.
Have a look at a few Elizabethan part-songs, especially when they get into the fol-di-rols... but fol-di-rols crop up all over the place.
My personal favourite whack-fol is the one
"Young women, they sing like birds in the bushes " X3
"And if I was a young man, I'd go beat them bushes
With my ri-fol-the-diddle-air-o, ri-fol-the-diddle-ay."
There are those who will tell you that words such as these are sung because either something rude or vulgar is going on, or the original (now alas, lost in antiquity) words are too explicit to be sung in current company. Believe it if you like.
Have a look at a few Elizabethan part-songs, especially when they get into the fol-di-rols... but fol-di-rols crop up all over the place.
My personal favourite whack-fol is the one
"Young women, they sing like birds in the bushes " X3
"And if I was a young man, I'd go beat them bushes
With my ri-fol-the-diddle-air-o, ri-fol-the-diddle-ay."
Wizard needs whiskey, badly!