What does "Humours" mean?

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 3:27 pm

There are so many tunes with titles like "Humours of Ballyconnell," "Humours of Lisheen," "Humours of Tooma," and on and on...what does humours mean in this context?
Susan

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 3:28 pm

It's a polite term for gas pains.

ErikT · Post by **ErikT** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 3:36 pm

It is also my understanding that it could be considered the "juices of life". Bodily humours where things like blood and bile and other bodily excretions.

Erik

TubeDude · Post by **TubeDude** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 3:40 pm

It's some kind of bone. like, "The Bones of Dublin," "O'Hara's Bones," "Fea'dog Bone Stain," etc.

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 3:40 pm

http://www.astrologycom.com/humours.html

*shrug*

SteveK · Post by **SteveK** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 4:02 pm

All these answers are pretty humoresque but my dictionary says that it is the "character, style or spirit (of a musical or literary composition, etc)". It also relates to mood or "mental disposition" as determined by the bodily humours. Thus The Humours of Whiskey would be the spirit of spirits.

Steve

serpent · Post by **serpent** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 5:41 pm

... and I guess the "Humours of Humour" would then be a metadiscussion??

Cheers,
Bill Whedon

fluter_d · Post by **fluter_d** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 5:48 pm

When tunes began to be notated, and players didn't have names for them, it was common for the transcriber to invent names for them.
Often, this consisted of picking a placename (often one dear to the latter) and prefacing it with "The Humours of"... A lot of these names in O'Neill's compilations are from the area around Bantry, in Co. Cork, where he grew up, for example.

brian_k · Post by **brian_k** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 7:32 pm

"Humours" is the English word very often used in song titles to translate the Irish Gaelic word "pléarácaí" which means revelry, merrymaking, carousing, etc.

'luck now,
brian_k

amar · Post by **amar** » Sat Oct 19, 2002 6:10 am

gas pains? d'ya mean farts?

TnWhistler · Post by **TnWhistler** » Sat Oct 19, 2002 3:07 pm

On 2002-10-18 17:40, TubeDude wrote:
<<It's some kind of bone. like, "The Bones of Dublin," "O'Hara's Bones," "Fea'dog Bone Stain>>

I thought that was "Femurs of Liscarrol" etc.

Timmy

OutOfBreath · Post by **OutOfBreath** » Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:01 am

On 2002-10-18 17:28, Bloomfield wrote:
It's a polite term for gas pains.

I thought that was "vapors"

aderyn_du · Post by **aderyn_du** » Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:07 am

On 2002-10-21 11:01, OutOfBreath wrote:
I thought that was "vapors"

Gas pains are vapors... Genteel southern ladies used to suffer from these if their corsets were too tightly laced.

From what I know of medical antiquity, humours are "liquids of life", such as blood, etc. Perhaps there is a different meaning in the context of traditional music...

Andrea ~*~

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:09 am

On 2002-10-21 11:01, OutOfBreath wrote:
On 2002-10-18 17:28, Bloomfield wrote:
It's a polite term for gas pains.
I thought that was "vapors"

Only in "Gone with the Wind".

~Larry

klezmusic · Post by **klezmusic** » Mon Oct 21, 2002 10:11 am

On 2002-10-21 11:09, madguy wrote:
Only in "Gone with the Wind".

~Larry

Sounds like a great title for a workshop presented by an asthmatic over-the-hill blowhard...

Wendina