Subject: ADD: Nora
From:
Joe Offer
Date: 12 Feb 22 - 03:34 AM
Nora (Sean O'Casey's Irish variant of Maggie)
YouTube video by Padraig Grimes
The violets were scenting the woods, Nora,
Displaying their charms to the bees,
When I first said I loved only you, Nora,
And you said you loved only me.
The chestnut blooms gleamed
through the glade, Nora,
A robin sang loud from the tree,
When I first said I loved only you, Nora,
And you said you loved only me.
The golden-rowed daffodils shone, Nora,
They danced in the breeze on the Lee,
When I first said I loved only you, Nora,
And you said you loved only me.
The birds in the trees sang a song, Nora,
Of happier transports to be,
When I first said I loved only you, Nora,
And you said you loved only me.
Our hopes they have never come true, Nora,
Our dreams they were never to be,
Since I first said I loved only you, Nora,
And you said you loved only me.
Since I first said I loved only you, Nora,
And you said you loved only me.
####.... Variant of Sean O'Casey's re-write of a poem of undying love originally written by George Washington Johnson [1839-1917] for his wife and put to music in 1866 by James Austin Butterfield [1837-1891]. (See notes below) ....####
The above video features an excellent cover performance by Padraig Grimes of Castlebar, IE.
From Wikipedia:
Lee (Irish: An Laoi) - river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork City. There it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's city centre is built. The river empties into the Celtic Sea at Cork Harbour on the south coast, one of the largest natural harbours in the world. A hydro-electric scheme was built on the river, upstream from Cork City, and this part of the river now contains the Carrigadrohid and Inniscarra reservoirs. The river is crossed by 42 bridges, 29 of which are in Cork City, and one tunnel. The river also provides an 8 kilometre (5 mile) stretch for salmon fishing.
From All Music Guide by Gregory McIntosh:
Schoolteacher and poet George Washington Johnson made only one contribution to the world of popular song: the lyrics to the standard When You And I Were Young Maggie, written for his new wife, Maggie Clark, who was ailing from tuberculosis. Born in 1839 near Toronto, ON, Johnson studied to become a schoolteacher, and by 20 years of age he began teaching in Hamilton, ON. As a young teacher, he met and fell in love with Maggie Clark, who at that time was one of his students. During one of Clark's harshest struggles with her illness, Johnson composed his now famous poem to her while viewing the local mill from his perch on a nearby hill, and then published it in 1864 in his book of poetry titled Maple Leaves. Johnson and Clark were married in October of that year, but in the spring of 1865, at the young age of 23, Maggie Clark died. A year later, Johnson requested his friend, James Austin Butterfield, to set the poem to music, and the song quickly became a popular worldwide standard. George Washington Johnson married twice more and died in 1917 in Pasadena, CA.
From Cleveland: The Making Of A City by William Ganson Rose, first published in 1950, 1990, ISBN 0-87338-428-8:
George W Johnson brought his bride, Maggie Clark Johnson, to Cleveland, OH, and joined the Plain Dealer as associate editor. His wife died before they had been married a year. Grief-stricken, he resigned from the paper early in 1866 and returned to Canada. Later in the year, J A Butterfield of Detroit composed music for a poem written by Johnson before his marriage and dedicated to his future wife - When You And I Were Young Maggie.
From skool.ie, answers.com, and wikipedia:
The Irish playwright Sean O'Casey [1880-1964] substituted the name Nora for Maggie and used George Washington Johnson's song in his 1926 anti-war play The Plough And The Stars wherein Jack Clitheroe sings it to his wife Nora.
Note courtesy of James L Masten: The text leading into this song from O'Casey's play is as follows:
Nora:
You haven't sung me a song since our honeymoon.
Sing me one now, do... Please Jack.
Jack:
What song? "Since Maggie Went Away"?
Nora:
Ah, no, Jack, not that; it's too sad.
"When You Said You Loved Me".
Stage Directions:
Clearing his throat, Jack thinks for a moment
and then begins to sing.
Nora, putting her arm around him,
nestles her head on his breast and listens...
Source: http://gestsongs.com/31/nora.htm
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