Seamus O’Brien’s waltz

Dia Duit!
My name is Laya Annie Moore and I am origionally from Cork. Now in Canada and am having a difficult time finding a certain song. Seamus O’Briens Waltz. I already know how to play it, and have found it here under tunes…but what I need help with is finding an origional copy.
I want to play in a Music Festival and the “Royal Conservitory” rules state that you have to have an origional copy of the song, weather it’s in a book or a “bought” sheet of music. I am very accustomed to fiddle contests and just jamming at pubs..etc…etc…and I learn by ear. They don’t care where the song came from, just as long as you play the bloody thing aye!
I have contacted mates and family in Cork, but none of them can find the bloody song anywhere and have called music stores with the same results.
Anyone out there know what books it would be in, or how to obtain an “origional” copy?…..no photocopies.

Slon Leat!

Print it off of the Database here. 😉

That does seem to be the best option. Not all trad songs are readily available in printed media, and printing out an on-line copy may be your only recourse.

I did check both my O’Neill’s, just in case, but didn’t find it there.

: 400 Waltzes, Polkas, Tangos, Hambos, Zwiefachers and other traditional dance tunes."

including on page 38: “Seamus O’Brien”

& appended: “Some Quick & Dirty Backup Patterns for Couple Dance Music”

244 pages

This lovely collection, first printing 1992, was transcribed, edited and chorded by the illustrious ~

Peter Barnes - purveyor of fine music…
5 Sandy Pond Road
Lincoln, Massachusetts 01773

Sorry I was late on this… I have been otherwise distracted.

I must be too easily distracted. My initial notion of this air is “where’s the lyrics?” It has the definite feel of a song. A friend played this on her concertina last night for the close to another fun evening. Now to go looking to see if I can find words/lyrics to this, my greatest distraction being curiosity…

The Duke University’s Historic American Sheet Music collection
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/

Shamus O‘Brien: An Answer to Nora O’Neal
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/hasm_n0811/

http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/09/shamus.htm

Shamus O’Brien - Written in 1866 and publshed in sheet music form in 1867 by William Shakespeare Hays [1837-1907]
Note: Originally written to Captain N. H. Bower in answer to Nora O’Neal.

Seamus O’Brien

O, sweet is the smile of the beautiful morn,
As it peeps through the curtain of night;
And the voice of the nightingale singing its tune,
While the stars seem to smile with delight.

All nature now lingers with silent repose,
And the sweet breath of summer is calm;
While I sit and I wonder if Shamus here knows,
How sad and unhappy I am.

Chorus ~
O, Shamus O’Brien, why don’t you come home?
And you don’t know how happy I’ll be;
I’ve got one darling wish, and that is that you’ll come,
And forever be happy with me.

I’ll smile when you smile and I’ll weep when you weep,
And I’ll give you a kiss for a kiss;
And all the fond vows that I make you I’ll keep,
And what more can I promise than this?

Does the sea have such pride and such beautiful charm,
That your heart will not leave it for me;
Oh, why did I let you get out of my arms,
A bird that was caged and is free.

Chorus…

O, Shamus O’Brien, I’m loving you yet,
And my heart is still trusting and kind;
It was you who first took it and can you forget,
That the love for another you’ll find?

No! No! If you break it with sorrow or pain,
Sure I’ll then have a duty to do;
If you’ll bring it to me, sure I’ll mend it again,
And entrust it, dear Shamus, to you.

Chorus…



http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/14/seamus.htm

Seamus O’Brien (Collected by MacEdward Leach) - Sung by Winifred Powers of Tors Cove, Newfoundland, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA). A variant was also recorded by Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers (Flatout, trk#10, 1990, Third Wave Productions, Gander, Newfoundland).

A variant of Shamus O‘Brien, originally written in 1866 to Captain N. H. Bower in answer to Nora O’Neal by William Shakespeare Hays [1837-1907] and published in sheet music in 1867

Seamus O’Brien

Oh, sweet is the smile of the beautiful morn,
As it peeps through the gardens of night;
And the voice of the nightingale singing its tune,
While the stars seemed to smile with delight.

Old nature now lingers in silent repose,
While the sweet breath of summer is calm;
And I sit and wonder if Seamus e’er knows,
How sad and unhappy I am.

Oh, Seamus O’Brien, why don’t you come home?
You don’t know how happy I’d be;
I’ve but one darling wish and that is that you’d come,
And forever be happy with me.

I’d smile when you’d smile and weep when you’d weep,
I’d give you a kiss for a kiss;
And all the fond vows that I made you I’ll keep,
What more can I promise than this?

Does the sea have such bright and such beautiful charms,
That your heart will not leave them for me?
Oh, why did I let you get out of my arms,
Like a bird that was caged and is free?

Oh, Seamus O’Brien, I’m loving you yet,
And my heart is still trusting and kind;
It was you who first took it and can you forget,
That love for another you’d find?

No, no, if you break it in silence and pain,
I will then have a duty to do;
If you bring it to me I will mend it again,
And trust it, dear Seamus, to you.

Oh, Seamus O’Brien, why don’t you come home?
You don’t know how happy I’d be;
I’ve but one darling wish and that is that you’d come,
And forever be happy with me.



Note: Instrumental versions have also been recorded by The Sons of the Pioneers on “Songs of the Prairie”; by Norman Blake on “Be Ready Boys: Appalachia to Abilene”; and by The Buckhannon Brothers on “Old Time Music: On the Air, Vol. 2”.


Mudcat thread ~ http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=82747

Subject: Lyr Add: SHAMUS O’BRIEN (Will S. Hays)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 10 Jul 05 - 11:31 PM

According to several sources, Sean O‘Neill’s album “50 Irish Party Songs” contains a medley of ~ Mush, Mush, Torrakiaddy / Quare Bungle Rye / Cushy Butterfield / Shamus O’Brien.

On the mouth organ, including Shamus O’Brien. memory.loc.gov/ammem/afccchtml/0259.html I’ve a recording of an old time NY fiddler playing it; also a melodeon player from Newfoundland, singer from the Ozarks; YouTube has the Nevada Old Time Fiddlers Association among others. A tune that gets around. I learned it from Ira Ford’s book Traditional Music of America.

Other related (or possibly duplicate) tunes:

https://thesession.org/tunes/5288
https://thesession.org/tunes/10549