Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: "The Star of the County Down"

Cari iclingons,
La nostalgia per l'isola verde oggi mi ha spinto ad andare
alla ricerca del testo della bella canzone popolare irlandese
"The Star of the County Down".
Il tema trattato e' comune a moltissime folk songs, ma la
la canzone e' davvero carina e soprattutto  - ho scoperto -
sembra parlare proprio di me.....
Io ero in County Mayo, ma la situazione era esattamente
la stessa. :-)
Vi ripropongo dunque la canzone qui sotto, unitamente
a due dubbi:
Non riesco a capire cosa possa essere un
"boreen green" e, similmente,
non riesco ad immaginare il significato di
"quare".
E grazie alla Stella della County Down ho anche imparato
l'uso di "colleen" per "girl"...
saluti
Gennaro
---
The Star of the County Down
Near to Banbridge Town, in the County Down
One morning last July,
Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen,
And she smiled as she passed me by;
Oh, she looked so neat from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair,
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
To make sure I was standing there
CHORUS: Oh, from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
        And from Galway to Dublin town,
        No maid I've seen like the brown colleen
        That I met in the County Down.
As she onward sped I shook my head
And I gazed with a feeling quare,
And I says, says I, to a passer-by,
"Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?"
Oh, he smiled at me and he says, says he,
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown,
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She's the Star of the County Down."
She'd a soft brown eye and a look so sly,
And a smile like the rose in June,
And you held each note, from he lily-white throat,
As she lilted an Irish tune.
At the pattern dance, you were in a trance,
As she tripped through a jig or a reel,
When her eyes she'd roll, she would lift your soul,
As your heart she'd lightly steal.(Chorus)
I've travelled a bit, but never was hit
Since my roving career began;
But fair and square I surrendered there
To the charms of young Rose McCann.
I'd a heart to let and no tenant yet
Did I meet with in shawl or gown,
But in she went and I asked no rent
From the Star of the County Down.
At the harvest fair she'll be surely there
so I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked right
for a smule from my nut-brown Rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Though with rust my plow turns brown,
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the Star of the County Down.
--
Per rispondere eliminare ".HELL" dall'indirizzo.
To reply remove ".HELL" from the end of the address.
------

>And I gazed with a feeling "quare"
Mi sembra che "quare" sia una variazione per "queer" e significa "strano".
ciao,
stefstef

 "quare".
E' slang irlandese per 'queer' nel suo significato originario di 'odd'
Cercando 'quare' sono incocciato in questo glossario di Everyday English and
Slang in Ireland che è molto interessante.  Forse potrebbe meritare un
inserimento dell'ultimo minuto nelle pubblicande FAQ, visto che l'Irlanda è
una passione molto diffusa sul ng.
http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/8662/print.html
Grazie per la canzone, Gennaro, è molto bella
Giorgio

Giorgio
ciao
Gennaro


 Giorgio
Ve ne consiglio la rendizione dei King's Singers, sull'album
"Watching the White Wheat: Folk Songs of the British Isles".
E` dell'Emi.  Se ho capito bene, il numero di catologo e`
"CDC 7 47506 2", ma c'e` pure un altro numero, "LC 0542",
che non so cosa significhi.





Erin
This uses says instead of said. Said I is an old-fashioned form. It is
in this song to rhyme with passer-by.
In a lot of spoken English people will use "says" instead of "said"
reported speech. Instead of "he said he didn't do it" people say "he
says he didn't do it." This is widely used. However, sometimes people
say "He said 'Danny Stewart is a wonderful man', so I says 'why is he
posting in i.c.l.i then?"
-- 
Danny Stewart

 posting in i.c.l.i then?"
And I says, says I "Because he had to help me with a translation"
Thanks
Erin
--
Tra il mio pollice e l'indice s'acquatta
chiatta la penna.
Scaverò con quella.
Seamus Heaney
.

 Thanks
If you use "I says," use it with the knowledge that it is recognized as
unacceptable bad grammar by most people who either care about education or have
been inadvertently exposed to it through attendance at a university.
Ciao,
Ron
USA

 been inadvertently exposed to it through attendance at a university.
Don't worry. I will always use "I said", as I have been teached. I already
make a lot of mistakes and I'm not going to learn more. Anyway I'm happy to
know what "I says" means
Bye


 know what "I says" means
Il participio passato del verbo "to teach" è irregulare. Si dice "I have been
taught."
Ciao,
Ron
USA

 wrote in message
slva3qa...@corp.supernews.com...

Dear Ron.
I do believe Erin was playing along with the whole bad grammar aspect of
this thread. I might be mistaken of course but I see definite signs of a
sense of humour here.
--
I remain, as always, ecc., ecc.,
Bambi
dtb

 sense of humour here.
Dear Bambi you are really kind and I wouldn't say it, but that was not my
sense of humor. It is a horrible mistake and Ron rightly corrected me.
As you can see my knowledge of English is not so good as to let me play with
the grammar.
Bye
Erin
P.S. però in italiano il senso dell'humor ce l'ho e, a quanto dicono è
piuttosto britannico. ;-)


 sense of humor. It is a horrible mistake and Ron rightly corrected me.
Dear Erin,
this being the case, my apologies to Ron and to your goodself for having
presumed on your behalf.
Signs of a sense of humour however, remain plainly evident and this is
always, one feels, a good thing.
