There is an Alehouse- Pops Connors (Wex) c1953 (Roud 60, Laws P25)
[BBC Recordings of Folk Music and Folklore, Great Britain and Ireland, Section 1: Songs in English. See also: MTCD325-6 From Puck to Appleby Songs and stories from Jim Carroll's and Pat Mackenzie's recordings of Irish Travellers in England c. 1973.
‘Pop’s’ Johnny Connors was related to the famous family of traditional musicians, the Dorans of Co. Wexford.
R. Matteson 2017]
There is an Alehouse- sung by 'Pop's' Johnny Connors, a Wexford Traveller c. 1953.
There is an alehouse all in Bray town,
Where my love Willie goes and sits down.
He will take a strange girl on his knee.
And he'll tell her things that he won't tell me.
For now I know, oh, the reason why.
Because that fair girl has more gold than I.
That her silver may melt, may her gold fly.
And she'll see the day she'll be as poor as I.
I wished, I wished, I wished in vain;
Sure I wish to God I was a fair maid again.
For that's a sight that I never might see.
Until apples grow 'pon an ivy tree.
I wished, I wished my babe was born.
And sitting on his daddy's knee.
Oh is that's the sight that I never might see
'til shamrocks grow 'pon a lilac tree.
This is usually known as Died For (or of) Love. The note to the versions collected for the BBC between 1952 and 1957 reads: 'As Sharp rightly observed, this is one of the most popular of English folk songs and it is one from which many fragmentations have been made, to survive as separate songs, some being difficult to identify, as several of the verses are commonplace... An American student version, supposed originally to have been collected in Cornwall, has been popularised as Tavern in the Town'.
We recorded There is an Alehouse on several occasions from travellers. 'Pop's' Johnny's text gives the reason for the girl's rejection as being 'lack of money', while others deal only with her being pregnant. We recorded a version of The Butcher Boy (Roud 409, Laws P24) from a young travelling woman, Bridie 'Dolly' Casey, which includes the first 'Alehouse', verse.
Other CDs: Jasper Smith, Amy Birch - Topic TSCD 661; Geoff Ling - Topic TSCD 660; May Bradley - Topic TSCD 662; Sarah Porter -MTCD309-10.