Rocky Road to Dublin
traditional Irish slip jig
"Rocky Road to Dublin" is a 19th-century Irish song written by Irish poet D. K. Gavan about a man's experiences as he travels to Liverpool, England, from his home in Tuam, Ireland. Originally popularized by Harry Clifton, it has since been performed extensively and become a standard of Irish folk music. The song is also often performed instrumentally.
Origin
Sheet music for "The Rocky Road to Dublin" without lyrics was published as early as 1841 in The Dublin Magazine, by which point it was already reportedly well known in Ireland. It was described in the accompanying article as being thought to be a modern dance and the title was reportedly based on a particular road in Clonmel. No lyrics were given, but the song was reportedly popular for nurses to "sing" to children, especially in Munster. The tune may derive from another folk song, "Cam Ye o'er frae France."
The words were written by D. K. Gavan, "The Galway Poet", for the English music hall performer Harry Clifton (1832–1872), who popularized the song.
Synopsis
The song describes the adventures, troubles, and travails the protagonist encounters on his travels. At the beginning of the song, the protagonist says he is "off to reap the corn", meaning to seek his fortune. ("Corn" can refer to any cereal grain, such as wheat or barley, and metaphorically refers to wealth, which makes "off to reap the corn" akin to colloquialisms like "getting bread" or "stacking paper").
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This entry incorporates text from “Rocky Road to Dublin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.