Whistling Thief, The

AKA As Pat came over the hill
The Thwarted Assignation
First Published c1857
Writer/composer Sam Lover Roud RN2738

Music Hall Performers George Hodson, Sam Collins, Harry Brown
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Wilcock, Walter; England : London; 1908
Cunningham, Herbert; N. Ireland; 1937
Ennis, Seamus; Ireland : Dublin 1947
Cronin, Elizabeth; Ireland : Co. Cork; 1947
Morse, Mrs. Ruth; Canada : Nova Scotia; 1953
Mac Donnchadha, Sean; Ireland; 1955
Walmsley, Mrs; England : Lancashire; 1968
Heaney, Joe; Ireland : Co. Galway / (USA : Washington : 1983

Modern performances
The Clancy Bros and Tommy Makem, The Duncan Cameron Band

 

From The poetical works of Sam Lover (pub 1872)


When Pat came o'er the hill, 
His Colleen fair to see, 
His whistle low, but shrill, 
The signal was to be; 
(Pat whistles.) 

"Mary," the mother said, 
"Some one is whistlin' sure;" 
Says Mary, "'tis only the wind 
Is whistlin' thro' the door." 
(Pat whistles a bit of a popular air.) 

"I've liv'd a long time, Mary, 
In this wide world, my dear, 
But a door to whistle like that 
I never yet did hear." 

"But, mother, you know the fiddle 
Hangs close beside the chink, 
And the wind upon the strings 
Is playin' the tchune I think." 
(The pig grunts.) 

"Mary, I hear the pig, 
Unaisy in his mind." 
"But, mother, you know, they say 
The pigs can see the wind."

"That's thrue enough in the day, 
But I think you may remark, 
That pigs, no more nor we, 
Can see anything in the dark." 
(The dog barks.) 

"The dog is barkin' now, 
The fiddle can't play that tchune." 
"But, mother, the dogs will bark 
Whenever they see the moon." "

But how could he see the moon, 
When, you know, the dog is blind? 
Blind dogs won't bark at the moon, 
Nor fiddles be play'd by the wind. 

I'm not such a fool as you think, 
I know very well 'tis Pat: 
Shut your mouth, you whistlin' thief, 
And go along home out o' that! 

"And you go off to bed, 
Don't play upon me your jeers; 
For tho' I have lost my eyes, 
I haven't lost my ears!"

A stage song from the 1850s, written by Samuel Lover for Irish comic actor George Hodson playing the character Pandeen O’Rafferty. It was initially part of a performance called Irish Masks and Faces, which sounds from its description as if it may have been what would later be called a revue, an entertainment based on songs, dance and sketches. The debut performance appears to have taken place in 1857 at the Salle Hibernia on Oxford St London, a concert hall temporarily renamed in honour of the performance. (The terminology is not precise, but the use of the term “concert hall” implies something more respectable than the music halls of the day.)

A contemporary notice and a review from The Era give more detail:

 Nov. 22, 1857;  The Era 
Nov. 29, 1857;  The Era

There is evidence that this song was taken up by the most famous early Irish comedian of the Halls, Sam Collins, with reports of him singing it from 1862 on. Between 1868 and 1870 a less well-known comic vocalist, Harry Brown, sang the song and toured the UK advertising himself as The Original Whistling Thief, though he didn’t advertise himself under that name when he eventually brought his act to London. Contemporary reports suggest that Brown used the song as a vehicle for some fine animal impressions. Michael Kilgariff suggests that the song was also in the repertoire of Katty King, but I have not found any evidence of this (though he is very rarely wrong!)

A popular song amongst traditional singers in Ireland, the UK and the North America, it was widely printed both as sheet music and street literature throughout the 19th century. It’s been widely collected from traditional singers, particularly in Ireland. Another song which draws comedy from Irish stereotypes, which was enthusiastically sung by Irish traditional singers. A number of slightly different versions exist, and traditional singers often incorporate a chorus.

Jim Dixon on Mudcat has pointed out that the song has parallels with Our Goodman/Five Nights Drunk (Roud RN114) a song which goes back to the mid-18th-century, and Samuel Lover may have been drawing on elements of that song when he wrote this one.

[The song appears in Songs of Ireland and Other Lands, available from Google Books with the suggestion that the collection was published in 1847. This would make the song at least 10 years older than I’m suggesting. However, more reliable sources suggest that Songs of Ireland and Other Lands was actually published in 1869, see for example its WorldCat listing.]

Samuel Lover (1797-1868) was born in Dublin, the son of respectable and prosperous parents. Initially expected to join his father’s stockbroking business he ran away and became a successful painter, novelist and songwriter. His novels include Handy Andy (1842) and Rory O’Moore (1837); his songs Molly Bawn, Rory O’Moore and The Whistling Thief. He wrote operas and sketches and toured North America and the British Isles with popular entertainments which combined his songs, sketches and readings. It has been suggested that he was particularly influential in the development of the stereotypical stage Irishman.

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem sing it:

An unaccompanied version by Seán ‘Ac Dhonncha of Connemara, Galway, Ireland:

Sources: