{"id":25761,"date":"2024-12-16T07:29:08","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T07:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=25761"},"modified":"2024-12-16T07:49:24","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T07:49:24","slug":"delaneys-donkey","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/delaneys-donkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Delaney’s Donkey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1921<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>William Hargreaves<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN38396<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>James Mooney & Ida Holbein<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Wright, Wattie ; Scotland ; Edinburgh ; 1963
Modern performances<\/strong>:
Val Doonican<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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DELANEY'S DONKEY
Words & music by William Hargreaves
Francis & Day's Album of Famous Irish Songs.

Delaney had a donkey that everyone admired,
Tempo'rily lazy permanently tired;
A leg at ev'ry corner, balancing its head,
And a tail to let you know which end it wanted to be fed
Riley slyly said \"We've underrated it,
Why not train it?\" then he took a rag,
Rubbed it, scrubbed it, oiled and embrocated it
Got it to the post and when the starter dropped the flag

There was Riley pushing it, shoving it, and shushing it,
Hogan, Logan ev'ryone in town,
Lined up attacking it, shoving it and smacking it;
They might as well have tried to push the town hall down.
The donkey was eyeing them, openly defying them,
Winking, blinking, twisting out of place,
Riley reversing it, ev'rybody cursing it
The day Delaney's donkey ran the half-mile race .

The muscles of the mighty, never known to flinch,
Didn't move the donkey quarter of an inch
Delaney lay exhausted, hanging round its throat
With a grip just like a Scotchman on a twenty shilling note.
Starter, Carter, lined up all the rest of 'em;
When it saw them, it was willing then.
Raced up, braced up, ready for the best of 'em
They started off to cheer it but it changed its mind again

There was Riley pushing it, shoving it, and shushing it
Hogan Logan, Mary Ann MacGraw,
She started poking it, grabbing it and choking it;
It kicked her in the bustle and it laughed \"Hee-Haw!\"
The whigs and conservatives, radical superlatives
Lib'rals tories, hurried to the place,
Stood there in unity, helping the community
To push Delaney's donkey in the half-mile race.

The crowd began to cheer it. Rafferty, the judge,
Came up to assist them, still it wouldn't budge.
The jockey who was riding, little John McGee,
Was so thoroughly disgusted he went home to get his tea
Hagan, Fagan, students of psychology,
Swore they'd shift it with some dynamite.
Bought it, brought it, then without apology
The donkey gave a sneeze and blew the darn stuff out of sight

There was Riley pushing it, shoving it, and shushing it,
Hogan Logan all the bally crew,
P'lice and auxil'ary, the Garrison Artillery,
The Second Inniskillings, and the Life Guards, too,
They seized it and harried it, picked it up and carried it,
Cheered it, steered it, to the winning place,
Bookies all drew aside and committed suicide
Because Delaney's donkey won the half-mile race.<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A song made famous by Val Doonican in the second half of the 19th century, it was originally a hit in the Halls and variety theatres of the early 1920s – sung by the duo “Mooney and Holbein,” written and composed by the British songwriter, William Hargreaves<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Very little seems to be known about Mooney and Holbein – despite several thousands of passing mentions in the theatre press.  I have done some superficial research which indicates  that James Mooney and Ida Holbein were performing in around 1902 in the vaudeville theatres of New York, billed as “grotesque acrobats and musicians”<\/em>. At some point they seem to have come to Britain and by 1909 they were appearing regularly in British Music Halls, described as “vaudevillians of note”<\/em> – a popular song and dance act and they continue to appear until the early 1920s. I believe Ida then moved to Australia.. More research is needed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was remembered by Scottish traditional singer Wattie Wright in 1963 – you can hear his version at the wonderful Tobar an Dualchais \/ Kist o Riches <\/a>website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Val Doonican introduces and sings it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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