Paddy's Lamentation

Irish - Traditional
Believed to be written within 10 years of the end of the American Civil War

Beautiful study of this song gleaned from a discussion thread at Mudcat.org database >>>>

[19??:] This song I like very much on account of its honest expression. There are many ballads from this time dealing with emigration to America away from the hunger and deprivation of the famine that devastated Ireland in the 1840's. All of them extoll the praises of the 'Land of Liberty' where there was food and work for all and the 'tyrant landlords' did not exist. This is one of the few ballads that made its way back to Ireland telling a different story from the peace and prosperity which is talked about in other songs. The General Meagher referred to was General Thomas Francis Meagher otherwise known as 'Meagher of the sword' who led the 69th regiment in the American Civil War. The regiment so distinguished itself on the various battlefields that it earned the name of the 'Fighting 69th'. It was all but wiped out at the battle of Gettysburg, and its losses are commemorated by a Celtic cross on the actual battlefield.The title of the song is a corruption of an Irish phrase 'Bí i do thost' or 'be quiet' which in fact is translated in the first line of the song...By the hush me boys and that's to make no noise. (Frank Harte, notes 'Daybreak and a Candle-End')

• [1989:] Exile songs seem to me to have been wrung from the very souls of their creators; the yearning of the exile for his homeland being perhaps the very essence of the emotion of sadness. Happily for the emigrant, he may not only have left behind his native land, but also the hunger and persecution that forced him overseas.
  In By the Hush the unfortunate man sells up and leaves his farm in famine-torn Ireland for a new life in America, only to find on arrival that he has been drafted into the army of President Lincoln, to fight in the Civil War. In one of the battles that follows, he is severely wounded and thus the song's chorus carries a chilling warning to anyone contemplating emigration to America. The song ends with [a] powerfully simple line. (Notes Andy M. Stewart, 'By the Hush')
  [1995:] [A] stinging comment on emigration [that] reflected many Irish emigrants experiences in America when they arrived as the Civil War [1861-65] was in progress and were conscripted into the Army. (John O'Regan, Rock 'n' Reel 22, p 33)
• [2000:] According to The Sailor's Magazine, the monthly publication of the American Seamen's Friend Society, 32,217 Irish and 27,740 German immigrants were landed at Port New York in 1863. During the Civil War, at Castle Gardens, New York, recruiting agents would offer the new arrivals cash bounties to sign up for the Northern effort. In this song our generic "Paddy" complains that he was not given the opportunity to accept or reject the recruiter's offer but in fact was pressed in to "Lincoln's army". This "out of the frying pan and into the fire" circumstance left poor Paddy with the desire to return to his depressed homeland - dear old Erin. [Ian Robb] collected it from Edith Fowke's book 'Traditional Songs and Singers from Ontario' (Folklore Associates, Hatboro, PA, 1965). (Notes Forebitter, 'Voyages')
• [2000:] "Indian corn" was a type of Famine relief food shipped to Ireland from Amerikay which often caused more trouble than it seemed to be worth. People didn't know how it was to be cooked, and received no instructions with it. It was often served undercooked, which wreaked havoc on decimated human digestive systems already in severe crisis from malnourishment, disease, exposure, etc. So my guess is the line might be saying the singer thought it might have been a better plight to have stayed on in Ireland, even if it meant having to eat Indian corn to survive, than having been forced to "serve" in the American Civil War at gunpoint, just off the boat. (Janet Ryan, rec.music.folk, 28 Sep)

Probably rolled indian feed maize, 'hot' relative of sweetcorn - exactly the same as you will find today in animal feeds. It's dangerous stuff to use even with animals (sheep and goats mainly) because if you feed it neat, instead of with at least a 5:1 mixture of other foods, its overheats the digestive system - don't know exactly what this means or implies, but the result is a seriously swollen up animal. [...] It would need to be softened by overnight soaking rather like hard dried pulses, and cooked for a very long time. You probably need to soak it with lye, or vinegar, or something to help break it down. (David Kilpatrick, rec.music.folk, 28 Sep)

I've always interpreted [the reference to 'Indian buck'] as a nostalgia for Ireland, not for an American food. I think he's saying, in effect, "I'd count myself lucky to be back in Ireland even if I had to eat Indian buck." According to my beloved 10-volume "American Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia" of 1889, "buck" has been used in many, many, ways; one of them is a Cornish word for a fungus attacking stored corn (maize). "Indian" itself, as an adjective, was also used in many ways, one of them a shorthand reference to any food made with maize, which is, of course, an American vegetable. "Indian corn" was thus another name for maize, to distinguish it from the British "corn", which was wheat. So I've always thought of "Indian buck" as cornmeal mush, which was probably fed to General Meagher's "Irish Brigade", and "Indian buck" may have been a pretty local locution. (Sam Hinton, rec.music.folk, 2 Oct)

After the Civil War, veterans had difficulty in getting pensions. In fact, the special status of veterans in the U.S. dates to a movement which was started after the War by vets to get what they had been promised. In reading the song, I assume that By The Hush was written sometime within 10 years of the end of the War. (Dan Milner, www.mudcat.org, 13 Oct)  http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4988

 Article and photographs of
Gettysburg Irish Brigade Monument

Paddy's Lamentation SONGSHEET PDF
lyrics I used in my video, along with chords.  C-G-C tuning (any 1-5-8 tuning will do depending on your voice)

 Paddy's Lamentation YouTube video