“The Rose of Tralee” is a simple song with memorable lyrics. It may not be a masterpiece, but it is a beloved Irish song that gave its name to the ‘Rose of Tralee’ beauty pageant that is held in Tralee in County Kerry every year.
In essence, “The Rose of Tralee” is a love song about a girl named Mary. Follow the sweet 19th century Irish song genre that falls in love with a (presumably lost) love. Many similar songs are also in a specific location, which helps to distinguish them from all other Irish love songs. For example, “Molly Malone” is set in Dublin, and we find another Mary in a different part of Ireland with the song “Mary from Dungloe”.
It’s easy to imagine in the case of “Rose of Tralee” that if the author had been somewhere else when he fell in love, we could be humming “The Rose of Clonee” or “The Rose of Dundee.” However, songs don’t have to be about a woman to write about a place in Ireland, as William Percy French’s songs about Ballyjamesduff and Mountains of Morne demonstrate.
It can be formulated, but there is something undeniably charming about the Rose of Tralee song.
The Rose Of Tralee – la letra
The pale moon was rising over that green mountain,
The sun was setting under the blue sea,
When I diverted with my love to the source of pure crystal,
Found in the beautiful Tralee Valley.
Chorus :
She was lovely and beautiful, like the summer rose.
However, it wasn’t just her beauty that won me over.
Oh no! It was always the truth in his eyes.
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee!
The cold tones of the afternoon spread her mantle,
and Mary, all smiling, stood up to make a list,
The moon across the valley cast its pale rays,
When I won the heart of the Rose of Tralee.
Choir
In the far fields of India, the bloody thunder of the middle of the war,
his voice was a comfort and consolation to me,
but the cold hand of death has now torn us apart.
I’m alone tonight for my Rose of Tralee.
Choir
Note that the last verse is often omitted from live performances and song sheets, probably because it doesn’t fit as well with the overall Tralee theme.
Story of the song «The Rose Of Tralee»
There is no one agreed upon in history when it comes to the author or the Mary behind the Rose of Tralee.
First of all, there are dozens of girls named Mary in any Irish town, and Tralee in the 19th century must have had a few hundred of them. Looking at the history of the Rose of Tralee, it would be almost impossible to find a connection to a specific person by the name of Mary, even if we know the location. And it’s definitely unlikely given the fact that we don’t even know for sure who wrote the lyrics, so we can’t look for a personal connection to the Rose of Tralee either.
Most people outside of Tralee agree that the music was actually composed by the Englishman Charles Glover (1806-1863), and that the words were written by his contemporary Edward Mordaunt Spencer, who may or may not have spent time in the area around Tralee.
A book of poems by Mordaunt Spencer was published in 1846 and contains one entitled “The Rose of Tralee.” However, the note in the book (which you can still find in the British Library) states that it was “set to music by Stephen Glover and published by C Jeffrays, Soho Square”. Stephen Glover (1813-1870) was another prolific composer at the time. The British Library also has another book that claims the music was composed by Charles Glover around 1850.
Now in Tralee, it’s a different story. Local tradition here states that “The Rose of Tralee” was written by a certain William Pembroke Mulchinock (1820-1864), a wealthy Protestant. He wrote it for a specific Mary, that is, a certain Mary O’Connor, a Catholic servant employed in her parents’ home.
In 19th century Ireland, an upper-class boy who falls in love with a maid, and further divided by his Protestant and Catholic upbringing, would make a good love story. Mulchinock was supposedly sent abroad, only returning a few years later, to find (no wonder there) that his beloved Mary was already dead and buried.
Mulchinock actually dabbled in writing, and in 1851 (five years after Mordaunt Spencer published the lyrics) a collection of his poems was published in the United States. However, this did not contain “The Rose of Tralee.”
There may not be full agreement, but it definitely seems like a story has a little more truth.
The Christy Moore Song
The Irish people lover may notice that there is also a song on the same subject, namely Rose of Tralee by Christy Moore. However, Christy Moore’s version doesn’t have much to do with the original version. To begin with, he is much more optimistic and pokes fun at everything Irish that is sacred. He would have done Eurovision Song Contest stuff, Christy thought. With some beautiful Irish dancers in the background, it might even have wowed crowds who had no idea of the song’s true story.
For more information, see the lyrics to the song “Me and the Rose” on the Christy Moore website
