I wrote this post originally about my choir’s Celtic concert in March 2016
There’s so much more that could be said about the music in our concert, but alas, we have reached concert week. So let’s take a look at our closing song, “The Parting Glass.” I was pleased to find out that it meant pretty much what I thought, which was a farewell song after an evening of drinking. The words will actually make more sense to you if you imagine the speaker and his listeners all being a little tipsy.
There are many versions of the song, with varying words and melodies. I’ve tried to distill the various ideas down into something digestible, always keeping in mind that it’s a folk song and its origins are therefore murky. The initial inspiration may have come from a farewell letter written by Scotsman Thomas Armstrong on the eve of his execution in 1605 for border raiding. Here’s what he wrote:
This night is my departing night, For here nae langer must I stay;
There’s neither friend nor foe o’ mine, But wishes me away.
What I have done thro’ lack of wit, I never, never, can recall;
I hope ye’re a’ my friends as yet; Goodnight and joy be with you all!