Tune of the Day: One Bottle More
The tune is often attributed to blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670–1738), although Donal O'Sullivan, in his definitive work on the bard could find no incontrovertible evidence of its origin. He does say it is in the harper's style and may have been composed by him, but the only attribution to Carolan in printed sources is in O'Neill's Music Of Ireland (1903), and it is not considered reliable. The tune was first published by Holden in 1806. Lyrics (not original with O'Carolan, but of a later era) set to the tune were published in Crosby's Irish Musical Repository (1808), and go:
Assist me, ye lads who have hearts void of guile,
To sing in the praises of old Ireland's isle,
Where true hospitality opens the door,
And friendship detains us for one bottle more.
One bottle more, arrah, one bottle more,
And friendship detains us for one bottle more.