Irish Songs in a Woman's Key: Teddy O'Neill

All the guitar books that I've come across, for folk or particularly for Irish songs, annotate the songs in keys that are suitable for men.   Women who are starting to play guitar and who haven't mastered the art of transposing yet ( a subject for another post) try to play the songs and give up really quickly because either the song is way too low or way too high.  

Several of my female students ask me for the chords of songs so I thought it'd be good to start a series here with particular focus on Irish songs, both traditional and contemporary.  These keys are the keys in which I play and sing the songs.   I play this one with the capo on the 3rd fret.   To move it higher, move the capo up another fret or two, or to sing it lower move it back a couple of frets.

Teddy O'Neill is one of my all time favourite songs - I'm sure it was written in America in the 1930s, maybe earlier; the words are really corny, but the sentiment and the melody are just perfect.   I first heard it sung by the wonderful Dolores Keane.   (Sometimes it is sung with Verse 2 sung first).

Teddy O’Neill

Capo Fret 3

  

      G                   Em                Am               D

I dreamt but last night, ah bad cess to my dreaming

        G          Em                  Am                D

I’d die if I thought it would e'er come to pass

        G                    Em                  Am                         D

I dreamt while the tears down my pale cheeks were streaming

            G             Em         Am      D    G

That Teddy was courting another fair lass

        D                                     C                  G

Ah didn’t I wake with such weeping and wailing

         Em                                          Am            D

The thought of that dream was too much to endure

          G                    Em            Am                 D

My mother cried, ‘Nora child, what has you ailing?’

       G               Em                Am  D    G

But all I could answer was Teddy O’Neill

I’ve seen the mud cabin he danced his wild jigs in

As neat a mud cabin as ever was seen

Considering ‘twas used to keep poultry and pigs in

I’m sure you’d allow ‘twas both tidy and clean

But now all around seems so sad and so weary

So sad and so silent, no piper, no reel,

Not even the sun through the casement shines cheerly

Since I lost my own darling boy, Teddy O’Neill

Shall I ever forget when the big ship was ready

And the moment had come for my love to depart

I cried like a spalpeen, ‘Goodbye to you Teddy’

With a tear in my eyes and a stone in my heart

He says ‘tis to better his fortune he’s leaving

But what would be gold to the joy I would feel

To see him come back to me, honest and loving

Still poor, but my own darling Teddy O’Neill.

This blog is Day 22 of Sarah Allen's 30 day blog challenge