Annotation:Leather Away with the Wattle

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LEATHER AWAY WITH THE WATTLE (Buail Leat Leis an Bata). AKA - "Leather Away the Wattle-O." AKA and see "Grand Old Dame (1) (The)," "Halfdoor," "I-Tiddly-I-Ti," "Leather the Bottle-O," "Lisdoonvarna Polka (2)," "Little Lisdoonvarna Polka (The)," "London Bridge Polka," "Maureen from Gibberland (2)," "Rose Tree (2)," "tSeanbhean uasal (An)," "Water Street Polka (The)." Irish, Polka and Air (2/4 time, "lively"). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (O'Neill): AABB (Tubridy). The song (sans music) appears first in John O'Daly's (1800-1878) Poets and Poetry of Munster (1849), a version reprinted by Howe and O'Neill. O'Daly notes:

This spirited air escaped the notice of our most eminent collector, [Edward] Bunting, and probably would have never been in print had it not fallen into our hands. The words are the production of a violent Jacobite. By leathering away with the wattle , he implies his determination to decide all political differences by an appeal to 'physical force'. The wattle was a stout cudgel, or 'Ailpin', in frequent requisition at country fairs and faction fights early in the present century. (p. 193).

The Philadelphia-based band The Four Provinces Orchestra recorded the tune (under the title "Leather Away") in 1924. Bayard (1981) suggests that the first part of this air was the derivation of the second part of the minstrel tune "Mary Run Away with the Coon." There is some superficial resemblance in the first bar or two to the well-known "Rose Tree," enough to result in some mild but intrusive cross-titling (see the 'Maureen from Gibberland' and 'Rose Tree' variants).

The title "Leather Away with the Wattle" has attracted various thoughts regarding its meaning, including that 'leather away' i.e. to go at something vigorously, and 'wattle' i.e. a stick, means 'to have a vigorous go with the stick'; leading to a suggestion (albeit without much evidence, and more puerile enthusiasm) that it is a euphemism for male masturbation. However almost certainly the phrase refers to the process of curing leather, as Wattle bark is a principle source of tannin in Ireland and Great Britain. The bark may have tannin content of 40-50 percent, and is ground into a powder for the process, producing a solid, very firm, and faintly pink leather, which is especially used for soles.

Source for notated version: Pádraig O'Keeffe (Sliabh Luachra) [Breathnach].

Printed sources: Breathnach (The Man & his Music), 1996; p. 95. Levey (Collection of Iris Music, vol. 2), 113. O'Daly (The Poets and Poetry of Munster) 1849; p. 192. O'Daly-Meehan, 1885; p. 232. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903; No. 413, p. 72. Petrie-Stanford (Complete Collection), 1903-06; No. 1203. Tubridy (Irish Traditional Music, Book Two), 1999; p. 8.

Recorded sources:

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