Annotation:Táim i n-Arréars
X:1 T:Táim i n-Arréars S:{\it Amhr\'ain na nGleann,} p. 53 Z:Jerome Colburn M:3/4 L:1/8 K:G A2 | B2 e2 e2 | e2 d2 B2 | d2 B2 A2 | B2 e2 e2 | e2 d2 B2 | d2 z2 e2 | f2 e2 e2 | e2 f2 e2 | d2 B2 A2 | B2 B2 B2 | A2 F2 F2 | E2 z2 F2 | F2 E2 E2 | E2 z2 FE | D2 z2 E2 | F2 E2 E2 | E2 F2 A2 | B2 z2 B2 | B2 A2 F2 | E2 B2 E2 | D2 z2 EE | F2 B2 B2 | A2 F2 E2 | E2 z2 :|**
TÁ IM I N-ARRÉARS. AKA and see "Moll Roe (3)." Irish, Air (3/4 time). This song is a variant of "Ta me i n-eagmais och Iocfadh me fos" (I'm in debt but I'll pay them yet), printed by collector Edward Bunting in 1840. It appears in Hannagan's Londubh an Chairn (No. 56) and Costello's Amhrain Muighe Sheola, and the words are also in O'Daly's Miscellany. One other version, a song by John Murphy, appears in the journal Ceol (volume 2, No. 4, p. 105), where it is stated "Moll Roe (3)" is a common name for the tune, according to Breathnach. Several songs using the melody exist: Finghin na Meamhna, in his 1939 work Amhráin na nGleann (Songs of the Glen), gives sixty-four verses of “Taim in Arrears,” attributed to poet Uileog Ó Céirí who lived in the vicinity of Castleisland in the 19th century. It is set to the tune of “Siúd ort, a mháthair mo chéile” (‘Here’s to you, mother-in-law’) {see Stanford/Petrie, No. 1460 & 1486}. Most modern players know the modern tune for the song as “Swaggering Jig (The).” Tim Dennehy recorded a County Clare version in English on his CD “Farewell to Milltown Malbay.” The chorus goes:
Mar atáimse 'n arréars, in arréars
Táimse in arréars i dtigh an óil,
Táimse 'n arréars, in arréars
Is ní fada go mairfeadsa beo.
