Annotation:Ould Dart (The)
X:1 T:Ould Dart, The M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Air S:Harding's All Round Collection (1905), No. 81 Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:D ded fga|ABA ABc|d2b afd|e3 efe| ded fga|ABA A2b|agf ede|1"2nd d not dotted in Harding"d2z d3:|2d2z d2|| |:d|cde efe|(A3 A2)e|cde ef^g|(a3 a2)=g| ffe dBc|d2e f2^a|bfe dec|(B3 B2)A| ded f>ga|(d3 d2)A|ddb afd|(e3 e2)e| ffe def|gab a2A|agf efe|d2z d2:|]
OULD DART, THE. AKA and see "Bonnets so Blue (1)." Irish, Air (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. A note in Boston College's Sacred Heart Review of March 31, 1900, explains:
John Conway of Winchendon writes to correct the Michigan Catholic, which lately referred to Ireland as the "ould dart." This is a very common expression among the Irish in America when speaking affectionately yet humorously of Ireland. Father Conway says it should be "ould airt" from the Gaelic word aird. It will be seen how easily "ould airt" became corrupted into "ould dart."
"Ould Dart" was in slang use in the United States since at least 1863, when it appears in the Donnybrook-Fair Comic Songster.
