> Shirley Collins > Songs > The Streets of Derry
> June Tabor > Songs > Derry Gaol
> Peter Bellamy > Songs > Derry Gaol
> Spiers & Boden > Songs > Derry Gaol

The Streets of Derry / Derry Gaol / Hail a Brighter Day

[ Roud 896 ; Laws L11 ; Henry H705 ; Ballad Index LL11 ; trad.]

Sarah Makem sang the Irish rebel song Derry Gaol in a Peter Kennedy recording on the anthology Fair Game and Foul (The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 7; Caedmon 1961; Topic 1970).

Shirley Collins sang this song as The Streets of Derry on her 1967 album The Sweet Primeroses accompanied by her sister Dolly Collins playing the flute-organ. This track was also included in her anthologies Fountain of Snow and Within Sound. She noted on the original album:

Recorded by Peter Kennedy and Sean O’Boyle from Mrs Sarah Makem. Of all the songs I have ever heard in The Gallows Pole family, this version, with the glimpses of a proud young man walking “like a commanding officer”, and the wild, slow melody, appeals to me most. There are extra verses which I omitted about “his aged mother and father” refusing to buy the young man off the gallows. Dolly here employs a sustained drone in the manner of the uilleann pipes.

Trees sang Streets of Derry in 1970 on their CBS album On the Shore.

Al O’Donnell sang Streets of Derry on his eponymous 1972 Trailer album Al O’Donnell. He noted:

Dates roughly from the 1750s and illustrates, alarmingly, the repetition of events in Derry then, as now.

Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill sang The Streets of Derry in 1977 on The Bothy Band’s Mulligan album Out of the Wind Into the Sun.

Andy Irvine sang The Streets of Derry in 1976 on his and Paul Brady’s eponymous album Andy Irvine Paul Brady. Frank Harte noted on the album’s sleeve:

A more complete version of this song was recorded in 1952 by Peter Kennedy and Sean O’Boyle from Sarah Makem in Keady Co. Armagh, and she gave them her version of the story thus: –

A young gentleman that fell in love with a rich lady and her parents didn’t want him to get her and she fought hard to get him and she went away to the Queen and got pardon. She took her Willie and she married him and defied her parents—She was right. I didn’t blame her one bit. He was the fellow she wanted and she was right to take him.

The song is similar to The Maid Freed From the Gallows (Child 95). It was also collected by Sam Henry and appears in his collection Songs of the People under the title The Dreary Gallows (No. 705)

June Tabor sang Derry Gaol in a BBC Radio session recorded on 11 July 1977 and broadcast on 19 July 1977. This recording was included in 1998 on her CD of BBC sessions, On Air.

Peter Bellamy learned Derry Gaol from the singing of Sarah Makem too and recorded it for his 1979 Topic album Both Sides Then. He also played the tune of The Streets of Derry on the whistle in a recording of unknown origin, possibly from the Peter Bellamy recording sessions; at least it was included on that album’s CD reissue as part of the Fair Annie 2CD set.

Eddie Butcher of Magilligan, Co. Derry, sang The Weary Gallows in March 1979 to Hugh Shields. This recording was included on the 3 CD set that accompanied Shields’ 2011 book on Eddie Butcher, All the Days of His Life.

Jim Eldon sang Derry Gaol in 1984 on his aptly-named album I Wish There Was No Prisons.

Julie Henigan sang The Streets of Derry on her 1997 CD American Stranger (an extended reissue of her 1993 cassette). She noted:

Possibly a reworking of The Maid Freed From the Gallows (Child #95), this Northern Irish song exists in a number of variants in Ulster and the U.S. I learned this one from several sources, including Scottish singer Janet Russell, from whom I filched the guitar “fill” I use between verses.

John Spiers and Jon Boden recorded Derry Gaol in 2002 for their Fellside CD Songs, omitting two verses that Peter Bellamy sang. They noted:

Learnt (along with the majority of Jon’s pub singing repertoire) from Peter Bellamy. He, in turn, learnt it from Sarah Makem. The last-minute-rescue-from-the-gallows motif is common across the globe, although this version features one of the more realistic depictions of Pre-Execution Tension.

Jon Boden also sang Derry Gaol as the 7 August 2010 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day, and a variant called Hail a Brighter Day (which basically just adds a chorus) as the 22 March 2011 entry of A Folk Song a Day, on which he commented:

This is arguably a bit of a cheat as it’s essentially Derry Gaol, but I’m quite fond of the chorus, and it works well in a session. I wrote the chorus for a production of The Juniper Tree a few years back, and we’ve performed this a few times with the Remnant Kings.

In this YouTube video, Spiers & Boden perform The Rain It Rains, Jiggery Pokework / Haul Away / Seven Stars and Derry Gaol at Biddulph Town Hall in 2007:

Jackie Oates sang Derry Gaol in 2011 on the Woodbine & Ivy Band’s eponymous album, The Woodbine & Ivy Band.

Pilgrims’ Way sang The Elms of Tyburn on their 2017 album Stand & Deliver.

Compare to this the song The Prickly Bush / The Maid Freed From the Gallows (Roud 144; Child 95) that has a similar plot.

Lyrics

Shirley Collins sings The Streets of Derry

Now after morning there comes an evening
And after the evening another day.
And after false love there comes a true love;
I’ll have you listen now to what I say.

My love he is as fine a young man
As fair as any the sun shone on.
But how to save him I do not know it,
For now he’s got a sentence to be hung.

As he was a-marching through the streets of Derry,
I’m sure he marched up right manfully,
Being much more like a commanding officer
Than a man to die upon a gallows tree.

“What keeps my love, she’s so long a-coming?
Oh, what detains her so long from me?
Or does the think it’s a shame or scandal
To see me die on the gallows tree?”

He looked around and he saw her coming,
As she rode swifter than the wind.
“I let them see that they dare not hang you,
And I’ll crown my love with a bunch of green.”

Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill sings The Streets of Derry

My love is one of the fairest young men
That ever was in this country,
But how to win him, I do not know it
For he is sentenced for to die.

As he walked out the streets of Derry,
He walked so proud and so manfully.
He was far more like a commanding officer
Than a man to die on the gallows tree.

The first time he went to climb the ladder
His blooming face began to pale,
And this he said, “Is there no assistance?
Is there no release in the Derry gaol?”

He took another step up the ladder
His beloved father was standing by –
“Come here, come near, my beloved father
And speak one word to me before I die.”

The next time he went to climb the ladder
His beloved sister was standing by –
“Come here, come near, my beloved sister
And speak one word to me before I die.

“I wonder what become of my true love
Or what has sent her so long from me?
Or does she think it a great dishonour
For to see me die on a gallows tree?”

He looked around and he saw her coming
And she was dressed up in woolens fine.
And then he stepped, and she draws nearer,
Was swifter than the [whirl?]wind.

“Come down, come down off that weary gallow
For I’ve got your pardon from the king,
And I’ll let them see we’ll be united
And I’ll crown my Johnny with a laurel leaf.”

Peter Bellamy sings Derry Gaol

Oh, after morning there comes an evening
And after evening another day.
And after false love, there comes a true love;
It is hard to hold them that will not stay.

My love, he is the finest young man,
He is as fair as any the sun shone on.
Ah but how to save him I do not know it,
Since he’s been sentenced all to be hung.

As he was marched up through the streets of Derry,
I’m sure he marched up right manfully,
Being much more like some commanding officer
Than a man to hang upon the gallows tree.

Now the very first step he did put on that ladder,
His bloomin’ colour began to fail;
Then with heavy sighin’ and bitter cryin’,
“Is there no releasement from Derry Gaol?”

And the very next step he did put on that ladder,
His lovin’ clergyman was standing by,
Cryin’, “Stand you back, you false prosecutors,
I will make you see that he may not die.”

“Yes, I will make you see that you may not hang him
Until his confession to me is done;
And then you will see that you may not hang him
Till within ten minutes of the setting sun.”

“Where is my love? She is so long a-comin’;
And what detains her so long from me?
Oh, does she think it some shame or scandal
For to see me hang upon the gallows tree?”

He looked around and he saw her coming
As she rode swifter than the wind.
“Oh come down, come down from those weary gallows
For I bear your pardon all from the Queen;
For I made them see that they may not hang you
And I’ll crown my love all with a bunch of green!”

Spiers & Boden sing Derry Gaol

Oh, after morning there comes the evening
And after evening another day.
And after old love there comes the new love,
It is hard to keep those that will not stay.

My love he is the finest young man
That ever nature framed or sun shone on.
Oh, but how to save him, I do not know it,
For he is sentenced all to be hung.

As he marched out through the streets of Derry,
I’m sure he marched up right manfully,
Being much more like some commanding officer
Than one to hang upon the gallows tree.

But the very first step he put on the gallows
His blooming colour began to fade,
And with bitter sighing and tender crying,
“Is there no releasement from Derry gaol?”

“Where is my love, she is so long a-coming
And what detains her so long from me?
Or does she think it some shame or scandal
For to see me hang upon the gallows tree?”

Well he looked around and he saw her coming
As she rode faster than the wind,
“Stand back, stand back you false prosecutors
For I bear releasement all from the King,
For I made them see they may not hang you,
And I’ll crown my love all with a gown of green.”

Jon Boden sings Hail a Brighter Day

Oh, after morning there comes the evening
And after evening another day.
And after old love there comes the new love,
It is hard to keep those that will not stay.

My love he is the finest young man
That ever nature framed or sun shone on.
Oh, but how to save him, I do not know it,
For he is sentenced all to be hung.

Chorus (after every other verse):
So come wind, blow the clouds away,
And hail, hail, hail a brighter day

As he marched out through the streets of Derry,
I’m sure he marched up right manfully,
Being much more like some commanding officer
Than one to hang upon the gallows tree.

But the very first step he put on the gallows
His blooming colour began to fade,
With bitter sighing and tender crying,
“Is there no releasement from Derry gaol?”

“Where is my love, she is so long a-coming
And what detains her so long from me?
Or does she think it some shame or scandal
For to see me hang upon the gallows tree?”

Well he looked around and he saw her coming
As she rode faster than the wind,
“Stand back, stand back you false prosecutors
For I bear releasement all from the King,
Well I made them see they may not hang you,
And I’ll crown my love all with a gown of green.”