It means an uproarious drunken brawl, a scene of heated argument and fighting, and an Irish jig, but takes its name from a longstanding fair in a district of Dublin. So where does this word appear in lyrics?
Donnybrook Fair began in 1205 after permission was granted by the English King John I for the Corporation of Dublin to have an eight-day market fair, that was later extended to 14 days. It quickly became a social focus point, and a traditional late August institution. It lasted for centuries, until the mid-19th century, by which time, it had a reputation for being less for a fair, more for an event devoted to sustained drinking and fighting. In Ireland? Surely not! But the word, and the double jig associated with it, the Humours of Donnybrook Fair, spawned many old songs, including this traditional folk number written in the 18th century by an unknown writer. It contains wonderfully vivid descriptions. This version recorded by the singer Tommy Makem on his 1975 album Ever The Winds:
To Donnybrook steer all you sons of Parnassus
Poor painters, poor poets, poor newsmen and knaves
To see what the fun is that all fun surpasses
The sorrows and sadness of green Erin's slaves
Oh Donnybrook Jewel!
Full of mirth is your quiver
Where all flock from Dublin to gape and to stare
At two elegant bridges without e'er a river
So success to the humours of Donnybrook Fair
Oh you lads that are witty, from famed Dublin city
And you that in pastime take any delight
To Donnybrook fly, for the time's drawing nigh
When fat pigs are hunted and lean cobblers fight
When maidens so swift run for a new shift
Men muffled in sacks, for a shirt they race there
There jockeys well booted and horses sure-footed
All keep up the humours of Donnybrook Fair
The mason does come with his line and his plumb
The sawyer and carpenter, brothers in chips
There are carvers and guilders and all sorts of builders
With soldiers from barracks and sailors from ships
There confectioners, cooks and the printers of books
There stampers of linen and weavers repair
There widows and maids and all sorts of trades
Go join in the humours of Donnybrook Fair
There tinkers and nailers and beggars and tailors
And singers of ballads and girls of the sieve
With Barrack street rangers, the known ones and strangers
And many that no one can tell how they live
There horsemen and walkers and likewise fruit-hawkers
And swindlers the devil himself that would dare
With pipers and fiddlers and dandlers and diddlers
All met in the humours of Donnybrook Fair
'Tis there are dogs dancing and wild beasts a-prancing
With neat bits of painting, red, yellow and gold
Toss players and scramblers and showmen and gamblers
Pick-pockets in plenty, the young and the old
There are brewers and bakers and jolly shoemakers
With butchers and porters and men that cut hair
There are montebanks grinning, while others are sinning
To keep up the humours of Donnybrook Fair
Brisk lads and young lassies can fill up their glasses
With whiskey and send a full bumper around
Jig it off in a tent till their money's all spent
And spin like a top till they rest on the ground
Oh Donnybrook capers to sweet cat-gut scrapers
They bother the vapours and drive away care
And what is more glorious, there's naught more uproarious
Hurrah for the humours of Donnybrook Fair
More folk now on the fair itself, this time not from an Irish performer but from the Scottish band Silly Wizard, formed in Edinburgh in 1970s, with If I Was A Blackbird, from the album Wild & Beautiful (1981), in which the event is the focus point of forlorn, but rather passionate love song:
I offered to take her to Donnybrook Fair
And to buy her fine ribbons to tie up her hair
I offered to marry and to stay by her side
But she says in the morning she sails with the tide
Oh, if I was a blackbird could whistle and sing,
I'd follow the vessel my true love sails in,
And in the top riggin' I would there build my nest,
And I'd flutter my wings o'er her lily white breast.
Time for a brawl? Let’s up the tempo now, with the American punk rock band Street Dogs, from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2002 by former Dropkick Murphys singer Mike McColgan, who captures the fray that begins after a boxing or informal fight ends with an unsatisfactory decision. The result? It leads into the wonderfully titled Justifiable Fisticuffs (from the album Savin Hill, 2003).
We've passed the point of argument, the tension fills the air
I try to mediate diplomatically, but you don't even care
It's time to put them up and throw them down
Take this squabble round to round
Have a row, time to throw, can't see nothing but red
High time for the justifiable fisticuffs
No more debate games, justifiable fisticuffs
Justifiable fisticuffs, you've got to know when enough's enough
When it's viable, call their bluff, we need to get it out!
The battle starts, the two engage
Toe to toe, they vent their rage
Hooks from here, leads go there, the battle now ensues
But they could be more, another fight
Passions flare and skin grows tight
Thank the lord there are two more bouts on the undercard tonight
High time for the justifiable fisticuffs
No more debate games, justifiable fisticuffs
Justifiable fisticuffs, you've got to know when enough's enough
When it's viable, call their bluff, we need to get it out!
The boxing stops, the fight concludes
Blows were tossed and insults cued
It's all over, it's all through, the judges make the call
Card to card, point to point, the judges make no sense at all
Malay starts, the crowd goes nuts
A donnybrook has come
And the Irish immigration to America link continues, this time with the Rockford, Illinois 1970s band Cheap Trick, and a song that appears on the album Sex, America, Cheap Trick (1996), all about how a relationship can degenerate into fighting.
Years ago, our love was told
Reminded those of love
Like in a storybook
Now we're fighting every day
This ain't love, This is hate
Get it straight
Take a break
Storybrook
Years ago our love was told
Reminisced and kissed
The fifties flame
So we've been told
Now we're fighting every day
This ain't love
This is hate
Get it straight
Take a break
Donnybrook
So then, any more donnybrooks out there to share, either about the fights, the fair or other contexts? Feel free to share your examples, fictional, factual, nonsense or otherwise, or in comments below would be most welcome, or other unusual words or contexts. Does this song make you think of something else? Then feel free to comment below, on the contact page, or on social media: Song Bar Twitter, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube. Please subscribe, follow and share.
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