Molly Malone Redux

“Molly Malone” ... is a popular song, set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin City.

The Molly Malone statue in Grafton Street was unveiled by then Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alderman Ben Briscoe during the 1988 Dublin Millennium celebrations, declaring June 13 as Molly Malone Day.

The song tells the tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin, but who died young, of a fever. Recently a legend has grown up that there was a historical Molly, who lived in the 17th century. She is typically represented as a hawker by day and part-time prostitute by night. In contrast she has also been portrayed as one of the few chaste female street-hawkers of her day.

However, there is no evidence that the song is based on a real woman, of the 17th century or at any other time.

“Molly Malone” at Wikipedia

Back at the start of the month I did a post called, “Sharks In Shoes” that included a reference to Molly Malone and a reasonably cool video of a couple of young Euro musicians performing the song.

When I wrote that post I kind of took it for granted that everybody knew the lyrics to the song and would be familiar with the background a little bit. But ever since I put up that post I’ve been thinking that I’m probably nuts. Probably most people never heard the whole song and have no idea about its background. So I decided to do another post with the lyrics and an excerpt from the song’s Wikipedia page. Just to be clear.

I will have more posts sometime in the future with Molly Malone.

By the way, cockles and mussels are two different kind of shellfish. They are both “filter-feeders” that eat whatever is in the water that flows past them and flows over their mouthparts. Mussels typically are dark and look like elongated clams. Cockles typically look like very picturesque seashells. Here is a recipe for monkfish with cockles & mussels.



Here are the lyrics to Molly Malone:

In Dublin’s fair city,
Where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!”

“Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh.”
Crying “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh”

She was a fishmonger,
But sure ’twas no wonder,
For so were her father and mother before,
And they each wheeled their barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!”

“Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh.”
Crying “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh”

She died of a fever,
And no one could save her,
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone.
Now her ghost wheels her barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!”

“Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh.”
Crying “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh”