The Newry Highwayman
Encyclopedia
"The Newry Highwayman" is a traditional Irish
folk song
about a criminal's life, deeds, and death. It is also found in England, Scotland, the USA and Canada. The earliest known broadside is from about 1830 (Bodleian Harding B 25(2054)). Some versions mention "Mansfield" and this is sometimes taken to be William Murray, first Earl of Mansfield (1706-1793). It is classified as Roud 490, Laws L012.
Other titles for this song include:
Music of Ireland
Irish Music is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th, and into the 21st century, despite globalizing cultural forces...
folk song
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
about a criminal's life, deeds, and death. It is also found in England, Scotland, the USA and Canada. The earliest known broadside is from about 1830 (Bodleian Harding B 25(2054)). Some versions mention "Mansfield" and this is sometimes taken to be William Murray, first Earl of Mansfield (1706-1793). It is classified as Roud 490, Laws L012.
Other titles for this song include:
- Wild and Wicked Youth
- The Flash Lad
- In Newry Town
- Newlyn Town
- The Rambling Boy
- The Roving Blade
Recordings
- Tommy MakemTommy MakemThomas "Tommy" Makem was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, guitar, tin whistle, and bagpipes, and sang in a distinctive baritone...
and Liam ClancyLiam ClancyWilliam "Liam" Clancy was an Irish folk singer and actor from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest and last surviving member of performing group The Clancy Brothers. The group were regarded as Ireland's first pop stars...
on their 1978 album Two for the Early Dew. - The DublinersThe DublinersThe Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
on their 1983 album Prodigal SonsProdigal SonsProdigal Sons is an album by the Irish group The Dubliners. Produced by Bill Whelan, who later became famous for Riverdance, this album featured cellist Nigel Warren-Green as guest musician... - Four to the BarFour to the BarFour to the Bar was an Irish band in New York City during the early to mid 1990s.From its beginnings as one more hard-drinking pub band from the boroughs, it ventured into a neotraditional fusion of pop, rock, and Irish and American folk....
on their 1995 album Another SonAnother Son (album)Another Son was the second full-length album, and final recording, by Four to the Bar, released in 1995.The album was a radical departure from their first, 1994's Craic on the Road.The band is listed as producing the album...
. - Boiled in LeadBoiled in LeadBoiled in Lead is a world music band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They formed in 1983, going through a number of membership changes over the years...
on their 1994 album Antler Dance. - Clarence AshleyClarence Ashley"Tom" Clarence Ashley was an American clawhammer banjo player, guitarist and singer. He began performing at medicine shows in the Southern Appalachian region as early as 1911, and gained initial fame during the late 1920s as both a solo recording artist and as a member of various string bands...
& Tex Isley, recorded it as "Rude and Rambling Man" - The Carter Family recorded it as "The Rambling Boy"
- New Lost City RamblersNew Lost City RamblersThe New Lost City Ramblers is a contemporary old-time string band that formed in New York City in 1958 during the Folk Revival. The founding members of the Ramblers, or NLCR, are Mike Seeger, John Cohen, and Tom Paley...
recorded it as "Rambling Boy" in 1963 - Riley PuckettRiley PuckettGeorge Riley Puckett was an American country music pioneer mostly known for being a member of Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers.-Biography:...
recorded it as "Ramblin' Boy" - Waterson:CarthyWaterson:CarthyWaterson:Carthy are an English folk group originally comprising Norma Waterson on vocals, her husband Martin Carthy on guitar and vocals and their daughter Eliza Carthy on fiddle and vocals....
sang it on "Fishes and Fine Yellow Sand" as "Newry Town" - The WatersonsThe WatersonsThe Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies.-Career:...
sang it on "For Pence and Spicy Ale" as "Adieu Adieu" - Brass Monkey sang it on "Sound and Rumour" as "The Flash Lad"
- The Yetties sang it on "A Load Old Bales" as "Adieu Adieu"
- Eliza CarthyEliza CarthyEliza Carthy is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.-Life and career:...
sang it on "Red" (1998) as "Adieu Adieu" - SolasSolasSolas is an Irish-American musical group formed in 1994, playing Irish traditional music as well as original compositions, sometimes demonstrating an inclination towards Country music in recent albums....
performed it on their first self-titled album and again in their 2006 album Reunion: A Decade of Solas. - Fairport ConventionFairport ConventionFairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
on their 1977 album the Bonny Bunch of RosesThe Bonny Bunch of Roses"The Bonny Bunch of Roses" , also called "Bonaparte's Retreat", is an English folk song.The earliest known version of the tune is in William Christie's "Tradition Ballad Airs" , but there is another tune, of Irish origin. There is an obvious difficulty in identifying the narrator's voice...
as "Adieu Adieu" - Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
has occasionally performed the song live as "Newry Highwayman" or "Roving Blade"