The Old Orange Flute
The Dubliners
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In the County Tyrone, near the town of Dungannon, Where many the ructions meself had a hand in. Bob Williamson lived, a weaver by trade, And all of us thought him a stout Orange blade, On the Twelfth of July as it yearly did come, Bob played with his flute to the sound of a drum. You may talk of your harp, your piano or lute, But none can compare with the Old Orange Flute. Bob, the deceiver, he took us all in; He married a Papist named Bridget McGinn. Turned Papist himself and forsook the old cause That gave us our freedom, religion and laws. Now, boys of the townland made some noise upon it, And Bob had to fly to the province of Connaught. He fled with his wife and his fixings to boot, And along with the latter his Old Orange Flute. At the chapel on Sunday to atone for past deeds, He'd say Pater and Aves and counted his brown beads. 'Til after some time, at the priest's own desire He went with that old flute to play in the choir. He went with that old flute for to play for the Mass, But the instrument shivered and sighed, oh, alas, And try though he would, though it made a great noise, The flute would play only "The Protestant Boys." Bob jumped and he stared and got in a flutter And threw the old flute in the blessed holy water. He thought that this charm would bring some other Sound; When he tried it again, it played "Croppies Lie Down." Now, for all he could whistle and finger and blow, To play Papish music he found it no go. "Kick the Pope" and "The Boyne Water" it freely would Sound, But one Papish squeak in it couldn't be found. At the council of priests that was held the next day They decided to banish the old flute away. They couldn't knock heresy out of it's head, So they bought Bob a new one to play in it's stead. 'Twas fastened and burned at the stake as a heretic. As the flames soared around it, they heard a strange Noise; 'Twas the old flute still whistling "The Protestant Boys." "Toora lu, toora lay, Oh, it's six miles from Bangor to Donnahadee."
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Written by: BARNEY MCKENNA, CIARAN PADRAIG MAIRE BOURKE, JOHN EDMUND SHEAHAN, LUKE KELLY, RONALD JOSEPH DREW
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
10 facts about this song
Song Origins"The Old Orange Flute" is a traditional Irish folk song.
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PerformersThe song was popularized by The Dubliners, an Irish folk band.
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Album"The Old Orange Flute" was included in "Seven Deadly Sins", an album by The Dubliners released in 1967.
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Lyrics ThemeThe song tells a humorous story about the transformation of a Protestant Orange flute to a Catholic instrument.
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Oral TraditionBeing a traditional folk song, "The Old Orange Flute" was originally passed down through oral tradition.
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Song LengthThe song by The Dubliners runs approximately 2 minutes and 45 seconds
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Background InfoAn Orange Flute in the song's context refers to flute bands in the Orange Order – a fraternal organization based in Northern Ireland centered around preserving Protestant civil and religious liberties.
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Song GenreIt falls under the genre of Irish folk and ballad.
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Recorded VersionThe Dubliners' version of "The Old Orange Flute" was recorded live at the Gate Theatre, Dublin, in September 1966 and was produced by Nathan Joseph.
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Notable PerformancesThe Dubliners performed "The Old Orange Flute" at the Folk Festival in Dranouter, Belgium in 1984.
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Citation
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