| | This is a chorus and dance
specified for the men. A real toe-tapper! No, we mean it; the
score says Men Only! However, we are minded to stretch a point. It is
also marked Allegro giocoso (merry and playful) so we get the gist!
Now
for a spot of imagination. Picture the scene: People gathered on the village
green, ladies in their most beautiful dresses, men in their splendid Irish
costumes, the village band strikes a few well known chords; and we're away . .
.
St
Patrick Himself1!
(1˝ bars intro)
Men Only: Be---dad,
it's for him that we'll always employ
A name that St Patrick himself would enjoy---,
For St Patrick himself was a "broth of a boy", -
And he liked to be called it in Ireland!
Tenors: St Patrick himself was a "broth
of a boy".
Basses: St Patrick himself was a "broth
of a boy".
Tenors: St Patrick himself was a "broth
of a boy".
Tutti (Men): And he liked to be called it in
Ireland,
In Ire--land--!
Men Only: Be---dad,
it's for him that we'll always employ
A name that St Patrick himself would enjoy---,
For St Patrick himself was a "broth of a boy", -
And he liked to be called it in Ire-land-----!
- - - -In Ire--land----!
(1˝ bars Intro)
DANCE
. . .
Did
you manage to stay with the accelerating pace?
Oh well! If you really feel strongly. We
relent, the ladies can have a go
too. Arthur and Edward would feel flattered, we're sure. It's super isn't it?
Again
. . .?
Footnote 1: The MusicSmiles Team
were tempted to digress for a moment to do a bit of
research for information about Saint Patrick and have discovered a few details which
visitors may find interesting. The information was culled from Knowledge and other
sources. See our MusicSmiles
bibliography.
Experts' comments welcome. Return
to story.
 | Patrick was born in
western Britain. His father, Calpurnius, was a local official under the Romans.
When Patrick was about 16 his home was plundered in a pirate raid, the servants
and animals were all killed, the property burned, and he could be counted lucky
to be captured and taken as a slave to
Ireland. |
| Six years later he escaped and and embarked with some sailors and their Irish Wolf-dogs to Gaul. Here he felt a
strong religious
calling and for two years entered a monastery on the Island of Lérins,
near what is now Cannes on the French Riviera. |
| Then
he felt an urge to return to help the people of Ireland. But first he prepared
himself by studying for fourteen years in one of the great Christian centres in Auxerre,
to the south-east of Paris. |
| Patrick eventually landed in
Inverdea, on the coast of Wicklow and travelled north to the shores of
Strangford Lough, nearby to what is now the town named Downpatrick,
after him. With the help of a local chieftain he set up his first church in a wooden hut. |
| In
this wild, largely pagan land, with a strong Druid influence, he
was involved in a great deal of agro' and 'contests of miracles', and was
eventually accepted by the people. In his thirty years of tireless hard work, we
have little certain knowledge of Patrick's activities in Ireland, although there are
plenty of stories and legends. One of these tells how he rid the island of
Ireland of snakes and vipers. |
| Patrick died when he was
about 70 years of age, in AD 461. And in spite of the initial reaction to his
works, the Irish have taken him fully to their hearts. And his banner of thin
diagonal red cross on white background is
incorporated into the UK's Union Flag. |
| St
Patrick is said to have composed the following prayer (hymn), called the Breastplate
of St Patrick: |
I
bind to myself this day,
The Power of God to guide me,
The Might of God to uphold me,
The Wisdom of God to teach me,
The Eye of God to watch over me,
The Ear of God to hear me,
The Word of God to give me speech,
The Hand of God to protect me,
The Way of God to lie before me,
The Shield of God to guard me,
The Hosts of God to defend me,
Against all the tricks of Satan,
Against all temptations to sin,
Against anybody who would hurt me,
Whether far or near,
Whether alone or in company.
Maybe it's
time now to witness the lovely O
Setting Sun! . . .
|
