Madrigals - Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye

[comvic20]

I actually sang this song with Alice Parker (the arranger of this version) directing back in the early 1980s with the Wisconsin Honors Choir. She had us sing "Ath-ee". She also took it significantly faster. Seeing as it was her rendition I would assume that was how she wanted it.

[BleachLover90210]

I love this song. Our choir is learning it now. But Athy is pronounced Ath-eye. And the tempo was incredibly slow. It needs to be at the tempo marked on the music, not your own. This is supposed to be a fast song, not a slow, drawn out one.

Other than that I liked it. :)

[gsmonks]

@BleachLover90210 No, this song was written (late 18th century) to be something of a dirge, and was an anti-war song.

[ANARCHYfather]

i love the legs section!!!!

[shannjann77]

no sense of phrasing until the end

it would have been better to have a gradual crescendo not just piano to fortisimo

[jesslikesmusic]

the tempo is way too fast....

taller vowels would have helped

[Galameth]

It is well sung, but, unfortunately it is an example of them singing something they did NOT research. Instead of choosing a song that meant something to them, they chose to be all show. And yes, it is Ath-EYE, and, go figure, the rest of that verse RHYMES with it. How they got it wrong, who knows. But, it's immortalized on video now, so....

[rishsaysSTFU]

this is a great song.. really well sung :) it breaks my heart every single time i'm gonna hear it.. beautiful.

[NeonlightRebel]

West Springfield XD! When I told my friends here in Germany about this video, they all began laughing, because all German teenagers associate with the name "Springfield" is the Simpsons ;). But then, everybody died of envy that a school can have such a great choir! Our German school choirs are nothing against this one, I swear!

[Kerochani]

LOVE IT.

Mr. Dombrow is one of the best.

[stefanatutube]

sad that the quality of the record is so bad :( but still sounds really nice :)

[pianoman710]

listen to the clancy brothers and tommy makem sing it

[ActaSanctorum]

the director really fouled up this piece. It seems so counter-intuitive to have them sing and pronounce it this way.

[bluexqueen]

My high school wauwatosa east is singing this song but we sing it at a different tempo

[Aceofh]

well its not traditon but dropkick murphys sing it it

[TheSquidification]

Ath-Ai not Ath-ee.

[fergawdsache]

well i enjoyed it anyway.

[goldenlion40]

have you ever heard of vowels? All of your vowels were so spread, and SPEED,IT,UP! We are singing this in my high school choir, and its ath-eye

[ennma93]

@FaeRae4Jason & shantyman62: the correct pronounciation is (ath-eye) as well it should be johny i hardly knew ya. im preaty shure

[rtspurs]

FaeRae4Jason... in Ireland it would be pronounced yeh, not yee! stay out of dublin to see the real ireland

[iluvGAA]

good singers but ahhhh i cant listen to this song being sung like this! yous should put a bit of irish tunage in it and speed it up ;)

[volch1]

beutifull

[FaeRae4Jason]

The ye-ya thing is reallng confusing me, too. I'm a direct relative to General Sheridan from the US Civil War. His parents came over during the Potato Famine; I've been studying Irish History and language so I won't seem quite as much as a tourist when I visit; my question is, is this sung as "ye" or "ya?" in most of the traditional Irish recordings I have of it, it is pronounced "ya." I'm very confused. Any help?

[CrescentFenix]

@FaeRae4Jason I've heard both and when my choir worked on the song it was "ye"...I think they are both interchangeable but I'm not entirely certain :/

[TommyKeegan]

@CrescentFenix Na, it's Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya, not ye. It's singular, about a woman seeing her husband coming home from the war and she cannot recognise him because of his injuries..

[78topper]

Sheridan was born in NY State in 1831.

The potato famine did not begin till 1845.

[TheSquidification]

I'm pretty sure it's ye. We're singing this song for my high school choir class and the original score has it written as ye. Then again it could be one of those songs where it doesn't matter

[krabby10]

Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye-Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

listen to Irish singers!!

[woodyrulesok]

Great version.

Shame it's not better quality though.

[shantyman62]

I thought Athy was pronounced (ATH-EYE) not (ATH-EE)

Am I mistaken?

[aimhrialta]

Correct. Pretty harmonies though.

[TheSquidification]

@shantyman62 Tis Ath-eye. To rhyme with "eye" At least they got "ye" right. Some people say "ya"

[Toooley01]

@shantyman62 nahh mann your right, the way thay put it sounds proper posh and boring lol

[pizzaman3210]

@shantyman62 no ur not its a chior effect...lol they do things like that

[eheinz]

@shantyman62 You're right. They're pronouncing it incorrectly. Sweet Athy rhymes with pie. Just like the Fields of Athenry. So it rhymes with "tear in my eye" at the end of the verse.

[kijibug]

@shantyman62 Our Chorale sang this song and we pronounced it (ATH-EYE) so I do believe they pronounced it wrong.

[hatstalker]

@shantyman62 Its Ath-EYE!

[hinatahi]

@shantyman62 I believe you're correct, but mistakes are unavoidable; whether in interpretation, practice or performance

[guitarbeasts]

@shantyman62 Music directors though can mess it up by thinking their correct and being anal about it

[MegagamerZ23]

i like dropkick murphys version better

[wolfbrother2501]

btw YE is a plural here in ireland Ya is singular

[lastlaff69]

I'm pretty sure its pronounced Johnny I hardly knew ye

[gloin118118]

i swear its jonny i hardly knew YA not jonny i hardly knew YE

[MrToiletMuncher]

Ye is irish.

[ohnemetalisallesdoof]

it's ye

[billiejoehun]

unfortunatelly nope. originally its an IRISH anti-recruting song. In irish its actually ..YE. :)

[wolfbrother2501]

fail its athy not atee

[DOorDIE44]

dude, that was the buggin the fuck outta me!

[wolfbrother2501]

lol i know its annoying as hell

[dodgerh8ter]

Bravo! Well done.

[hogwartsseeker]

Ath-ee? Definitely not commented like that. My choir is performing this piece at Music in the Parks Competition. It is much slower than this. Lots more emotion is needed...

[TehCheese]

lol Athee! I'd love to hear them trying to pronounce Dun Laoghaire. Still very well sung!

[Salizfeastry]

That was fuckin' beautiful...Made me fuckin' cry...nothing could sound better than that damn it

[dex33]

Does anyone have a better quality of this song sung in this fashion? Not that I dislike Dropkick, but I would love to have this version forexample in mp3 quality...

[CrescentFenix]

I wish our choir could do this

[cowsaresuperneat]

Wow, this is usually a pretty song when the choir doesn't go flat in the first 30 seconds.

[athenaeumfolk]

very gooooood :)

[TommyKeegan]

they don't pronounce it ath-ee in any region so don't be making up things. It's Ath-i, it comes from the English changing the Irish name of the town which is Ath Í which means the ford of Í (him being an ancient king). And why someone on here is suggesting it's not Irish??? As for the Puerto Rican guy, I think he doesn't quite get Ireland.

[samo300]

sucks lol

[dallastexas3108]

Honestly, I thought that the sopranos were a little nasely for my taste, but other than that this was very good!

[ericshw171]

it makes the irish blood in me run cold

[d132435]

i love this version of the song. it's so haunting.

[jmlives27]

how do you really feel about it?

[spiffyMcDonald]

I luv tis

[spiffyMcDonald]

I luv tis

[spiffyMcDonald]

I luv tis

[spiffyMcDonald]

I luv tis

[spiffyMcDonald]

I luv tis

[irishguyseddy]

They did say athy wrong but who the hell cares we are irish not perfect (damn close) cheers what i bad ass choir. 15kacie15 your choir techer should be flogged! they were amazing

[tanczosandras]

In some regions they do pronounce athy as a-thee. Alse 'e' is a lot easier to sing on a high note.

[FickleDawn]

What region of your imagination would that be?

[TommyKeegan]

@tanczosandras What regions would those b?. The town is Athy (a-thigh). Comes from the Irish name of the town, Átha Í , which means Ford of Ae - Ae being an old Irish chieftan and the ford is a place of low water on the River Barrow that was a crossing point in ancient times.

[power5eid]

Does anyone realize that their pronouncing Athy wrong. It is supposed to be "a-thigh" not "a-thee."

[tanczosandras]

Anyone knows where I can get the quire sheets?

[Caileysmom]

This is just beautiful. I've heard many versions and this was just fantastic! Very moving and well done musically.

[magister92]

i actually think this song can be interpreted in a lot of different ways and tempos, this version is perfect

[atree496]

sry to say but its too slow for a song like this. DROPKICK MURPHYS

[1maninroom]

nice man i gave u thumbs up!!

[cowsaresuperneat]

Dude, this is how the song was originally meant to sound. It's a sad, slow song. But yes, the dropkick murphys do kick major ass.

[dnebdal]

I suspect this is slower than it was originally sung, though - while this tempo works with a choir, it'd be easier for a small band or single musician to pull it off with a bit more speed. (As an example, there's a good man+guitar version by raymondcrooke on here.)

In fact, the dropkick murphys' version might be closer in spirit to the original - reading it as an angry satire of "Johnny comes marching home again" suggest a more aggressive style.

Still, I do like this version, too. : )

[m1a1thompsonsmg]

I once marched to this..... brings tears to my eyes....

[MythicalMelody]

I love this song.

I personally didn't like the soprano part. The sopranos' voices sounded thin and nasally.

I thought the men did very well. :)

[hms789]

maybe they meant to sing it athee instead of athy

[Zeramir]

The choir is awesome, and its athy not athee, and irish songs are meant to be sung on the 17with a pint of beer in hand and while braking chairs in peoples backs in this incredible day where all of we can be Irish for 24 hours! IM PUERTORRICAN!!!

[ibnFadlan93]

That's definitly a different way of singing it... STILL AMAZING! Control of your choir like that is AMAZING!

[15kacie15]

wow...Im in Varsity Choir at my school. We are singing this song for our next concert...But This choir is singing it wired...I thought it was athy...not athee...It just sounds weird. and they are singing it a little fast.

[dnebdal]

Compared to the "guy on a guitar" - versions (that I'd guess are closer to the spirit of the song), this is far on the slow side. While this is a fairly nice version, I doubt any further slowing down would do it good. :)

You're right on the aty/athee , though.

[15kacie15]

lol, Yeah. I showed this to my Choir teacher, She said that they were going just like a little too fast. not by much thought. If I can get our cd ill put us singing it on here. We sound a little difrent than they do.

[Ratter08]

The Americans sing irish songs. tztztz

[bunyip2005]

I'm sure it's based off an old american song since many people in Ireland hadn't heard of the tune until they heard the Irish version

[mua06dt]

it is an irish tune, without doubt, it was used by the irish americans during the civil war

[Doecat92]

Very nice, very nice...but its pronounce AthY, like Ath-EYE. but still a very very nice version of the song.

[ronyooo]

Beautiful performance... Awsome, but have You a better recording, because it's a very perfect performance, and This choir sensational.

MARVEl from Hungary :D

[bpc1960]

this is pure shite!

[wsdrummer06]

its a different state but its so weird cause i live in west springfield and there is a westfield next to me haha scary

[MemoNoodles]

Damn good interpretation of this song!!! Just amazing!!!!

[89jonster]

not bad.. but its kind of odd i think hearing this song sung by a choir.. song is suppose to have more energy, just my opinion

[tyhnn]

Well, I for one think they sound pretty darn good !

[AjPr0ductions]

Wow amazing.

[TommyKeegan]

you'd think after going to all that work from getting the vocals right to the uniforms and the rest, they'd have worked out how to pronounce Athy. Ruins it

[35mac]

Outstading work.

Sad to see others compare in the negative.

having been around for a lot of music years with great peformers, I applaud the complexity and precision of the entire group.

I joined youtube just to post this message. I am preparing a program on PTSD and was researching this song. Again tks for music

chuck

[SomnAmbulist2007]

Beautiful performance...

I'd like to have a better recording to put on my mp3-player. Do you have any to send me?

[EmpathicGolem]

Beautiful

[crazygurlie93]

wow. ya'll sound really young. the freshamn chorus at my school sound alot older then theese people. our advanced women & the advanced men chorus(10, 11, and 12 graders) sang this song at our fall concert. it was wayyyyyy better and they sounded like high schoolers not middle schoolers. like theeese people do.

[RiverHockey]

great song and performance, kind of depressing for a bunch of high school kids to sing though.

The music of this song is attributed to Patrick Gilmore, who was in charge of bands for the US Army. The words are from an old Irish poem. The reference to Ceylon (Sullon), or Sri Lanka as we know it today, dates the poem to the early 19 th centry, when a lot of Irishmen fought for the British to protect the East India Company.

[mixedmadrigals08]

Amaizing Performance from your madrigals great sound from such a small ensemble

[Kimmykins2010]

Our Mads are amazing...and about half of them were sick during this so y'all can just shut up. They did an amazing job...I'd like to see you do better

[ltown1]

yall sound crapy...you need more bass in all you sound...and you conductor has no feeling for the music

[Kimmykins2010]

how can you say he has no feeling for the music. You don't know SHIT about Dombrow. He has feeling for the music, so just shut up about thihngs you don't know

[scientifiectionist]

Its such a beautiful song and the men's tone makes up for the mispronunciation, but the sopranos are very...whiny. Its a very young sound that I wish was darker to compliment the full, rich sound the men and altos produced.

[Marlowesingers]

This is good but it is quite quiet. I am part of a choir in Kent, UK and we often sing madrigals. I am trying to make some YouTube friends with our page on You Tube but i am quite new to it - can you add me? thank you :)

[mattia813]

no actually is pronounced as athy... can you read music??? prob not..

[TommyKeegan]

No actually, it's pronounced ath-eye. It's a town in south Kildare in Ireland.

[WinnerByDefault]

Not bad. Athy is pronounced "Ath-eye" however. Hence why it rhymes with "eye."

[drnkmychmcl]

I love this song. :) Our choir sang it.

I think it would be better if the pulsing was more obvious.

[Seythia]

beautifull!!!

[ObsoleteTangerine]

Diction. PLEASE.

[Marcher06]

Mess!

[BountyHunterSAx]

...Umm.... is this such a terrible thing to lose? Perhaps I'm missing something obvious, but all I saw here was a very soulful tune which contained - in reality - nothing to nourish the soul. It's touching, but the touch achieves nothing...I'd argue it's actually *worse* since it does that.

-AHMAD

[mistercircumspect]

When we fail to fund music education in our schools, when we regard it as an unnecessary frill - this is what we deny to ourselves and to future generations.

[fisherm4]

hooah- love that haunting irish cadence