Wearin' the Britches - Paul Brady 1977

[seanhughesfiddle]

This is one of my favourite videos on YouTube. Sheer effortless genius. Fair play to you for putting up all the class videos.

[fiendishfreddie]

Nice one Bilko, you've pretty much helped school me these past few years...

[williammorris1]

beautiful!



[juiCsqueeHgie]

Played this in Drogheda tonight, couldn't believe it and sure enough he mentioned that he'd had to relearn how to play it from watching Youtube! What a bloody brilliant gig....he just gets better!!!!

[Songsmirth]

I have to laugh! :)

[dunkus42]

cheers bilko....amazing

[barrymackenna]

Absoulte legend- Favourite song for singin lately at mates stag do's. Goes down a storm. Wouldn't have seen it only for ya- Thanks.

[QRS666]

Borrowed a bouzuki from a friend a few days ago! Can anyone tell me what tuning Paul plays in? I really want to try and learn this song on the bouzuki. Will not be easy, probably not possible for me but I must give it a try! :)

[youcancallmeZimmy]

this is great!! it's worth watching just to see that instrument..anybody know just what that is? {some kinda lute?}

[TomRAFC]

@youcancallmeZimmy its a bozouki, a pretty common traditional instrument

[MusicMadGuy2010]

An excellent little song, Brady is an exceptional performer, so much talent it's awesome. I don't think I've seen a musical instrument with as much mother of pearl inlay as the one Paul is playing here...Patrick (Ireland).

[SuperBeanson]

that's just brilliant- what a voice

[francismassacre]

Original lyrics are:

The hedges I have nearly stripped. Of rods they're bare, and also switches.

And the hide on her I have turned black: still she says she'll wear the britches.

[thirteenfingers]

I've never heard a version of this other than Brady's so it's interesting to see different lyrics.

Where did you get that original? Somewhere on the good ol' web or the old fashioned way, learned in a kitchen or a pub listening to some oul lad singing it and joining in where you could?

[francismassacre]

Certainly wish the latter were the case, but the web came through for me this time. I had trouble finding them because the search engines want to autocorrect the 'wearin'' to 'wearing.'

Youtube won't let me post even the semblance of a link, so if you look up "irish bouzouki paul brady" in Google and choose the link of the same name, the last commenter gives the lyrics and chords to the Danny Carnahan and Robin Petrie version.

Sorry about the annoying runaround.

[thirteenfingers]

Computers eh? Still as dumb as a post but too smart for their own good! ;o)

I did the search and found the page in question (only one result came up)

Now I've just got to have a listen to Carnahan and Petrie's version... that shouldn't be too much of a chore if I can find it! :D

Oh, and the runaround isn't annoying (not on your part at least) - just the way YouTube has decided to work. You could have sent it in a message - but better have the terms in the open for all to see.

Slán.

[Kilfarboy2]

@thirteenfingers

It's one that the late Frank Harte recorded. If I remember Frank's correctly Brady follows that one exactly. 

[francismassacre]

"Her skin that's fair, sure I've turned black."

Actually, that sounds right.

[francismassacre]

What I always heard was "Her skin that's for sure, I've turned black," but I'm not so sure that's right.

[GerryAlwell]

Thanks for that, its amazing when you know what the line is how I could have missed it. My interpretation of the line "Her skin that's fair, sure I've turned black" is that he has tried to beat her into submission e.g. black and blue, but still she swears she'll wear the britches.

[thirteenfingers]

Exactly right on both the lyric and the meaning.

He's stripped the hedgerows of "rods and switches" and beaten her black and blue.

See it in the context of her tipping tea on his legs, hitting her head into a wall, wishing he'd broken her collar bone and it certainly fits too.

You'd be hard pushed to find a song about domestic violence so easy to listen to as this :p

Haha.

[alderneyfred]

"...to see which if us will wear....."

"....her skin that's fair, but I've turned back...." is correct, she's the boss, staying at home, so he's the one out working in all weathers, weather-beaten even, which is why his skin has darkened considerably, etc., etc.....

[GerryAlwell]

Trying to learn it also. What is the line at the end of the first verse "to see what ? wear the britches". Thanks.

[QRS666]

Can someone please tell me what Paul sings at 0.46 to 049 ? To me it sounds like "Her skin that's fair, sure I've turned black.."

But I'm sure it is not the case :) Any help is appreciated. Trying to learn this song and this is the only passage I can't hear.

Thanks!

[briancolhoun]

As in black and blue from the wife peltin him with switches

[kiltownkid]

this is a lesson of total unity and control this man feels instruments.

[IrishDubliner99]

The late Frank Harte Dublin balladeer sings this tune on his Come All Ye album . Paul Brady does it justice here .

It's a song to be taken in humour with a bit of common sense advice thrown in as well :)

Thanks for the video bilko

[QRS666]

simply amazing

[peacewalker7]

he's great! Paul Brady, why I never hear of him?

[RugbyHockeySoccer]

Paul Brady gives a quality live performance. 5 STARS

[shazam15]

This guy is awesome. I can't belive I lived 18 years of my life not having ever heard of him. :

[relimes]

A song about Ike Turner and what he did to Tina

[mitybuck20]

he played this in letterkenny last friday..on stage he said he forgot about this song only till he saw it on youtube and had to watch this video to remeber how to play it...legend!!

[bilko1234]

Well, that comment makes it all worthwhile!!

:-)

[KiltDude32]

But it just goes to show that even the great ones Google themselves. ;)

[bollix13]

Fair play,yer vids are the best man!!

[briancolhoun]

I dont suppose anyone knows the tuning hes got on the bouzouki? I'd love to have a stab at this tune on the mandolin ...

[grossgrabenstein]

GDAD capo 2 ème case

[briancolhoun]

merci, j'esseyerai avec la guitare d'abord. Rock on

[BardofCornwall]

Amazing--in spite of the domestic violence. I've long waited for another in this excellent series of 1970s Brady videos. Thanks for posting.

[Fionnuala1969]

Does anyone have the lyrics for this?  I could just listen to it 100 times to write them down, but if someone has them already, it would be much appreciated.

[nottap73]

google the lyrics,augment them to suit this version,top job.

[nooksak1]

wow nothing better then singing a song about spouse abuse!

[killersheep99]

Rocking tune!!!! Check out the Album from the late 70's from Paul Brady and Andy Irvine. Album is called "Paul Brady and Andy Irvine" and is all Irish music.

I would love to see Paul Brady do more traditional Irish music.

[Avagar]

aye man, very lethal album.

[IrishDubliner99]

Frank Harte used to sing this old street ballad unaccompanied along with a great version of 'The women are worse than the men ' It was on an LP . Have tried to find it on CD without success . When this song was first sung there were no guitars ;)

[ewelmcc]

loooooooooooove it

[murlach1]

I love this guy hes just Amazing

[dinjomas]

paul brady thanks for the entermabt over all 5he years ur a 1 best music ever

[bollix13]

What a romantic wee tune of a typical Irish relationship - domestic violence, adultery, mind games, theft and alcoholism!!! "I wished I'd broke her collarbone, they day I let her wear me britches" (Class!).... "Be sure of a wife with a civil tongue that'll give you leave to wear your britches" LOL

[jimdoyles]

pure magic

[alianatwar6969]

Check out the version by Pauline Scanlon...she sings it in Gaelic...

[hamrzlawnlake]

big iron

[Davegillis]

Bilko you are a genuis

[bs5750]

Add my name to that comment.

Thanks for introducing me to Paul Brady.

[kabur]

I think it was Paul Brady wrote Heather on the Moor. Any chance you have that one?

[hamrzlawnlake]

How's he got her tuned? And that must be pairs as opposed to octaves on the heavier courses?

[ncomer062]

Tuned like a mandolin but e tuned to d

[hamrzlawnlake]

Ah. He sure does give it a tribal taste with that tuning and style. Tks ncomer.

[TomAJoad]

Hi Bilko!

I really appreciate You sharing all these wonderful masterpieces with us.

I haven't seen this this stuff in years.

Do you have Dave McWilliams Twenty Golden Years ago Lay It On the line with Andy Irvine from the same program?

I'd love to hear that again. Thank You!

[bilko1234]

Sorry Tom

Don't have that one......

[TomAJoad]

No Worries Bilko!

Thanks for reply!

Keep er lit!

[scati1971]

I love this man and i want to marry him! i would let him wear the britches and anything else he wanted;)

[6079eoin]

Why did he never record this?

[OldenVictor]

I like it!!!

[alonzogarbanzo]

As with everything PB does and did, it's golden. Thanks yet again, bilko. One question: the video itself says 1976, but you've titled it as 1977. ???

For you other gitpickers out there, I heartily recommend Homespun Video's DVD of PB denonstrating his techniques. I've learned how to play "I Am A Youth That's Inclined to Ramble" within just a few minutes watching! Bilko, does a live version of that exist?

[bilko1234]

I'm nearly sure this performance stems from 77 Alonzo. The 76 strap is incorrect. As for I'm a youth...sorry, don't have it but someone DEFINITELY does. If it'll ever get posted tho'......

[ffsf739]

All these songs seem to be part of a same gig. Do you know what show's this? Plus: is there any recording of it on the cd or dvd format?

[6079eoin]

What a pity that he stopped playing trad, he was easily as good as Andy Irvine

[subz6]

he should have played more bouzouki!

[dickdujour]

wow bilko u are a genius paul brady bothy band planxty and many other in very rare performance i would die for that since a long time