Sorrow, shame, and lament in Irish folk lyrics

Sorrow, shame, and lament in Irish folk lyrics

Andrew McKinney

Folk lyrics often evoke emotions; this is especially true of Irish folk lyrics written or sung in the English language. Common emotions associated with Irish folk lyrics are sorrow, shame, and lament. This paper questions the origin of these feelings, and why the listeners and readers of Irish folk lyrics place meaning upon them. The theoretical framework of this paper draws upon James A. Wilce’s research on language and emotions. Additionally, Eric Hobsbawm and Helen O’Shea’s research is used to investigate the myth associated with Irish folk lyrics stemming from a pure Gaelic past. Data collected for this research comes from lyrics that highlight these emotions. These lyrics were obtained from A-Zlyrics.com and Google Lyrics. A qualitative linguistic analysis found that the inspiration for the Irish folk lyrics stem from the historical events associated with the eight hundred years of conflict between Ireland and England. The lyrics encompass complex issues of gender, family, and kinship concerns as they relate to the aforementioned conflict. Ultimately, these lyrics express emotions that are felt on a personal level which in turn represent the illusion of sorrow, shame, and lament being felt on a national level.