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FAMOUS SONGS |
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CHAPTER II
"ROBIN ADAIR AND EILEEN AROON"
PERHAPS in the whole range of songs new and old, none is so popular as the plaintive " Robin Adair," the air of which is based upon the very ancient melody of " Eileen Aroon," a piece that dates back to very early times indeed. At a venture I would suggest about 1450, when living money was still in use, as in the first stanza the hero says he would spend a cow to entertain his lady love. It is only fair to add, however, that some authorities think it is no older than the sixteenth century. In any case it was a favourite with the majority of the Irish harpers and wandering minstrels, and most emphatically it is not of Scottish origin, as one or two writers have imagined. The curious thing about the song is that the words of both versions, " Eileen Aroon" (Ellen, the treasure of my heart), and " Robin Adair" were the outcome of very romantic circumstances. I shall deal with each, and I shall also give the history of the ancient and the modern song. Let me speak of the
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