Spanish Lady

"Spanish Lady" is a traditional Irish folk song, also found in England. The Bodleian Library has several broadsides of an English ballad with this name, one dating from the 17th century. Fragmentary or related versions from the US date from 1883. It is #543 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It should not be confused with "Spanish Ladies" or "Lady of Spain," both of which are entirely different songs.

Lyrics

The lyrics vary, depending on the provenance of the song, but all songs detail the singer observing the so-called "Spanish Lady" as she goes through various activities. There are several Dublin versions, one of them usually called the Wheel of Fortune. Other Irish versions relate to Galway (called Galway City) and Belfast. An English version refers to Chester.

Variations

There are other variations of the song, with some involving duels. The Irish singer Christy Moore recalls encountering the song in his youth and including it in his earliest repertoire. However, the version he encountered and used is quite different from the more widely known version made popular by artists such as The Dubliners.

Spanish

Spanish may refer to:

Spain

Ontario

Other

The Dubliners

The Dubliners were an Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962. The band started off as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named in honour of its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves as The Dubliners. The group line-up saw many changes over their fifty-year career. However, the group's success was centred on lead singers Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew, both of whom are now deceased. The band garnered international success with their lively Irish folk songs, traditional street ballads and instrumentals. The band were regulars on the folk scenes in both Dublin and London in the early 1960s, until they were signed to the Major Minor label in 1965 after backing from Dominic Behan. They went on to receive extensive airplay on Radio Caroline, and eventually appeared on Top of the Pops in 1967 with hits "Seven Drunken Nights" (which sold over 250,000 copies in the UK) and "Black Velvet Band". Often performing political songs considered controversial at the time, they drew criticism from some folk purists and Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ had placed an unofficial ban on their music from 1967–71. During this time the band's popularity began to spread across mainland Europe and they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States. The group's success remained steady right through the 1970s and a number of collaborations with The Pogues in 1987 saw them enter the UK Singles Chart on another two occasions.

Celtic Woman

Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show Riverdance. In 2004, he recruited five Irish female musicians who had not previously performed together: vocalists Chloë Agnew, Órla Fallon, Lisa Kelly and Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt, and shaped them into the first line-up of the group that he named "Celtic Woman." Downes chose a repertoire that ranged from traditional Celtic tunes to modern songs.

The group's line-up has changed over the years; in 2009, the group consisted of Chloë Agnew, Lynn Hilary, Lisa Kelly, Alex Sharpe and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt; Alex Sharpe left the group in May 2010. Eight albums have been released under the name "Celtic Woman:" Celtic Woman, Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration, Celtic Woman: A New Journey, Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey, Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart, Celtic Woman: Lullaby, Celtic Woman: Believe, Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas," "Celtic Woman: Emerald - Musical Gems. and Celtic Woman: Destiny. The group has undertaken a number of world tours. Cumulatively, albums by Celtic Woman have sold over 9 million records worldwide.

Lady

The word lady is a civil term of respect for a woman, specifically the female equivalent to gentleman or lord, and in many contexts a term for any adult woman. Once confined to usage when specifically addressing women of high social class or status; over the last 300 years, the term may now be used to refer to any respectable adult woman.

Etymology

The word comes from Old English hlǣfdige; the first part of the word is a mutated form of hlāf, "loaf, bread", also seen in the corresponding hlāford, "lord". The second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, "to knead", seen also in dough; the sense development from bread-kneader, or bread-maker, or bread-shaper, to the ordinary meaning, though not clearly to be traced historically, may be illustrated by that of "lord".