The Curragh of Kildare (Roud 1486), also known asThe Winter It is Past, is afolk song particularly associated with theIrish tradition.[1]
Elements of some versions of the song suggest that it dates from at least the mid 18th century. The Curragh of Kildare speaks of the actualCurragh, which is a large area ofcommon land inCounty Kildare, Ireland, used to rally the Irish Army.
The history of the text is rather complicated. Versions were taken down at different times in Ireland by collectors likeGeorge Petrie andP. W. Joyce. The song has also been collected inScotland and even inEngland; the singer Frank Purslow collected a version (The Winter's Gone and Past) inDorset.[2] Petrie was of the opinion that it was an "oldAnglo-Irish song" and argued that the Scottish versions were most likely developed from it.[3] Several printed ballad versions exist, under titles such asThe Lamenting Maid.
The most well known version of the text, usually referred to by the titleThe Winter it is Past, is attributed toRobert Burns. Burns appears to have developed it from a popular stall-ballad,The Lovesick Maid, which referred to ahighwayman called Johnson, who was hanged in 1750 for robbery in the Curragh.[4] Burns polished the original text considerably and removed two stanzas referring directly to Johnson. The resulting ballad was published in the collection theScots Musical Museum.[5]
Different airs have been used for the song.[6] Petrie suspected that one had been composed expressly for the stall-ballad, probably in Scotland around 1750, but expressed an opinion that "the same song united to a melody unquestionably Irish has been [...] known in Ireland [...] for an equal or much longer period".[3] The tune used for Burns' version has been identified as a (distant) relative of that used for the American balladFare You Well, My Own True Love.[7]
The song as currently performed was popularised byThe Johnstons, and later byChristy Moore, while versions also exist byPaddy Reilly,The Fureys,Bert Jansch and others. Modern renditions have tended to use a text where the singer is male, and the "true love" female, whereas in the early ballads such asThe Lamenting Maid the opposite was the case.
