Talk:The Wild Rover

Untitled
Is that Dropkick Murpheys part needed? The Dubliners, the Pogues, millions of Irish bands have covered it. --209.166.75.105 06:21, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

What evidence is there that it is Irish
I was asked recently if this song is actually Irish - and I had to reply that I didn't actually know. The words "alehouse" and "landlady" strike me as a bit 'off-key'.

Can anyone offer any evidence? Maxiogee 18:30, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

it's probably because Irish American travelers who brought the song over to the other side of the world, and where it was documented first Markthemac 05:00, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Its actually a 18th century scottish Temperence song as far as the 2001 cited article saysFionaven (talk) 21:24, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

p/s it's folk music so it traveled all over "it's like golf" Markthemac 05:01, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

FWIW, the Clancy Brothers in the early 1960s who helped popularize this song referred to it as "an old Australian song". Also, as far as words like "landlady" appearing, they later stated that they would sometimes adjust the lyrics so an American audience would understand the references (and got a lot of crap for it, having been "accused of corrupting the songs"). --Replysixty (talk) 23:45, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

German?
I first heard it in a pub in Ireland in 1969. I did hear it played in a documentary about Namibia. Any chance that it got there much earlier? Pustelnik (talk) 01:12, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

What is the wild rover?
Best theory I have is that it's a drinking game. Does any actually know what it is or at least have some theories? Thanks! Ultratone85 (talk) 10:58, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
 * It's the singer's past life as a wanderer, with "play" as in "to act as, to be" like "play the fool". The Dogandpony (talk) 20:35, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

There is a band from Argentina, Doble Fuerza, they recorded a great version of the song, i think it should be added —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.253.22.22 (talk) 13:51, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Andy Stewart
I was told that Andy_Stewart_(musician) reworked this version in the late 1960 and had it be quite a hit in Scotland and abroad. One verse was something like "The prices goes up and the Whisky goes down" and another "In all my Wild Roven just one thing was wrong, The nights were to short and the day's were too long". Anyone knows more about it? Jandertrimen (talk) 13:17, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Lyrics
The article includes a set of lyrics, which aren't themselves cited. Where do they come from?

The reason I ask is that they don't entirely tally with my memory of it; particularly in v3, which I remember as:

I pulled from me pocket three gold sovereigns bright, And the landlady's eyes opened wide with delight. She said "I have whiskeys and beer of the best, And what I said before, it was only in jest".

Now; not a huge difference - and that's entirely to be expected, seeing that it's a folk song that's travelled about a lot. But to include a set of unreferenced lyrics gives the impression that there is one true set of words; which seems unlikely.

I would recommend at least either citing the lyrics that are there or replacing them with lyrics that can be cited; what would be better would be to get a copy of the words used in Bodleian bundle, as the oldest cited source - possibly with comparisons to other versions, if major changes have been made. --82.70.156.254 (talk) 11:20, 13 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I agree with you, and with your recollection of the lyrics. I will try to find a strong, reputable source and make the change.

--Cantabwarrior 15:16, 12 July 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cantabwarrior (talk •contribs)

Recordings
There are dozens of recordings by dozens of modern musicians, yet only three are referenced. Musicians include Burl Ives, Paul Clayton, A.L. Lloyd, Lou Killen, The Dubliners; in fact, 52 of them are listed here: The Wild Rover Recordings Missyagogo (talk) 23:30, 17 March 2024 (UTC)