THE LASS OF AUGHRIM

If you'll be the lass of Aughrim
As I'll take you to be
Tell me that first token
That passed between you and me

Oh don't you remember
That night on yon lean hill
When we both met together
I am sorry now to tell

Oh the rain falls on my yellow locks
And the dew soaks my skin;
My babe lies cold in my arms;
Lord Gregory, let me in

Oh the rain falls on my heavy locks
And the dew soaks my skin;
My babe lies cold in my arms;
But none will let me in

Listen to the song:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mybwtXifYc

In his work, Dubliners, James Joyce seems to have utilized not only his talents as an author, but also his expertise as a musician. Joyce, having an extensive musical background, was able to skillfully infuse his broad knowledge of music into his portrait of Irish society. Joyce uses music for purposes of symbolism, characterization, including the suggestion that characters "mature" over the course of several stories, and to expound upon the themes, motifs, and tones expressed in the work as a whole.

"The Lass of Aughrim," is a version from western Ireland which Nora (Aughrim is near Galway, Nora's origin) sang to Joyce. (One of the original versions of this song is "The Lass of Lochroyan," #76 in F.J.Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, 1882-98). The lyrics tell the story of a young peasant girl who has a child by a Lord Gregory, who seduced and then left her. She comes to his castle to beg for his help, but is turned away by his mother who, behind the closed front door, imitates her sons voice. She puts out to sea in a small boat to drown herself and the child, but is not saved, even though the lord discovers his mother's ruse and races to find her. The ballad ends with the lord mourning for his lost love and bringing down a curse on his mother.

The Dead contains reference to the song that is relevant to the plot of the story. "The Lass of Aughrim," which Gretta hears the tenor D'Arcy hoarsely singing, reminds her of Michael Furey, who "used to sing that song". The image featured in the refrain, that of the "lass" standing in the rain outside "Lord Gregory's" window, is strikingly similar to the image of Michael Furey, standing outside Gretta's window in the rain. Specifically, the line that Joyce cites, "O, the rain falls on my heavy locks, and the dew it wets my skin," further describes the two scenes.