Back in 2013 Chatter and Chitter learned the song “Red is the Rose” and I shared it in a post here on Blind Pig and the Acorn.
Chitter learned the tune from a YouTube video and then stumbled on another video that shared the lyrics of the song.
When I first shared the video I researched the beautiful song to see if I could find out the history behind it. Here’s what I found.
A thread on Mud Cat Cafe has this to offer about the song:
Subject: RE: Red Is The Rose
From: GUEST,Seamus Kennedy
Date: 17 Feb 00 – 01:32 AMI recorded Red Is The Rose a few years ago, and I’d heard that Tommy Makem had written it. So I called him to get the facts for attribution, royalties, etc., and he told me that he did not write it, but that he had learned it from his mother Sarah, who had been singing it for many, many years. He didn’t know whether Red is the Rose or Loch Lomond came first. Tommy and Liam Clancy did a beautiful version of it. All the best.
I still don’t have any information about the exact origin of the song, but I’m still enjoying it all the same.
I hope you enjoyed the song! If you’re interested in entering the giveaway (it ends Monday February 14, 2022) you can jump over to the video to leave a comment here.
If you’d like to pick up a copy of the girls’ cd, which has the song on it, go here.
Tipper
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28 Comments
Connie Brown
February 14, 2022 at 12:18 pmLovely, sweet
Alexis
February 13, 2022 at 9:47 pmHi Tipper. I don’t know if you’ll see this comment or not, but I hope you do. I was just reading today’s New York Times Obituary section to see if my name was in it. It wasn’t, but John Rice Irwin’s was. Here’s the link to his obituary. It’s a very good article. There are some nice pictures too, if you remember to scroll down. There’s also a link to the Museum of Appalachia that he created. Best to you and the family. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/09/us/john-rice-irwin-dead.html
Tipper
February 14, 2022 at 8:36 amAlexi-thank you!
Robin Fesmire
February 13, 2022 at 7:14 pmOh, my goodness. Just beautiful!
Pamela Lancaster
February 13, 2022 at 5:44 pmThank you girls for sharing this song Loch Loman. The words tell their own story! It is always good to here you sing together!
Robert
February 13, 2022 at 2:58 pmThe twins did a wonderful job on the tune. I first heard it many years ago. I know it was in the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem playbook, but I think it originated in Scotland. The tune surely did even if an Irishman gave it new words.
Thank you, as ever, for the post, Tipper!
Linda
February 13, 2022 at 1:30 pmHappy St. Valentine’s Day, beautiful people!
Kenneth Ryan
February 13, 2022 at 12:37 pmGreat song. I’ve always loved it. It stirs something deep within my soul.
Jackie
February 13, 2022 at 12:04 pmBeautiful harmony. I don’t remember hearing the song but the rhythm of the tune was very familiar.
dee
February 13, 2022 at 11:56 amMy precious Mother, now in heaven, loved red roses! Katie and Corie, I really enjoyed your singing and playing. I’ve heard that Irish tune before but had not heard the words to the song, Red is the Rose.
Jim Casada
February 13, 2022 at 11:50 amEvocative and enjoyable. I don’t know exactly what I’d do with a pair or red earrings, but there’s no doubt about enjoying this song. It puts me on a sort of song/color binge, because not 30 minutes ago I was listening to a love song of a different kind, Dan Seals’ delightful tribute to “My Old Yellow Car.” Just as almost anyone can identify with an epic song of romance such as this, I daresay most readers have poignant memories of their first car.
judy barrett
February 13, 2022 at 11:31 amN old favorite of mine, and wonderfully done. Thanks to both of you for some pleasant listening.
Marian Armstrong
February 13, 2022 at 11:09 amMy laptop dosen’t do the song justice. you are truly blessed by your girls.
Gloria Hayes
February 13, 2022 at 11:01 amKatie and Corie, this is one of the most beautiful songs you girls have ever done. The harmony is amazing! We have the cd here at home and enjoy it so much. Happy Valentine’s Day!!
Terry
February 13, 2022 at 10:20 amThese lovely old ballads sure tug at one’s heart; well done, young ladies. Great harmony and continue to give us new renditions of sometimes forgotten Appalachian music. And a Happy Valentine’s to all in the holler.
Annie
February 13, 2022 at 9:28 amAs far as I know, Red is the Rose is a traditional Irish song, however the Loch Lomond version was first published in 1841 and is a traditional Scottish song believed to date back to the the times of the Jacobite rebellion … being Scottish, I know whose claim I choose to believe 🙂 Either way, what a beautiful version the girls sang
Tommy
February 13, 2022 at 8:26 amThe girls harmonize so well. Origins of so many of the old songs are lost in antiquity. Many of the songs credited to the old Carter family are ones that AP gathered from the mountains around Poor Valley.
Brad Byers
February 13, 2022 at 7:37 amI just love that tune. As always, you did a great rendition of it. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Margie G
February 13, 2022 at 8:11 amI’m 54 and heard this since I was born. God only knows how old this song is and Id say it came from Scotland based on the Loch (or Lake) song. You gals did a swell rendition of this old Scot classic. It’s a good feeling to know our rich culture is NOT going away thanks to people like Katie and Korie! A lovely jig that gets my old feet ashufflin’!
Ron Stephens
February 13, 2022 at 7:37 amBeautiful! And so fitting for Valentines Day. I think I’ll be hearing it all day but that won’t be too much.
Happy Valentines Day y’all!
Sheryl Paul
February 13, 2022 at 7:30 amBeautiful hirls. Love the song. I have heard it before many many years ago
Christine
February 13, 2022 at 7:23 amI’d never heard it before hearing the girls sing it. They sang it beautifully!
Rebecca Freeman
February 13, 2022 at 7:16 amWhat a lovely song! Thank you, Katie and Cory, and Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
mary jo clem
February 13, 2022 at 7:04 amHaving the chance of a lifetime my husband and i visited Scotland many years ago. We visited Loch Loman and I remember humming that tune the entire time I was there. Hearing you sing the words to Red is the Rose which is the sam tune, has challenged me to know the words to this song. Very pretty and such a soulful song done very well by you and your sister.
Martha D Justice
February 13, 2022 at 6:51 amLovely❤
Larry Paul Eddings
February 13, 2022 at 6:36 amThat is a wonderful old tune, no matter who wrote it. You girls played and sung it beautifully.
Gale Choffin
February 13, 2022 at 6:23 amWow!!!
Miss Cindy
February 13, 2022 at 6:16 amLovely song and you girls really do it justice! I like that it really makes the fiddle shine!