Come Gather Round Me, Parnellites
Come Gather Round Me, Parnellites - form Summary
Ballad Voice and Convivial Refrain
This poem is written as a ballad with a communal, sing-along voice. It stages a convivial wake for Charles Parnell, praising his political achievements and personal contradictions while acknowledging scandal. Refrain-like repetition and simple stanzas create a public, oral feeling, turning political elegy into social ritual. The form emphasizes collective memory and drinking as modes of remembrance and defiant celebration.
Read Complete AnalysesCome gather round me, Parnellites, And praise our chosen man; Stand upright on your legs awhile, Stand upright while you can, For soon we lie where he is laid, And he is underground; Come fill up all those glasses And pass the bottle round. And here's a cogent reason, And I have many more, He fought the might of England And saved the Irish poor, Whatever good a farmer's got He brought it all to pass; And here's another reason, That parnell loved a lass. And here's a final reason, He was of such a kind Every man that sings a song Keeps Parnell in his mind. For Parnell was a proud man, No prouder trod the ground, And a proud man's a lovely man, So pass the bottle round. The Bishops and the party That tragic story made, A husband that had sold hiS wife And after that betrayed; But stories that live longest Are sung above the glass, And Parnell loved his countrey And parnell loved his lass.
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