School: Smithstown, Castlecomer (roll number 14626)

Location:
Smithstown, Co. Kilkenny
Teacher:
Bríd Ní Mhórdha
Browse
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0865, Page 252

Archival Reference

The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0865, Page 252

Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.

See copyright details.

Download

Open data

Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

  1. XML School: Smithstown, Castlecomer
  2. XML Page 252
  3. XML “A Bird in a Gilded Cage”

Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.

On this page

  1. 1
    The ball room was filled with fashion throng
    It shone with a thousand lights,
    There was a woman who passed along, the fairest of all the sights.
    The girl to her lover then softly said, she had riches at her command,
    She married for wealth not for love he cried, though she lives in a mansion grand.
    Chorus
    She is only a bird in a gilded cage, what a beautiful sight to see.
    You may think she is happy and free from care, she is not though she seems to be.
    Tis sad when you think on her waste of life, for youth can not fill with age.
    Her beauty was sold for an old mans gold, she's a bird in a gilded cage.
    2
    This beautiful woman surveyed the scene, she had by the score.
    Her gems were the hurest her gown serene, what could a woman want more.
    But memory brings back to the face of a lad whose love she had turned aside.
    Happiness can'ot be bought for gold although she
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Language
    English
    Collector
    Mary Kehoe
    Gender
    Female
    Informant
    Edward Kehoe
    Gender
    Male
    Age
    43
    Occupation
    Farmer
    Address
    Coan, Co. Kilkenny