This song seems to suggest that a traditional tailor would work with straw. Can anyone explain why? What would a tailor need straw for?
Ceol An Phíobaire
...
Má phósann tú an tailliúr, is tú a bheas ag caoineadh,
A mhuirnín dílis ‘fhaoilí ó,
Beidh sop i mbéal an dorais, mar bheadh madadh ar charnán aoiligh,
A mhuirnín dílis ‘fhaoilí ó,
Ó, beidh tú do shuí go mbeidh sé an meán oíche,
Ag síordhó na gcoinneal is ag creimneáil na bpíosaí,
Míle b’fhearr duit mise agat is ceol binn mo phíoba,
A mhuirnín dílis ‘fhaoilí ó.
The Music of the Piper
...
If you marry the tailor, it’s you who will be crying,
My own true love, my fair maiden,
There’ll be wisps of straw piled at the door, like a dog would drop his dung,
My own true love, my fair maiden,
Oh you will sit until it is the middle of the night,
Rummaging for a candle and gnawing bits of cloth,
You’d much prefer to have me and the sweet music of my pipes,
My own true love, my fair maiden.
from:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8998/ceol_an_phiobaire.html
