Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
And it's hush now don't you cry;
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
It's an Irish lullaby
Over in Killarney, many years ago,
My mother sang a song to me in tones so sweet and low;
Just a simple little ditty in her good old Irish way,
But I'd give the world if she could sing that song to me today:
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
And it's hush now don't you cry;
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,
It's an Irish lullaby
####.... Variant of Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's An Irish Lullaby) written in 1913 by J. R. (James Royce) Shannon and published by M. Witmark & Sons, New York, NY ....####
The YouTube video above features an excellent performance by Raymond Crooke who tells us that James Royce [1881-1946] was a prominent actor and composer of the Tin Pan Alley era. Born in Michigan, he added Shannon to his name to make it sound Irish, as Irish music was popular at the time. This is his best-known song, written in 1913 for the musical production by Chauncey Olcott, Shameen Dhu (Black-Haired Jimmy), which was staged in New York in 1914. Raymond adds that the song had a new lease on life when it was sung by Bing Crosby in the movie Going My Way (1944). It has since been sung by many artists, including Dean Martin, Bob McGrath and Van Morrison.
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