"All For Me Grog" (Roud 475) is a traditional folk song, also known as "Good Brown Ale and Tobacco" or "Across the Western Plains", that was originally popular with sailors and later adopted by folk music performers and pub singers.[1][2] It was collected by George Gardiner in 1906 under the title "The Nobby Hat".[3] James Madison Carpenter collected a version in c 1928 as "All for the Grog".[4] In 1961 A. L. Lloyd and Alf Edwards recorded the song on an E.P. by Topic Records.[5]
| "All For Me Grog" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the UK single | ||||
| Single by The Dubliners | ||||
| B-side | "A Pub With No Beer" | |||
| Released | 6 July 1967 | |||
| Genre | Folk, Irish | |||
| Length | 3:01
| |||
| Label | Major Minor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | traditional | |||
| Producer(s) | Tommy Scott | |||
| The Dubliners singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
It tells the tale of a man who sells all his possessions, and even his wife, to pay for drink and tobacco. Although the song is effectively about a man's ruin through drink, it is upbeat and celebratory rather than regretful, with the intention to go back to the sea to find a new fortune. It is usually performed as a raucous chorus song. Grog originally referred to a daily ration of rum that used to be given in diluted form to sailors in the Royal Navy. It later came to refer to all types of drink.
There is an Australian version of the song called Across the Western Plains.
The song was recorded as a single by The Dubliners which charted at No.10 in Ireland in July 1967.[6][7] It had previously been recorded by The Watersons on their eponymous 1966 album and, more recently, by The Mary Wallopers on their eponymous 2022 album.[8][9]
Serbian band Orthodox Celts recorded a version of the songs for their 1994 self-titled début album.[10]
The American quintet Bounding Main released their version of the song on their 2006 album Lost at Sea.[11]
Charts
edit| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[12] | 10 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[13] | - |
References
edit- ^ "All for Me Grog – Irish folk song about a sailor's carefree attitude". Irishmusicdaily.com. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
- ^ "Good Brown Ale and Tobacco / All for Me Grog / Across the Western Plains (Roud 475; G/D 3:580)".
- ^ Vaughan Williams, Ralph. "The Nobby Hat". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Cecil Sharp House. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ Carpenter, James Madison. "Mr". University of Sheffield. hriOnline Publications. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ Lloyd, A.L. (1961). "Mr". Koha Lists. EFDSS. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
- ^ "The Dubliners - All For Me Grog (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
- ^ "The Watersons". www.discogs.com.
- ^ "All for me Grog, by the Mary Wallopers".
- ^ Orthodox Celts at Discogs
- ^ All for Me Grog (28 September 2019). "Bounding Main". Bounding Main. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ "Chart Track: Week 00, 1967". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
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