The Auld Triangle
Encyclopedia
"The Auld Triangle" is a song written by Dominic Behan
for his brother Brendan Behan
and is featured in Brendan's play The Quare Fellow
. It is used to introduce the play, a story about the occurrences in a prison (in real life Mountjoy Prison
where Behan had once been lodged) the day a convict is set to be executed. The triangle in the title refers to the large metal triangle which was beaten daily in Mountjoy Prison to waken the inmates ("The Auld Triangle goes Jingle Jangle"). The triangle still hangs in the prison at the centre where the wings meet on a metal gate. It is no longer used, though the hammer to beat it is mounted beside it. The song has also become known as "The Banks of the Royal Canal."
, The Pogues
, The Liverpool Fishermen, The Doug Anthony Allstars, U2
, The Dropkick Murphys, Smokey Bastard, the High Kings, and Poor Angus have covered the song. An unusual live version, recorded at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
, appears on the live debut album The Dawning of the Day by Dublin-based pipe band St. Laurence O' Toole. As with many Irish ballads, the lyrics have been changed with each passing cover. For example, the Murphys' cover condenses the structure into a three-lyric section song with a chorus based on the last two lines of each stanza in the original. The Swell Season have also included the song in their live performances.
Bob Dylan
and The Band
also recorded a rendition of the song during their famed Basement Tapes
sessions in 1967. This recording is widely available via bootleg but does not appear on the official Columbia Records
release.
The song was recorded by Bert Jansch
for his 2006 album The Black Swan
. The song has also been recorded by Jeff Tweedy
on his tour DVD Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest
and was sung live by the Oysterband
for their now-deleted 'Alive and Acoustic' recording. Eric Burdon
also recorded a version, retitled "The Royal Canal".
The seminal midwestern Irish Band of the 1980s, The Old Triangle (Mike Wallace, Pete Yeates, Steve Mulligan), took their name from the song and also recorded it. It was also sung in the short film, "Macbeth Retold", starring James McAvoy, one of the three part ShakespeaRe-Told
film produced by the BBC during November 2005.
In December 2008, popular American Singer and Songwriter, Cat Power
released her Dark End of the Street EP
, in which she performs a version of the song titled "Ye Auld Triangle".
The Frames
performed "The Auld Triangle" as their final song of a two- hour concert at the Vic Theater in Chicago on November 23, 2010. Glen Hansard
, the lead singer of The Frames, and Damien Dempsey
released "The Auld Triangle" in Ireland on in December 2010 to raise funds for the charity Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
. They performed the song live on RTÉ
television's The Saturday Night Show
on December 18 of the same year.
Dominic Behan
Dominic Behan was an Irish songwriter, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also a committed socialist and Irish Republican...
for his brother Brendan Behan
Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army.-Early life:...
and is featured in Brendan's play The Quare Fellow
The Quare Fellow
The Quare Fellow is Brendan Behan's first play, first produced in 1954.The title is taken from a Hiberno-English pronunciation of queer, meaning 'strange' or 'unusual'. In context, the word lacks the denotation of homosexuality which it holds today...
. It is used to introduce the play, a story about the occurrences in a prison (in real life Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison , founded as Mountjoy Gaol, nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It has the largest prison population in Ireland.The current prison governor is Mr...
where Behan had once been lodged) the day a convict is set to be executed. The triangle in the title refers to the large metal triangle which was beaten daily in Mountjoy Prison to waken the inmates ("The Auld Triangle goes Jingle Jangle"). The triangle still hangs in the prison at the centre where the wings meet on a metal gate. It is no longer used, though the hammer to beat it is mounted beside it. The song has also become known as "The Banks of the Royal Canal."
Subsequent background
The song has taken on a sort of life of its own and has gone beyond its status of a song in a play, developing into a modern Irish anthem. One of the earliest versions of the song was recorded by Ian & Sylvia as "The Royal Canal" for their Four Strong Winds album in 1963. Since then, musical groups as diverse as The DublinersThe Dubliners
The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
, The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
, The Liverpool Fishermen, The Doug Anthony Allstars, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, The Dropkick Murphys, Smokey Bastard, the High Kings, and Poor Angus have covered the song. An unusual live version, recorded at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is an arts venue, in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow’s City Halls and Old Fruitmarket venue...
, appears on the live debut album The Dawning of the Day by Dublin-based pipe band St. Laurence O' Toole. As with many Irish ballads, the lyrics have been changed with each passing cover. For example, the Murphys' cover condenses the structure into a three-lyric section song with a chorus based on the last two lines of each stanza in the original. The Swell Season have also included the song in their live performances.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
also recorded a rendition of the song during their famed Basement Tapes
The Basement Tapes
The Basement Tapes is a 1975 studio album by Bob Dylan and The Band. The songs featuring Dylan's vocals were recorded in 1967, eight years before the album's release, at houses in and around Woodstock, New York, where Dylan and the Band lived...
sessions in 1967. This recording is widely available via bootleg but does not appear on the official Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
release.
The song was recorded by Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
for his 2006 album The Black Swan
The Black Swan (Bert Jansch album)
The Black Swan is the twenty-third album by Scottish folk singer Bert Jansch. It was released in 2006 through Drag City. Jansch described the album: "It's been fantastic working with everyone who's been involved on the record...
. The song has also been recorded by Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
on his tour DVD Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest
Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest
Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest is a DVD featuring live performances by Jeff Tweedy. The DVD was released on October 24, 2006. The DVD enables the user to download MP3s of each track on the DVD and seven others from the same tour....
and was sung live by the Oysterband
Oysterband
Oysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
for their now-deleted 'Alive and Acoustic' recording. Eric Burdon
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
also recorded a version, retitled "The Royal Canal".
The seminal midwestern Irish Band of the 1980s, The Old Triangle (Mike Wallace, Pete Yeates, Steve Mulligan), took their name from the song and also recorded it. It was also sung in the short film, "Macbeth Retold", starring James McAvoy, one of the three part ShakespeaRe-Told
ShakespeaRe-Told
ShakespeaRe-Told is the umbrella title for a series of four television adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays broadcast on BBC One during November 2005. In a similar manner to the 2003 production of The Canterbury Tales, each play is adapted by a different writer, and relocated to the present day...
film produced by the BBC during November 2005.
In December 2008, popular American Singer and Songwriter, Cat Power
Cat Power
Charlyn Marie Marshall , also known as Chan Marshall or by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer/songwriter and occasional actress and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall's first band, but has come to refer to her musical projects with various backing bands...
released her Dark End of the Street EP
Dark End of the Street (Cat Power album)
Dark End of the Street is an EP album by American singer/songwriter Chan Marshall, also known as Cat Power. It was released on December 9, 2008 on Matador Records.Dark End of the Street was released both digitally and on a limited edition double 10"...
, in which she performs a version of the song titled "Ye Auld Triangle".
The Frames
The Frames
The Frames are an Irish band based in Dublin. Founded in 1990 by Glen Hansard, the band has been influential in the Dublin rock music scene. The group has released six albums...
performed "The Auld Triangle" as their final song of a two- hour concert at the Vic Theater in Chicago on November 23, 2010. Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard is the Academy Award–winning principal songwriter and vocalist/guitarist for Irish group The Frames and one half of folk rock duo, The Swell Season...
, the lead singer of The Frames, and Damien Dempsey
Damien Dempsey
Damien Dempsey is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk with contemporary lyrics to deliver social comment on the positive and negative aspects arising from Ireland's Celtic Tiger society.-Early life:...
released "The Auld Triangle" in Ireland on in December 2010 to raise funds for the charity Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
The St Vincent de Paul Society is an international Roman Catholic voluntary organization dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing direct practical assistance to anyone in need. Active in England & Wales since 1844, today it continues to address social and material need in all...
. They performed the song live on RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
television's The Saturday Night Show
The Saturday Night Show
The Saturday Night Show is an Irish chat show hosted by Brendan O'Connor that has been broadcast on RTÉ One since 2010. The show features guest interviews, audience participation and live music...
on December 18 of the same year.