So just what is a "pratie hole" anyway?

Whistle
1

One of the things I like about Celtic folk music is the wonderful simplicity of the song titles. I can understand “The Cook in the Kitchen,” “The Maid Behind the Bar,” “The Stitches in the Britches.”

But exactly what is a pratie hole, and how did the gander get in there?

Kindest regards,

Rob Mitchell
Memphis, TN

2

pratie = potato, pratie hole = potato pit, a hole in the yard where the spuds were buried for storage.

3

I buried my wife and Danced on her Grave - one of my favourite titles.

4

my music instructor explained it to me as being “a goose raiding a potato patch”

-Angela

5

I think it is actually “The Maid Behind the Barrel” and I’ve always taken it for one of those tune names that means a lot more than it seems to say. And what do you make of “Fasten the Leg On Her”?

6

I’ve kind of assumed that “Fasten the Leg on Her” referred to putting the tap into a keg. But of course I could be way off.

Another fairly gruesome title that undoubtedly has a very interesting origin (that I don’t know) is “Pull the Knife Out and Stick It In Again.” Yeeg!

:slight_smile:
Steven

7

Here’s what it says in the liner notes to Matt Molloy’s first album. "There was once a witch who used to drop out of trees onto people riding on horseback. The way to break her spell was to knife her and to leave the knife in, for it it was withdrawn the spell would once more be binding. So the witch would shout “pull the knife and stick it again.” "

Steve

8

Then there’s “Push about the Jorum”. I had to do some dictionary searching and found that a jorum is sorta like a bucket or a punchbowl: envision a gathering at a table where sharing is the mode of the evening, and voila! All was revealed. (Apologies to the French Chiffers: ever lame at things computerrific, I have yet to figure out diacritical marks such as the accent grave…please imagine them as there and in place. :blush: )

N, still virtually earthbound

9

My understanding of the witch and the knife is that if you stuck it again, it undoes the original intent…that is she’d be healed.

10

I thought a prat was something you fell on! Duh! :blush:

11

[quote]I thought a prat was something you fell on! Duh! :blush: [quote]

In that case, let us not so much as discuss pratie holes! :smiley:

N, shudders to think