I took a trip to Ireland my junior year of high school and it was such a great experience! We went to a local pub to watch Irish dancers and a band called “The Merry Ploughboys.” I have great memories dancing around with friends and watching them sing, I instantly remembered this Irish band during the discussion for Chapter 9.

This particular song, “The Rocky Road to Dublin” is about a man’s journey from Ireland to England. With its many covers, this song continues to be an Irish classic. Lyrics that stood out to me were, “Then off to reap the corn, leave where I was born.” “Off to reap the corn” is a metaphor that means the main singer is going to make money. ‘Corn’ is used to refer to any grain, which was a measure of wealth. Ireland was known to be a pretty poor country, whereas England had royalty.

The song starts with a merry banjo-like instrument and a solo male voice with the other males following his lead. There is also a wind instrument and violin-like instrument that enters the song later on. The song is clearly highlighting the story of the main character’s journey to England. It ends at a slower tempo which indicates that the main character most likely made it to England after all his hardship.