That's An Irish Lullaby is also known as Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral. The song was composed by John Royce Shannon in 1913.
This version by John Gary is from the album A Little Bit Of Heaven.
Key Signatures: C Major → D♭ Major → D Major... 2 key changes
Time Signature: 2/4 time
Tempo: Varied due to the expressive nature of the performance by John Gary.
Chords in C Major: C, Am, G, D7, G7, F, G7#5, C7, F#dim7, Am7, A7
Chords in D♭ Major: A♭7, D♭, B ♭m, A♭, E♭7
Chords in D Major: A7, D, Bm, A, E7, G, A7#5, D7, G#dim7, Bm7, B7
That's An Irish Lullaby
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key
Time Signature: 2/4 Played smoothly with much expression in time.
C Am G
1. O-ver in Kil-lar-ney Ma-ny years a-go
C Am D7 G
My mo-ther sang a song to me In tones so sweet and low
C Am G
Just a sim-ple lit-tle dit-ty In her good old I-rish way
F C Am D7 G G7#5
And I'd give the world if she could sing That song to me this day
C C7 F F#dim7Chorus: Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral Too - ra - loo - ra - li
C F C Am7 D7 G G7
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral Hush, now don't you cry
C C7 F F#dim7
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral Too - ra - loo - ra - li
C F C A7 D7 G C Ab7
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral That's an I-rish lul-la-by... (key change)Db Bbm Ab
2. Oft, in dreams I wan-der To that cot a-gain
Db Bbm Eb7 Ab7 A7
I feel her arms a hug-gin' me As when she held me then... (key change)D Bm D
And I hear her voice a hum-min' to me As in days of yore
G D Bm E7 A7 A7#5
When she used to rock me fast a-sleep Out-side the cabin door
D D7 G G#dim7Chorus: Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral Too - ra - loo - ra - li
D G D Bm7 E7 A A7
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral Hush, now don't you cry
D D7 G G#dim7
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral Too - ra - loo - ra - li
D G D B7 E7 A D G#dim7 D
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral That's an I-rish lul - la - by...
Level Of Ease: This version of the song is a little difficult to play along with, but if you listen to the guitar in the video, you will notice it is being played using one down stroke at the start of each bar during the verses. This is because the timing of the song is so diverse. An emotional song such as this one gives the singer 'poetic licence'. This means that he sings the song as he feels it, speeding up and slowing down wherever the mood takes him. This makes it very difficult for a rhythm guitarist to strum along, so the safest way, is to do what this guitarist is doing and play a down stroke at the start of each bar.
You will notice that in the choruses, the timing is more stable, and the guitarist becomes a little more adventurous!
There are also 2 key changes; one going into the second verse and the other half-way through the second verse.
Song Keys: C Major with the first key change to D♭ Major and the second key change to D Major. It is very unusual having 2 key changes in a song, but John handles it beautifully... a great singer and a great talent.
2/4 time: 2 beats per bar with a quarter-note value for each beat. The count would be | 1 2 |, |1& 2&| or |♩ ♩| etc... played smoothly with expression.
Tempo: With this version, it is difficult to pick a tempo due to the nature of the performance.
I have tried to keep the song as simple as possible, however with 2 key changes, we get in some murky territory with the first key change to Db Major. This is where barre chords come in very handy. The next key change gets you back to 'safer waters'!
The diminished 7th chords are actually quite easy once you get used to the basic shape of the chord. In this song, we use F#dim7 (same notes as Cdim7), and G#dim7 (same notes as Ddim7). Please persevere... a great exercise in broadening your chord repertoire.
If you find the dim7 chords (1 - b3 - b5 - bb7) too hard to play, just continue on with the previous chord - F in the first chorus and G in the second chorus.
7#5 is a seventh augmented fifth chord with a formula of 1 - 3 - #5 - b7. It can also be referred to as a 7+5 or +7 chord. In this song we have a G7#5 and A7#5. They are both easy to play and sound great going into each respective chorus.
