Regional Variations of The Rattlin' Bog: A Comprehensive Survey
One of the things I've learned since building this site is that people are VERY passionate about their version of the song. I've had emails — actual emails, lads, people took the time to connect to the internet, open their email program, and type out messages — telling me that my verse order is wrong, or that they've never heard it called "The Rattlin' Bog," or that their version has extra verses.
So in the interests of being thorough (and also because I want to talk about why the Irish version is best), here is my survey of regional variations.
The Big Question: "Rare" or "Rattlin'"?
This is the first thing people argue about. In many versions, the song is called "The Rare Bog" — "a rare bog, a rattlin' bog". In others, it's just "The Rattlin' Bog" all the way through. And in some versions I've heard from the West, it's more like "The Rattling Bog" without the apostrophe, but that's a spelling argument and I'm not getting into it.
My position: both "rare" and "rattlin'" appear in the song. The title can be either. I use "The Rattlin' Bog" because that's what my nan called it, and what my nan called it is what it's called. End of discussion.
Irish Variations
Even within Ireland, there are differences:
Clare/Limerick version (the correct one, obviously): Follows the standard order I've laid out. Bog, tree, limb, branch, twig, nest, egg, bird, feather, flea. Clean, logical, perfect.
Galway version: I've heard this one swap the nest and the twig, putting the nest directly on the branch. Some Galway singers also add a "leaf" verse between the twig and the nest, which is interesting but unnecessary.
Cork version: Roughly the same as Clare but they tend to sing it MUCH faster from the start. Cork people do everything faster, in fairness. They don't build to the speed — they start at top speed and somehow get faster. It's terrifying and impressive.
Dublin version: Sometimes includes a "worm" instead of or in addition to the flea. I've also heard a Dublin version where the bird is specifically a "blackbird," which is a nice touch but changes the rhythm slightly.
Donegal version: I met a fella from Donegal at a fleadh who sang a version with a "fly" instead of a "flea." Close enough, but the word "flea" is funnier and I'll not be persuaded otherwise.
English Versions
The English have their own version, sometimes called "The Green Grass Grew All Around" or "The Tree in the Wood." The structure is the same — cumulative, building from a tree outward — but the items and the melody are different.
The English version tends to be more orderly. More polite. Less likely to end in chaos. Make of that what you will.
Scottish Versions
Scotland has variations closer to the Irish version, which makes sense given the musical connections between the two traditions. The Scottish versions I've heard tend to use "The Rattlin' Bog" as the title and follow a similar verse order, though some include a "moss on the bark" verse that I've not heard in Ireland.
The "Extra Verses" Question
Since launching the site, people have sent me extra verses they've heard or invented:
- "A speck on the hair" — As Mick Hennessy attempted at the Christmas session. Ambitious.
- "A germ on the speck" — Someone emailed me this. We're getting microscopic now.
- "Bark on the tree" — Common in some versions but I find it redundant.
- "A leaf on the branch" — Fair enough but it slows the zoom from tree-structure to life-on-the-tree.
- "A wing on the bird" — Instead of feather. Works but "feather" sounds better at speed.
My Honest Assessment
All of these versions are valid. They all come from real singing traditions, passed down through real families and real communities. The folk tradition is not a museum — it's alive, and living things change and grow and adapt.
BUT.
The Irish version is the best. I'm sorry. I'm not sorry. The melody is better. The rhythm is better. The energy is better. The chaos at the end is better. And the way it sounds in a packed pub at midnight with thirty people singing is better than anything any other tradition has produced.
That's not nationalism. That's just facts.
BogLord2002
P.S. — If you have a regional variation I haven't mentioned, email me! I'm building a database. Well, I'm building a list in a notebook. But someday it'll be a database.