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Mrs McGrath had always been a popular song on the folk circuit but Springsteen’s version brought it to the attention of a new audience of rock fans across the world. Listen free to Celtic Irish Club Upbeat Celtic and Irish Pub Instrumentals. Springsteen brings Mrs McGrath to a new audience In fact, although the Springsteen version is still reminiscent of the Irish original, it is so different that it could almost be classed as a different melody. Springsteen transposes the song into a minor key to produce a sad, haunting melody that is more in keeping with the tragedy explored by the lyrics. The original is in a major key and, despite the theme of the lyrics, has the kind of upbeat feel as would be expected of a marching tune. The melody is also transformed in the Springsteen version.
Springsteen transposes the song to a minor key Although it’s a tragic story, the song has a jaunty upbeat feel, probably because it was used as a marching song by soldiers who wanted to raise their spirits rather than dwell upon the sense of tragedy. The original song tells the story of a woman whose son loses both legs in battle after being recruited into the British army. From jaunty marching song to haunting balladīruce SpringsteenBruce Springsteen took this old anti-war marching song and transformed it into something totally new. There were Irish soldiers on both sides, which meant that Mrs McGrath, the old marching song from Ireland, was quickly adapted as a marching song by American regiments on both sides to the political divide. Many of those immigrants went on to fight in the American Civil War. The folk song Mrs McGrath was brought to America in the mid-19th century by the thousands of Irish immigrants who had been forced by poverty to leave their homes in Ireland.