It's a long way to Tipperary... allegedly

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 10 November 2006 13:59:01

A current Ship of Fools thread about stupid song lyrics, has reminded me of the arguments that used to break out in my old job around the song, 'It's A Long Way To Tipperary' (there was no reason why we should have been singing this song at work, but somehow it became an old chestnut that we'd just debate over and over again when we really should have been doing something more useful)

Now, for starters, there was the issue of whether or not it actually was a long way to Tipperary or not. Now, of course, what constitutes "a long way" is open to interpretation, but there's also the question of where you're actually starting out from. If you're a couple of miles up the road from Tipperary, it's not a long way at all; if you're in Lyon, it's a fair trek; and if you're coming from Johannesburg, frankly you might as well forget it.

And herein lies the second, and more vehemently argued, part. I'd always assumed the song's proagonist was leaving from London, as he says "goodbye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester Square". However, one particular colleague pointed out that there is also a Piccadilly in Manchester, so how did we know our hero wasn't going to Manchester to say goodbye to Piccadilly, before heading to London to say farewell to Leicester Square. As far as I was concerned, there was an obvious answer - why would anyone drive 300-odd miles from Manchester to London, only to then have to go all that way back again to travel to Ireland? You'd be going completely out of your way, adding much mileage and time to your journey.

So there you have it - it may or may not be a long way to Tipperary, but it will be even longer if you start from Manchester and go via London. Of course, that doesn't scan as well, as the original lyrics, but at least it would cause fewer petty office arguments...