The Orange and the Green
"The Orange and the Green" or "The Biggest Mix-Up" is an Irish folk song about a man whose father was a Protestant (Orange) and whose mother was a Catholic (Green). It describes the man's trials as the product of religious intermarriage and how "mixed up" he became from such an upbringing.
This song was written by Anthony Murphy of Liverpool and has been recorded by bands such as The Irish Rovers, The Wolfe Tones, Paddy Reilly, The Brobdingnagian Bards, The Grehan Sisters, and The Kreellers. It is sung to the same tune as "The Wearing of the Green", which is also used in the "The Rising of the Moon", another Irish ballad.
History
Liverpool, full of Irish immigrants, has a very high proportion of Catholics. On the other hand the Orange Order is also very strong. The Orange Lodge march every year in July with its fifes and drums and pipe bands to celebrate the victory of Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James II on July 12, 1690. Although Liverpool is not known as a city of sectarian violence, one doesn't have to go too far back to uncover the tensions in this city in people's living memory, such as when an Orange mob threw rocks at Archbishop Heenan in 1958. Catholics and Protestants have intermarried with all the frustrations encountered by those born of such mixed marriages. This song from Liverpool expresses some of them.
The Green
The Green may refer to:
See also
The Green (Charlotte, North Carolina)
The Green is a one and a half acre park at 400 South Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. At one end of this so-called pocket park are the Mint Museum and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art; at the other end is the Charlotte Convention Center. Next to it stands Charlotte's historic St. Peter's Catholic Church. The Green is the site of various public events, such as movie screenings and free plays, including summer performances by the Charlotte Shakespeare Festival. This park is frequently the site of public art and sculpture, including three giant computer-timed fish fountains, a popular feature with children in the summer. Mosaic benches and stools are tucked away in shady side paths. Five large sculptures by the French artist Niki de Saint Phalle stood in The Green from January through October 2011.
The park has an overall theme of world literature. Prominent among the permanent sculptures are large bronze representations of books from the canon of world literature, for example, Roots by Alex Haley. There are quotes by famous writers and many whimsical direction signs pointing to real places but combined to form the name of well-known authors, for example, signs pointing to Edgar (Wisconsin), Allan (Saskatchewan), and Poe (Alberta). Other signposts point to cities named Charlotte around the world.
The Green (Dartmouth College)
Coordinates: 43°42′12″N 72°17′19″W / 43.70333°N 72.28861°W / 43.70333; -72.28861
The Green (formally the College Green) is a grass-covered field and common space at the center of Dartmouth College, an Ivy League university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. It was among the first parcels of land obtained by the College upon its founding in 1769, and is the only creation of the 18th century remaining at the center of the campus. After being cleared of pine trees, it initially served as a pasture and later as an athletic field for College sporting events. Today, it is a central location for rallies, celebrations, and demonstrations, and serves as a general, all-purpose recreation area. The College describes the Green as "historic" and as the "emotional center" of the institution.
Geography
The Green is a five-acre (two-hectare) plot located in the center of downtown Hanover, New Hampshire. It is crossed by seven gravel walking paths, the locations of which varied until about 1931, when the configuration was last altered. Three of them bisect the Green, running southwest to northeast, northwest to southeast, and east to west. The northernmost of its two east-west paths was added after Massachusetts Hall was constructed in 1907, and links the central entrance to that dormitory west of the Green to the northern entrance to Dartmouth Hall, east of it. Two paths run from the northwest and southwest corners respectively to the middle of the Green's eastern edge. A final path runs north-south along the eastern side. The Green also has paved sidewalks along its southern and western edges.
Podcasts:
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by Wolfe Tones
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by Brobdingnagian Bards
The Orange And The Green
by: Wolfe TonesOh, my father was an Ulster man, proud Protestant was
My mother was a Catholic and from County Cork was she.
They were married in two churches, and lived happily
enough;
Until the day that I was born, and things got rather
tough.
Baptized by Father Reilly, I was rushed away by car
To be made a little Orangeman, my father's shining
star.
I was christened David Anthony, but still in spite of
that,
To my father I was Billy while my mother called me Pat.
Oh, it is the biggest mix-up that you have ever seen
My father was an Orangeman, my mother she was Green.
Now, with mother every Sunday to Mass I'd proudly
stroll,
And after that the Orange lads would try to save my
soul.
And both sides tried to claim me but I was smart
because
I'd play the flute or play the harp depending where I
was.
And when I'd sing those rebel songs, much to my
mother's joy,
My father would jump up and say, "Look here, come here
me boy!
That's quite enough of that, lad," he'd toss me o'er a
coin,
He'd have me sing "The Orange Flute" and "The Heroes of
the Boyne."
Oh, it is the biggest mix-up that you have ever seen,
My father was an Orangeman, my mother she was Green.
One day my ma's relations came 'round to visit me,
Just as my father's kinfolk were sitting down to tea;
We tried to smooth things over; they all began to
fight,
And me being strictly neutral, I kicked everyone in
sight.
My parents never could agree about my type of school,
My learning was all done at home; that's why I'm such a
fool.
They've both passed on, God rest them, but I was left
between
That awful color problem of the Orange and the Green
Oh, it is the biggest mix-up that you have ever seen
My father was an Orangeman, my mother she was Green.
Oh, it is the biggest mix-up that you have ever seen