Different versions of the same song, as sung by different local singers:
Ottilie Patterson - "
Let Him Go, Let Him Tarry" (Comber, County Down)
Ruby Murray - "
Let Him Go, Let Him Tarry" (Belfast, County Down)
Cliona Hagan - "
Let Him Go, Let Him Tarry" (Coalisland, County Tyrone)
And here are a couple of versions from the films:
Maureen O'Hara - "
Let Him Go, Let Him Tarry" (Ranelagh, County Dublin)
Jean Simmons - "
Let Him Go, Let Him Tarry" (Islington, Middlesex)
OK, so Jean wasn't Irish. But, she was an actress that I really liked. So, I just had to include her.
Ottilie's version is my absolute favourite. Ruby's version is a wee bit over the top, but still good. Maureen and Jean aren't bad either. As for Cliona, I'm afraid that's just not my taste in music. (I could have provided more country versions, but I just couldn't listen to them in their entirity!)
I actually have a personal connection with two of those singers. Cliona's home town is only 10 miles from mine, and she is very good friends with a girl I went to school with. And Ottilie is buried in the same graveyard as my grandparents.
Oh, and in case you are thinking that Ottilie's first name doesn't sound very Irish, you are correct. Her father was from Northern Ireland, but her mother was from Latvia.
It is amazing how the same song can sound so different depending on who is singing it!
CaroLiza_fan