Molly Malone (Cockles & Mussels)

Traditional song, Ireland

“Molly Malone (“Cockles & Mussels” or “In Dublin’s fair city”)” is a sort of unofficial anthem of Dublin city.

Molly Malone (Cockles & Mussels) – Song History

Molly Malone was a legendary fishmonger. It isn’t clear if she was a real person, but is referred as a nice woman who died young of a fever. In memory of her, a statue is placed since 1987, city’s first millennium celebration, at Grafton Street. 13 June is established as “Molly Malone day”, as a date that one of many Molly Malones who lived in Dublin during the last centuries is died.

In fact the song was not recorded earlier than 1883, when it was published as a work written and composed by James Yorkston, of Edinburgh. However, as the song became naturalised in Ireland the attribution to Yorkston was generally omitted in published versions, encouraging a general assumption that it was an ancient folk song. The song was featured in Stanley Kubrick’s film A Clockwork Orange, sung by an old drunk.

Table of Contents

Molly Malone Videos

Sing-Along Video

Karaoke Video

Lyrics

1. In Dublin’s fair city
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!”
“Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh,”
Crying “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh”.

2. She was a fishmonger
But sure ’twas no wonder
For so were her father and mother before
And they wheeled their barrows
Through the streets broad and narrow
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!”
“Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh,”
Crying “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh”.

3. She died of a fever
And no one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone.
But her ghost wheels her barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!”
“Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh,”
Crying “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh”.

Click on the button to watch a karaoke video and download a PDF file with lyrics to this song for free.

Free karaoke MP3 download

To download your free instrumental mp3 of this song, click or tap on the following button, then choose “Save link as…”

“Molly Malone (Cockles & Mussels)” free mp3 download (instrumental, 1:40 – 6/8 – 154 bpm)

MP4 Video File | Free Download

To watch the karaoke video of this song on your mobile device, click on the following link to download the video file (mp4 format).

Molly Malone (Cockles & Mussels) | Free mp4 Video File Download

30 Favourite Nursery Rhymes - Vol.1 - Album Cover

Buy our entire album with 30 Favourite Nursery Rhymes
+ 20 Instrumental versions of songs for kids

Sheet music with chords

To save this free music sheet of “Molly Malone (Cockles & Mussels)” to your computer, right click (or tap and hold, on mobile devices) and choose “Save Image As…”.

Free Printable PDF with Sheet Music and lyrics

To download a ready-to-print PDF of this song for music activities with a music sheet, lyrics and a drawing for kids to paint, right click (or tap and hold) on the following link, then choose “Save link as…”.

“Molly Malone (Cockles & Mussels)” free PDF download – Singing Bell

Click on the button for a printable PDF file with Guitar Chords, Tabs and Sheet Music for this song for free.

Molly Malone - cockles and mussels - Guitar Chords and Tabs.

Click on the button to watch a piano tutorial video and download a PDF file with music score to this song for free.

Teaching idea

This Irish song can be a useful material for “exploring” the 3/4 measure.

Ask children to find how many combinations of quarters, eighths, etc. that consist this measure there are in the song.

Try to find as many new combinations as you can, make a table and compare them.

Molly-Malone-Singing-Bell

Did you like this post? Rate it!

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...

You may also like:

Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s an Irish Lullaby)

Little Boy Blue

Did you ever see a lassie?,

Oranges and Lemons,

Hickory, Dickory, Dock

Lavender’s Blue

Related Posts for Molly Malone (Cockles & Mussels)

Leave a Reply