"I'll Tell Me Ma" (also called "The Wind") is a traditional children's song. It was collected in various parts of the United Kingdom in the 19th century and again appears in collections from shortly after the turn of the 20th century.[1] In Ireland, especially within Ulster, the chorus usually refers to Belfast city and is known colloquially as "The Belle of Belfast City", although it is also adapted to other Irish cities, such as Dublin.[2] Other versions refer to the "Golden City" or "London City". This song is Roud Folk Song Index number 2649.
The song accompanies a children's game. A ring is formed by the children joining hands, one player standing in the centre. When asked, "Please tell me who they be," the girl in the middle gives the name or initials of a boy in the ring (or vice versa). The ring then sings the rest of the words, and the boy who was named goes into the centre.[1]
- ^ a b Gomme, Alice Bertha (1894). The traditional games of England, Scotland and Ireland: with tunes, singing rhymes and methods of playing according to the variants extant and recorded in different parts of the kingdom. London: Nutt. p. 387. ISBN 978-0-500-27316-6.
- ^ "The Irish Sessions ::". Young Dubliners. Retrieved 12 February 2014.[permanent dead link]