{title: The Parting Glass}
{artist: Traditional (Scottish / Irish)}
{album: 17th-century Scottish origin (broadside "Good Night and Joy Be With You All"); the standard farewell song in Scottish and Irish tradition; widely sung a cappella}
{key: Em}
{tempo: 80}
{difficulty: intermediate}
{phase: 3}
{strand: S}
{feel: hush}
{lead_voice: mid}
{lead_mode: solo}
{lead_demand: showpiece}
{harmony: M,H,B}
{a_cappella: yes}
{kit: acap}
{set_role: closer}
{lang: en}
{country_tags: IE}
{copyright: pd}
{flags: a_cappella}
{tags: a-cappella,chorus,closer,forecastle,harmony,irish,public-domain,scottish,shanty,slow,starter,traditional}

{c: The perfect set-closer. The traditional Scottish and Irish farewell song — pre-1800 origin, public domain, sung a cappella at the end of every funeral, wedding, and pub night across the Celtic world. The Mayne Stays' dedicated study piece for blend, control, and silence.}
{c: Three chords (Em, G, D) if accompanied — but the recommended performance is a cappella. Slow, around 70-80 BPM. Three full-harmony parts on every line.}

{c: ===== STRUCTURE =====}
{c: Three verses. Each verse is the whole song — no chorus. Verses can be sung solo (lead voice) with the band joining on the last two lines, OR sung in full harmony throughout (the more demanding arrangement).}
{c: A cappella: pitch off a quiet guitar note or tuning fork before the first verse. Assign one person to hold the pitch — the most common a cappella failure is drifting flat by the end of the second verse.}

{start_of_verse}
Of [Em]all the money [G]that e'er I had
I [G]spent it in good [D]company
And [Em]all the harm I've [G]ever done
A[G]las it was to [D]none but me
And [Em]all I've done for [G]want of wit
To [G]memory now I [D]can't recall
So [Em]fill to me the [G]parting glass
[G]Good night and [D]joy be [Em]with you all
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_verse}
Of [Em]all the comrades [G]that e'er I had
They're [G]sorry for my [D]going away
And [Em]all the sweethearts [G]that e'er I had
They'd [G]wish me one more [D]day to stay
But [Em]since it falls un[G]to my lot
That [G]I should rise and [D]you should not
I'll [Em]gently rise and [G]softly call
[G]Good night and [D]joy be [Em]with you all
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_verse}
A [Em]man may drink and [G]not be drunk
A [G]man may fight and [D]not be slain
A [Em]man may court a [G]pretty girl
And [G]perhaps be welcomed [D]back again
But [Em]since it has so [G]ordered been
A [G]time to rise and [D]a time to fall
Come [Em]fill to me the [G]parting glass
[G]Good night and [D]joy be [Em]with you all
{end_of_verse}

{c: ===== HARMONY ARRANGEMENT =====}
{c: For three-part harmony (the way the Mayne Stays should approach this):}
{c:   LEAD — the melody as written above (sits in the lower-middle register)}
{c:   THIRD ABOVE — one full third up from the melody throughout}
{c:   FIFTH ABOVE — one full fifth up from the melody throughout}
{c: For four parts, add a low octave below the melody on the last two lines of each verse ("So fill to me the parting glass...").}
{c: The hardest moment: the long held note on "all" at the end of each verse. Stagger your breaths (one singer in, one out) so the note doesn't dip.}

{c: ===== REFERENCE RECORDINGS =====}
{c: The Wailin' Jennys — the gold-standard female-trio version (instructive even for a male band: listen for the blend).}
{c: The Clancy Brothers — classic Irish folk arrangement.}
{c: The High Kings — modern Irish a cappella arrangement.}
{c: Ed Sheeran — surprisingly tasteful 2017 recording.}
{c: The Longest Johns — full close-harmony shanty band arrangement.}

{c: ===== PERFORMANCE NOTES =====}
{c: This is a set-closer. Sing it last, after the loud songs are over. Stand close, in a tight semicircle. No instruments — or one quiet guitar fingerpicked under the harmony.}
{c: The audience should be SILENT during this song. Don't ask for participation; the silence is part of the performance.}
{c: End with the words still ringing in the air — don't immediately cue applause. Hold the moment.}