Collection Information: Tura Lura was collected on May 17th , 2014
at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. It belongs to the
folkloric genre called lullabies.
Informant Data: Elinor Beitler is an American from outside of Chicago, IL. She is 19 years old and is studying engineering and environmental studies at Dartmouth College. She is a sophomore. She is Jewish, but with broad family origins, including Irish, German, and Russian.
Text:
“Tura Lura Lura
Tura lura lie
Tura lura lura
Hush now don’t you cry
Over in Kalarney
Many years ago
There’s a song my gramma sang to me
A tune so sweet and low
Just a simple little ditty
In her good old Irish way
And I’d give her the world if she could sing
That song to me today
Tura lura lura
Tura lura lie
Tura lura lura
It’s an Irish lullaby”
Context: Elinor has a twin sister, and to get them to go
to bed, their mother would sing them many different lullabies. This
lullaby was passed down from her Irish grandfather to her mother, and
now has been passed on to her and her sister.
Meaning and Interpretation: This lullaby was passed down through her family from Ireland and uses many typical lullaby structures. These include the use of calming nonsense words (Tura Lura), repetitive structure as seen in the repeating of the “Tura Lura lines”, words relating to falling asleep like “hush”, and it is story in general. In Elinor’s life it has served the dual purpose of putting her to sleep as a child and keeping her connected to her Irish family members and community.
Collector’s Information: Ben Wood, Dartmouth ’16, Russian 13, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Spring 2014
