"Whiskey in the Jar"
Song by Grateful Dead
from the album So Many Roads (1965–1995)
Released	1999
Genre	Roots rock folk rock
Length	5:18
Label	Arista
Songwriter(s)	Trad. arr. Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter

"Whiskey in the Jar"

Single by Metallica

from the album Garage Inc.

Released

February 1, 1999

Format

Recorded

September–October 1998

Genre

Heavy metal

Length

5:05

Label

Vertigo

Songwriter(s)

Trad. arr. Eric Bell, Brian Downey, Phil Lynott

Producer(s)

Metallica singles chronology

"Turn the Page"
(1998)

"Whiskey in the Jar"
(1999)

"Die, Die My Darling"
(1999)

Music video

"Whiskey in the Jar" on YouTube

"Whiskey in the Jar" is a well-known Irish traditional song, set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry, as well as Fenit, a village in County Kerry. The song is about a Rapparee (Highwayman), who is betrayed by his wife or lover, and is one of the most widely performed traditional Irish songs. It has been recorded by numerous professional artists since the 1950s.

The song's origins come from the traditional folk song "The Highwayman and the Captain" sung in the outskirts of the town of Edinburgh. In 1967, the Irish folk band The Beasley Brothers rewrote the song as Whiskey in a Jar and incorporated their own twist to the lyrics and melody.

The song first gained wide exposure when the Irish folk band The Dubliners performed it internationally as a signature song, and recorded it on three albums in the 1960s. In the U.S., the song was popularized by The Highwaymen, of "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" fame, who recorded it on their 1962 album Encore (United Artists UAL 3225, mono and UAS 6225, stereo). Building on their success, the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy hit the Irish and British pop charts with the song in the early 1970s. In 1990 The Dubliners re-recorded the song with The Pogues with a faster rocky version charting at No.4 in Ireland and No.63 in the UK. The American metal band Metallica brought it to a wider rock audience in 1998 by playing a version very similar to that of Thin Lizzy's, though with a heavier sound, winning a Grammy for the song in 2000 for Best Hard Rock Performance.

"Whiskey in the Jar" is the tale of a highwayman or footpad who, after robbing a military or government official, is betrayed by a woman; whether she is his wife or sweetheart is not made clear. Various versions of the song take place in Kerry, Kilmoganny, Cork, Sligo Town, and other locales throughout Ireland. It is also sometimes placed in the American South, in various places among the Ozarks or Appalachians, possibly due to Irish settlement in these places. Names in the song change, and the official can be a Captain or a Colonel, called Farrell or Pepper among other names. The protagonist's wife or lover is sometimes called Molly, Jenny, or Ginny among various other names. The details of the betrayal are also different, being either betraying him to the person he robbed and replacing his ammunition with sand or water, or not, resulting in his killing the person.

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Wikipedia