In Irish, what does "whack fo lol de ra" mean?

Question

I have heard this in some Irish songs and didn't know what it meant.

Answer 1

The words themselves have no meaning.  An old singing tradition in Ireland is lilting, diddling or sometimes called mouth music. When the language and music were banned the Irish improvised the sound of instruments with their voice and lilting became an art. Many Irish and Scottish ballads written in English have some of these 'nonsense' words or lilts added. It is also akin to Swiss yodeling.

Answer 2

the above answere is spot on. some songs are just lilting. the song you probably heard that in was finnegans wake

Tim Finnegan lived in Walkin Street, a gentle Irishman mighty odd

He had a brogue both rich and sweet, an' to rise in the world he carried a hod

You see he'd a sort of a tipplers way but the love for the liquor poor Tim was born

To help him on his way each day, he'd a drop of the craythur every morn

Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake

Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake

One morning Tim got rather full, his head felt heavy which made him shake

Fell from a ladder and he broke his skull, and they carried him home his corpse to wake

Rolled him up in a nice clean sheet, and laid him out upon the bed

A bottle of whiskey at his feet and a barrel of porter at his head

Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake

Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake

His friends assembled at the wake, and Mrs Finnegan called for lunch

First she brought in tay and cake, then pipes, tobacco and whiskey punch

Biddy O'Brien began to cry, "Such a nice clean corpse, did you ever see,

Tim avourneen, why did you die?", "Will ye hould your gob?" said Paddy McGee

Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake

Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake

Then Maggie O'Connor took up the job, "Biddy" says she "you're wrong, I'm sure"

Biddy gave her a belt in the gob and left her sprawling on the floor

Then the war did soon engage, t'was woman to woman and man to man

Shillelagh law was all the rage and a row and a ruction soon began

Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake

Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake

Mickey Maloney ducked his head when a bucket of whiskey flew at him

It missed, and falling on the bed, the liquor scattered over Tim

Bedad he revives, see how he rises, Timothy rising from the bed

Saying "Whittle your whiskey around like blazes, t'underin' Jaysus, do ye think I'm dead?"

Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake

Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake

Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake

Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake