What does the Irish expression "toora loora" mean?  I heard it first
in the song "Reconciliation" by Eileen Ivers in which the chorus is:

Toora loora lay,
Toora loora laddie,
Toora loora lay,
Toora lay.

In my efforts to find the meaning, I discovered that it's quite common
in various Irish drinking songs and is referred to sometimes as part
of a lullaby.  It's also included in the song "Come on Eileen," and
is often followed by various words such as lay, laddie, aye, li, etc. 
I'm just trying to figure out what it means or what it's supposed to
express (or even if there is, in fact, a set definition). If you know
specifically what "toora loora lay" means as well, that'd be great. 
Thank you!

Hello morkai11,

"A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English," by Eric Partridge
(Paul Beale, ed., 8th Ed. 1984), page 1250, states:

"tooraloo! Goodbye for now!; I'll be seeing you: a mainly Anglo-Irish
var. of tootle-oo"

This dictionary dates the expression to circa 1910, and notes it in
James Joyce's "Ulysses" from 1922:

"'Toraloo,' Lenehan said, "'see you later.'"

It also notes the similarity to the Australian expression "too-a-roo,"
circa 1919-39, which also means "Goodbye!" (page 1248).

The online version of the Oxford English Dictionary (available at some
libraries) cites Joyce, as well as D.H. Lawrence circa 1921 ("'So
long! See you soon! Too-ra-loo!'"), for the meaning "'Goodbye.'"

Conceivably, the expression "tooraloo" could have nothing to do with
"toora loora," despite the apparent similarity.  But "tooraloo" is
used in the sense of "goodbye" in one prominent "toora loora" song:

"... So poor Admiral Nelson Tooraloo ..."

"Nelson's Pillar" [under lyrics for "Nelson's Farewell" by Joe Dolan]
Answers.com
http://www.answers.com/topic/nelson-s-pillar

Now that doesn't mean that "toora loora" can't also be a nonsense
phrase as myoarin suggests.  Certainly, some songs use it this way. 
Indeed, it seems to be used this way in the lullaby to which pinkfreud
refers:

"'Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, 
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don't you cry! 
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, 
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby.'" 

"Irish Lullaby (Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral)"
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS): NIEHS Kids' Pages
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/irishlull.htm

On the other hand, "goodbye for now" or "see you later" seems like a
reasonable theme for a lullaby.  I presume that "rock-a-bye" in
"Rock-a-bye Baby" has this meaning.  But that's probably a subject for
another question.

The main point is that to the extent that "toora loora" has a meaning,
it's "goodbye for now."

- justaskscott


Search strategy --

Browsed Partridge dictionary.

Searched online Oxford English Dictionary for "tooraloo" and "too."

Searched on Google for variations on "toora loora," "toora loora lay,"
"toora loora laddie," and "tooraloo."

Just so someone can prove me wrong:
I think it is just a nonsence rhyme, something typical to the refrains
of many English and Irish songs of the past, medieval "skat" maybe. 
The "words" are almost always ideal for vocalizing, having clear
vowels and no difficult to sing consonants.
Admittedly, in some refrains like that of the Spanish Lady
("Whack for the toora loora laddie"), one could easily imagine that
the "toora loora" is a substitute for a (bawdy?) description of the
laddie, but then it would not have to have a meaning of its own.

Wow, that seems like a pretty darn good answer, myoarin!  Thanks very
much!  I'll leave the question up just in case, like you said, there's
another answer.  But, I think that pretty well satisfies me.  Thanks
again!

The best-known use of "toora loora" is in an Irish lullabye. The words
may not have meaning, but their sound is comforting to babies.

"Tiny babies may not be able to understand words, but no worry - some
of the most effective songs in this collections are - you bet -
composed of soothing nonsense syllables, for example 'toora, loora'
and 'baloo, baleerie'."

http://inkpot.com/classical/lullabies.html

I cannot confirm the validity of the information but according to this
interesting source "toora-loorals" was a (perhaps vulgar) term for
women's breasts that dates back to the 1900's.

SEX LEXIS
http://www.sex-lexis.com/Sex-Dictionary/toora-loorals

tutuzdad-ga

Morkai11,
Glad to help  - if I am right.

Tutuzdad-ga confirms my last remark, whereby "toora loorals" would
just be a "filler", meaning whatever was appropriate in the context. 
When men are talking  -or singing- about a woman, most of us
immediately assume that any expression describing something in the
plural can only refer to one thing  - well, one pair of things.  ;)

Myoarin

To the contrary; my comment does not confirm your speculation that the
term is ambiguous and serves to represent whatever comes to mind.
While I cannot confirm that the 1900's origin is the actual source of
the phrase [as I warned], neither have you established that it is not.

tutuzdad-ga

Sorry, tutuzdad-ga, quite right; I should not have claimed that YOU
confirmed anything.

The link you gave leads to a screen-full of synonyms, however, that
does support the suggestion that just about anything can be a synonym
in the context.
(I was going to say "anything but pancakes", but then saw "tamales" on the site.)

As for the version of "The Spanish Lady" with the refrain, this site
dates it to the 17th century, the four line refrain being obvious
nonsence verse, probably to be sung by the crowd listening to the
soloist who sang the verses.  If the refrain means anything, it is all
in the imagination of those singers.

http://www.contemplator.com/england/spanlady.html

Myoarin

Could be the Irish accent of the below, but I can't be "to be sure".
.................................................
Tirralirra

\Tir"ra*lir`ra\, n. A verbal imitation of a musical sound, as of the
note of a lark or a horn.

The lark, that tirra lyra chants. --Shak.

``Tirralira, '' by the river, Sang Sir Lancelot. --Tennyson.
.......................................
Sounds good to me though. Watta ya reckon??

It's not for me to decide, but I think you've got it.

This question produced a much larger set of responses than I was
expecting!  My thanks to myoarin, pinkfreud, tutuzdad, whosoever, and
finally justaskscott.  Both  the many comments and the final answer
contributed a great deal to a much better understanding of this
phrase.  I think it's been nailed down as definiteively as possible
without a trip to the Emerald Isle.  Thanks again everyone!