Christy, the Lanigans Ball hype has sent me down a rabbit hole this morning…. Diarmaid O Leary and the Bards, a trip down memory lane with the cassette tape driving my poor mother spare between old dungarvan oak and how’s she cuttin.
Anyway, We’ll be singing our hearts out tonight…. dreaming of the Barras!
Stay safe and take care.
Christy's reply
Aisling…
1,2,3,4 Telegraph Poles
Burning on the cold black road
the night is turning into morning
give us a drop of your sweet poitín
40 years ago I met Diarmuid on the Mailboat steaming back towards Ireland..we settled into a corner with no shortage of Brandy and Port…as Dun Laoire came into view I wrote out Lanigan’s Ball for him…fair play to Him he promoted Julia and made a right go of it
Hi All. Yes so many of us are missing the gigs,and thats just the listeners, I can’t imagine what its like for the musicians !! The gaggle tomorrow night was probably going to be the biggest since Lisdoon in 2010 ! 4711ers from the Island, UK, Belgium, the USA and of course Caledonia all making up the audience of 1,000 that is the Barras Choir. Some people were flying in for one night only. So yes lets do as Patsy suggests lets gaggle around our devices and send good Juju forth out into the universe, it’s certainly the next best thing to going ” up the stairs to hell or to heaven ” bí ann gan teip, beir bua agus beannacht. H
Christy's reply
Hi Hilary….chomping at the bit here…oh for a waft of perfume and aftershave..for a roar of the greasepaint,a smell of the crowd….cold turkey dont come near ….a fierce need to bask for a few hours in that duende of glorious listeners…Jimmy tampin it down solid, Cathal bowing or plecking, Decky fillin the spaces, Davey at the dials, Jeff on the lamps, Johnny tuning, Mick notating, Paddy over seeing, me ecstatic on the good of it all….
when the plague lifts we’ll meet again….in some auld kip down some grassy boreen we’ll restart the thrasher and roll out the boogaloo…be it Knocknagoshel or Barrowland we’ll give them spiders a good rattle
Hi Christy,
Firstly many thanks to the very knowledgeable youngster’s posting of the Limerick Soviet song , i enjoyed it.
My attention has often been drawn to your Traveller album. I won’t lie, it was such a change that it took some time to get used to.
The album name, where did it emerge from?
The Siren voice song ,for me is so earthy, so emotive and full of deep meaning, it almost summed up the album, where did the inspiration for the song come from?
The clip from Glastonbury a decade before, a crowd receptive to the single bodhran remains bare yet inspiring , was it more difficult to play and get attention to it in a big open venue?
Sorry so many questions, any insight on this fine record would be great ,as i prepare to crawl back under the second duvet with a torch and a tin of prunes.
Regards Rory
Christy's reply
I dont recall how the title emerged…could have been a nod to John Reilly…maybe !
I’ll need to listen to the album again and get back to you
it came at a time of “lockdown” for me personally…I was off the road for 18 months, the head was not the best,
it was recorded in the garden shed with Leo Pearson….then a budding young producer/engineer/musician…..
that Glastonbury excerpt was from a solo set on the main stage Sunday afternoon circa 1985….I did a long bodhran solo, maybe 10 minutes with some vocal weaving in and out…it seemed as if the audience swelled during this interlude..may be my flight of fancy but I think it was the resonance of the ancient drum that drew them in..Leo did a great job on that track..
I’m happy to have made that album..not everyone’s cup of tea but that’s the way it goes
I will listen to it again and refresh memory of details
Moloney The Piper was near gettin strangled
they lepped on his pipes bellows chanter and all
boys and girls all got entangled
and that put an end to Lanigan’s Ball
Hi Christy (and Declan) – so much for our Golden Wedding Anniversary treat for July, which was coming to the Wexford Opera House to see you both. All the hotels we booked have been so generous in refunding our money (even though two of them had a ‘no cancellation’ policy). We just have to wait and see what Mr O’Leary does about refunds now and we’ll watch our Barrowlands DVD on the night instead! Let’s hope the concert is rearranged for another date next year maybe. Take care and look after yourselves. All good wishes to you both.
Christy's reply
as Jimmy Joyce might say…” Shite & Onions”
but listen Jane,
we’ll rise again,
to a different world
but
we’ll rise again
Hi Christy,
Your wonderful positive “Chats” are a tonic to us all. Thanks for all of your positivity, and the insight as to how you are getting through this strange time……….Yes; we should be all by the Clyde this weekend, but if not been there sees us out safely the other side, then it’s a small price to pay.
Just thinking, tomorrow night around 8 Bells we could all sit around our “devices” and watch the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgQzjwNHHho
Just a few rules: neat dress essential!!!, plenty of Aftershave…it’s Saturday night. Find a room with a wooden Floor for best Foot sound effects, shout out your requests, or even post them on FB.
Most of all enjoy together……..Come all you Dreamers.
KEEY SAFE Christy.
Best Regards
Christy's reply
you got a deal Patsy….I’m gonna sing at 8 tonight….gonna waltz beneath that carousel of healin….gonna jitterbug and boogie the night away…..
of all the gigs in all the Halls, none hits the nail like Mags McIvor’s….so many elements come together…the location, the street, the stairs, the smell, the dance hall sound check, the dressing room like no other,the decades of gaffa, no where else does the audience arrive singing,the sound of the gathering carries into the dressing room,sweet anticipation, the laughter and greetings as listeners encounter old friends, celtic yelps mingled with exiled reflections, come 10 past 8 and Michael leads us to side stage, Knobfler’s “Cal” fades, Davey’s pre gig chat seeks to be heard , out we go,
“In the City of Chicago,
as the evening shadows fall
there are people dreaming
of the Hills of Donegal”
more mellow Dylan released today-without preview…nicely sums up the world mood and will give food for thought/analysis… ‘I contain multitudes’…
Viva Bob
Dave
Christy's reply
“Hey Hey Woody Gutrie Bob wrote you this song
’bout a crazy old world thats comin along
its sick and its weary its tired and its worn
seems to be dyin and its hardly been born”
…………From Bob’s “Song for Woody”…..its how I learned it from Tony Small back in Finsbury Park Tavern over 50 years ago…
…………Bob just keeps on rollin’ along, always ahead of the pack, paddlin his own canoe, no one comes near as cool …he manages to stay cool when getting into bed with Starbuck’s wearing Calvin Klein’s…he covers standards and pulls it off, sings Christmas Songs and sparkles, goes all religious and comes out smellin of Roses….
Hi Christy,
My friends and I were looking forward to seeing you at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh tonight.
So …. instead, we had a Zoom call and had your Barrowlands ‘Come all you dreamers’ DVD playing and we all sang along – grand!!
Drank a toast to you and ‘Slainte’ from Scotland 🏴
Wishing you all that’s good,
Stay safe and well,
Gillian xx
Christy's reply
and the same to you Gillian….
many sad regrets at missing our trip to Scotia….
always love the drive from Cairnryan to Edinburgh….those great venues and the wonderful audiences ….hopefully the time will come again for us to visit Auld Reekie and Clyde’s Bonny Banks
Not allowed to roam at present,but nature can come to us…via the art of Jackie Morris,as seen on the folk on foot gig…plus years of her blogs to explore…
Hello Christy! Hope everything is well with you during these trying times! I attended your show in Letterkenny back in May! You played “ Sonnys Dream” for us! And it was a moment I will never forget for as long as Im on gods green earth! Planning to come back across the pond and see you again when all this madness is over!! Your music and videos are getting me threw this time! Hope you are keeping safe, and Healthy!
Ryan Ward.
Witless Bay.Newfoundland!
Christy's reply
Sonny works the land
tho he’s barely a man
there’s no much to do
he just does what he can
he sits by the window
in his room by the stairs
watchin the waves
gently wash on the pier
………………………………………Ron Hines simple verse runs deep, evokes the story of a life of lonliness
Hey Christy I just listened to the bit with Ryan Tubridy while painting the garage here. It’s good to hear you well and the few bars of the John Lennon song was a bonus. We were to be with you in Scotland for the next few days but looking forward to the next time when the new normal emerges. Best regards. Brian.
Christy's reply
good man Brian….
may our paths cross again in the new world ..
make sure you get no splatters of paint on the Harley
CM (74)
Hello from connemara quarantine.
I like what you said about the birds singing full songs..its true ..Its because they can hear each other now that the world has fallen silent.
One of the downsides of this isolation craic is no farrier . I bit the bullet and ordered a set of farrier tools. The strangest thing happened while I was doing the donkeys hooves.A elegant seabhc landed right on the wall beside me .She sat there for a while watching ..I looked down to get my phone to get a photo .. in one shot she was gone.Shes a beautiful bird.
So next door is a different story .. What the heck is that bird is they have acquired ?.It sounds like a tone deaf rooster being strangled and shouts all day long and half the night too.If only I could see through the bushes .Its in with the poor chickens ..whatever it is it dont have a nice tune to it that’s for sure! It really hurts my sensitive ears .
I have a nice video chat with dadó Bearna once a week.I was telling him about this screacher creature.He told me that fadó his uncle was in the war in a place called salawaga.He brought home a parrot and put him in with the chickens .This thing next door is no parrot that’s for sure !
Dadó said ” cas an cloigean ar” that’s going a bit too far I think! (Dont know if you can translate that maybe better off not knowing )
Do you find the days long ..?
maith a fear (CS 15)…you were in mighty rapid with the Limerick Soviet…lovely reference too to “an seabhac”..as for thon screecher over the bushes….he may be destined for the pot if he dont change that tune….
truth is CS ,the day is not long enough….theres a lot to be done….I’ve been developing a good excercise routine, doing a bit in the garden each day, I’ve taken up cooking, I’m really enjoying the challenge and the dinner plates are always licked clean, I’m a divvil for the telly and there is no shortage of stuff to be seen, TG4 is the best Channel by far…..the Liam o”Flynn tribute was wonderful…also have re-looked at the “ßé mo Laoch” series, the “Mo Mháthair” series…saw a wonderful 6 parter called “Wolfhall” on BBC…
then I have daily revision of the ballads….I’m going back over the repertoire, revisiting old songs, finding new ways to sing lines, slipping in some new phrases,
I can lose myself in meditation with an old John Reilly song , also listened to his album again lately….there was a 7 hour “Folk on Foot” festival on line last weekend….numerous performances from a great array of artists…I’d say you’d enjoy it..watch out for `Peggy Seeger, Chris Drever and Karine Polworth to name but 3….
Keep up the good work CS, give my best wishes to the family,
Hello Christy.,
I hope this morning finds you well.
There’s been a recording device lurking upstairs for a while now covered in sliders and dials and buttons. It belongs to the technical half of my household. We’ve been playing with it, trying to get it to work. After two days we managed to get two tracks down and play then back together. Harp on one, voice on the other. Raggle Taggle. Once we’d worked out what overdub meant things went smoother ☺️. There’s nothing like recording to show where the work is needed. Back to it.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
I envy your labour…I wish I had engaged with the process all those years ago…
Just heard lovely rendition of Barbara Allen sang by the late Mary Mcpartlan.
I think you sang this on an album..been meaning to sort all the CD’s here while I’m locked in. Can you remind what album it was?
Good day Christy,
I have two musical matters to enquire about today, each from the opposite ends of the seriousness spectrum.
Firstly i note that today is the 101st anniversary of the Limerick Soviet. Such bravery of thousands of honest working people in the face of an occupying army. Do you know of any songs commemorating this monumental event?
Secondly i just love the throw away line, in that fun filled ’16 fishermen’ song, that runs ‘you could ate yer fry off the back of her neck and if you want some more say please ‘. What a marvellous and bizarre line, where on earth did it come from?
All the best
Rory
Christy's reply
I dont have a song for Limerick Soviet …Can anyone out there help ???
your “16 Fisherman Raving” query is most interesting..as you know Wally wrote this great song…I went to hear Wally play in “The Cobblestone” about 20 years ago..as always it was a leppin gig, really exciting with a great buzz in the room..I was standing beside Cathal Henry..at the end of Jolly Ravers he said to me “you should sing that song”..so I did..
years later we were at a party in the house of Mick and Peg Lally….. two wonderful people who really knew how to have a real good party…I was chatting with Wally and asked him about the line “you could ate your fry of the back of her neck”… I was curious about it just as you are now !
Wally told that he got the line from me !!!!! upon further reflection Val recalled a song I once worked on a song from Eamon Cowan ( he who wrote the original “Scapegoats”)
He sent me a great song about a “fine lasher”……somewhere in the song there was reference to a woman suffering from severe sun-burn
“You could ate your fry off the back of her neck” there lies the story
PS…Mick Lally was one of Ireland’s great actors…..he starred on stage ,Film and TV….the most loved actor in the country for decades he wore his celebrity very lightly, never changed from the man I first met in Galway in 1972…he was a founder of Druid Theatre in Galway…both Mick and Peggy are remembered with love and great affection
I’m glad you found the lobby bar via folkonfoot…seemed like a real labour of love project.I’m glad it was a success and seems to have exceeded expectations of all involved…the website shows a clever concept for ‘normal’ times.
‘Spencer the rover’ came to my notice from the superb Copper Family,then John Martyn adding mojo..it was on our setlist for gigs in the 80s and scarpered for no specific reason-and has yet to return…to be rectified when normal service resumes.I’m sure you’ve had similar experiences…What song would you say would have been a regular of yours,then to disappear without reason…and which one finally made it to a gig,having put up a struggle to be ‘right’?Its a mysterious process-as Martin Simpson said yesterday about his wonderful song’Maps’…
great to ponder the highways and byways from the security of the bunker…now,back to the wonders of ‘Acoustic Guitar’ and its online geek fest about Dylan’s guitars through the ages…simple pleasures…
Dave
Christy's reply
Some songs sounded so good in the studio…I really looked forward to including them in the live set…the time came and they simply did not work…just fell flat in the “live’ performance….songs like “Mystic Lipstick”, “China Waltz”,”Metropolitan Avenue” “The Little Drummer” “What Put The Blood” “Mercy” “On The Run” “The Piper’s Path”
just watched a superb set from Martin Simpson…will dip in and out ,but the excellent Peggy Seeger is on in the early evening…timings updated on the folkonfoot website… D
Christy's reply
twas like being in The Lobby Bar….a Magic Night
Sam Lee’s “Spencer The Rover” so beautiful
He carries the flame
lights the night
his acceptance and gratitude truly inspiring
thanks everyone for this gig
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3347703855244302&id=100000141603646 old forgotten song about kildare christy.
lovely to hear….fair play Thomas
Christy, the Lanigans Ball hype has sent me down a rabbit hole this morning…. Diarmaid O Leary and the Bards, a trip down memory lane with the cassette tape driving my poor mother spare between old dungarvan oak and how’s she cuttin.
Anyway, We’ll be singing our hearts out tonight…. dreaming of the Barras!
Stay safe and take care.
Aisling…
1,2,3,4 Telegraph Poles
Burning on the cold black road
the night is turning into morning
give us a drop of your sweet poitín
40 years ago I met Diarmuid on the Mailboat steaming back towards Ireland..we settled into a corner with no shortage of Brandy and Port…as Dun Laoire came into view I wrote out Lanigan’s Ball for him…fair play to Him he promoted Julia and made a right go of it
Hi All. Yes so many of us are missing the gigs,and thats just the listeners, I can’t imagine what its like for the musicians !! The gaggle tomorrow night was probably going to be the biggest since Lisdoon in 2010 ! 4711ers from the Island, UK, Belgium, the USA and of course Caledonia all making up the audience of 1,000 that is the Barras Choir. Some people were flying in for one night only. So yes lets do as Patsy suggests lets gaggle around our devices and send good Juju forth out into the universe, it’s certainly the next best thing to going ” up the stairs to hell or to heaven ” bí ann gan teip, beir bua agus beannacht. H
Hi Hilary….chomping at the bit here…oh for a waft of perfume and aftershave..for a roar of the greasepaint,a smell of the crowd….cold turkey dont come near ….a fierce need to bask for a few hours in that duende of glorious listeners…Jimmy tampin it down solid, Cathal bowing or plecking, Decky fillin the spaces, Davey at the dials, Jeff on the lamps, Johnny tuning, Mick notating, Paddy over seeing, me ecstatic on the good of it all….
when the plague lifts we’ll meet again….in some auld kip down some grassy boreen we’ll restart the thrasher and roll out the boogaloo…be it Knocknagoshel or Barrowland we’ll give them spiders a good rattle
Hi Christy,
Firstly many thanks to the very knowledgeable youngster’s posting of the Limerick Soviet song , i enjoyed it.
My attention has often been drawn to your Traveller album. I won’t lie, it was such a change that it took some time to get used to.
The album name, where did it emerge from?
The Siren voice song ,for me is so earthy, so emotive and full of deep meaning, it almost summed up the album, where did the inspiration for the song come from?
The clip from Glastonbury a decade before, a crowd receptive to the single bodhran remains bare yet inspiring , was it more difficult to play and get attention to it in a big open venue?
Sorry so many questions, any insight on this fine record would be great ,as i prepare to crawl back under the second duvet with a torch and a tin of prunes.
Regards Rory
I dont recall how the title emerged…could have been a nod to John Reilly…maybe !
I’ll need to listen to the album again and get back to you
it came at a time of “lockdown” for me personally…I was off the road for 18 months, the head was not the best,
it was recorded in the garden shed with Leo Pearson….then a budding young producer/engineer/musician…..
that Glastonbury excerpt was from a solo set on the main stage Sunday afternoon circa 1985….I did a long bodhran solo, maybe 10 minutes with some vocal weaving in and out…it seemed as if the audience swelled during this interlude..may be my flight of fancy but I think it was the resonance of the ancient drum that drew them in..Leo did a great job on that track..
I’m happy to have made that album..not everyone’s cup of tea but that’s the way it goes
I will listen to it again and refresh memory of details
Covid-19 at Lanigan’s Ball:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkfr-Ib3wV4
Stay well and safe, all xx
Moloney The Piper was near gettin strangled
they lepped on his pipes bellows chanter and all
boys and girls all got entangled
and that put an end to Lanigan’s Ball
Hi Christy (and Declan) – so much for our Golden Wedding Anniversary treat for July, which was coming to the Wexford Opera House to see you both. All the hotels we booked have been so generous in refunding our money (even though two of them had a ‘no cancellation’ policy). We just have to wait and see what Mr O’Leary does about refunds now and we’ll watch our Barrowlands DVD on the night instead! Let’s hope the concert is rearranged for another date next year maybe. Take care and look after yourselves. All good wishes to you both.
as Jimmy Joyce might say…” Shite & Onions”
but listen Jane,
we’ll rise again,
to a different world
but
we’ll rise again
Hi Christy,
Your wonderful positive “Chats” are a tonic to us all. Thanks for all of your positivity, and the insight as to how you are getting through this strange time……….Yes; we should be all by the Clyde this weekend, but if not been there sees us out safely the other side, then it’s a small price to pay.
Just thinking, tomorrow night around 8 Bells we could all sit around our “devices” and watch the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgQzjwNHHho
Just a few rules: neat dress essential!!!, plenty of Aftershave…it’s Saturday night. Find a room with a wooden Floor for best Foot sound effects, shout out your requests, or even post them on FB.
Most of all enjoy together……..Come all you Dreamers.
KEEY SAFE Christy.
Best Regards
you got a deal Patsy….I’m gonna sing at 8 tonight….gonna waltz beneath that carousel of healin….gonna jitterbug and boogie the night away…..
of all the gigs in all the Halls, none hits the nail like Mags McIvor’s….so many elements come together…the location, the street, the stairs, the smell, the dance hall sound check, the dressing room like no other,the decades of gaffa, no where else does the audience arrive singing,the sound of the gathering carries into the dressing room,sweet anticipation, the laughter and greetings as listeners encounter old friends, celtic yelps mingled with exiled reflections, come 10 past 8 and Michael leads us to side stage, Knobfler’s “Cal” fades, Davey’s pre gig chat seeks to be heard , out we go,
“In the City of Chicago,
as the evening shadows fall
there are people dreaming
of the Hills of Donegal”
Hi Christy
more mellow Dylan released today-without preview…nicely sums up the world mood and will give food for thought/analysis… ‘I contain multitudes’…
Viva Bob
Dave
“Hey Hey Woody Gutrie Bob wrote you this song
’bout a crazy old world thats comin along
its sick and its weary its tired and its worn
seems to be dyin and its hardly been born”
…………From Bob’s “Song for Woody”…..its how I learned it from Tony Small back in Finsbury Park Tavern over 50 years ago…
…………Bob just keeps on rollin’ along, always ahead of the pack, paddlin his own canoe, no one comes near as cool …he manages to stay cool when getting into bed with Starbuck’s wearing Calvin Klein’s…he covers standards and pulls it off, sings Christmas Songs and sparkles, goes all religious and comes out smellin of Roses….
Hi Christy,
My friends and I were looking forward to seeing you at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh tonight.
So …. instead, we had a Zoom call and had your Barrowlands ‘Come all you dreamers’ DVD playing and we all sang along – grand!!
Drank a toast to you and ‘Slainte’ from Scotland 🏴
Wishing you all that’s good,
Stay safe and well,
Gillian xx
and the same to you Gillian….
many sad regrets at missing our trip to Scotia….
always love the drive from Cairnryan to Edinburgh….those great venues and the wonderful audiences ….hopefully the time will come again for us to visit Auld Reekie and Clyde’s Bonny Banks
Mornin’ Christy
Not allowed to roam at present,but nature can come to us…via the art of Jackie Morris,as seen on the folk on foot gig…plus years of her blogs to explore…
So,fresh to bunkers,near and far… http://www.jackiemorris.co.uk enjoy…
Dave
a priviledge to see such beaitiful Art created….the wonder of Art as it describes the miracle of nature…. Jackie and the Otters… a song in itself
Hello Christy! Hope everything is well with you during these trying times! I attended your show in Letterkenny back in May! You played “ Sonnys Dream” for us! And it was a moment I will never forget for as long as Im on gods green earth! Planning to come back across the pond and see you again when all this madness is over!! Your music and videos are getting me threw this time! Hope you are keeping safe, and Healthy!
Ryan Ward.
Witless Bay.Newfoundland!
Sonny works the land
tho he’s barely a man
there’s no much to do
he just does what he can
he sits by the window
in his room by the stairs
watchin the waves
gently wash on the pier
………………………………………Ron Hines simple verse runs deep, evokes the story of a life of lonliness
greetings to all songsters in Newfoundland
Hey Christy I just listened to the bit with Ryan Tubridy while painting the garage here. It’s good to hear you well and the few bars of the John Lennon song was a bonus. We were to be with you in Scotland for the next few days but looking forward to the next time when the new normal emerges. Best regards. Brian.
good man Brian….
may our paths cross again in the new world ..
make sure you get no splatters of paint on the Harley
CM (74)
Hello from connemara quarantine.
I like what you said about the birds singing full songs..its true ..Its because they can hear each other now that the world has fallen silent.
One of the downsides of this isolation craic is no farrier . I bit the bullet and ordered a set of farrier tools. The strangest thing happened while I was doing the donkeys hooves.A elegant seabhc landed right on the wall beside me .She sat there for a while watching ..I looked down to get my phone to get a photo .. in one shot she was gone.Shes a beautiful bird.
So next door is a different story .. What the heck is that bird is they have acquired ?.It sounds like a tone deaf rooster being strangled and shouts all day long and half the night too.If only I could see through the bushes .Its in with the poor chickens ..whatever it is it dont have a nice tune to it that’s for sure! It really hurts my sensitive ears .
I have a nice video chat with dadó Bearna once a week.I was telling him about this screacher creature.He told me that fadó his uncle was in the war in a place called salawaga.He brought home a parrot and put him in with the chickens .This thing next door is no parrot that’s for sure !
Dadó said ” cas an cloigean ar” that’s going a bit too far I think! (Dont know if you can translate that maybe better off not knowing )
Do you find the days long ..?
Also Enjoyed Rnp magazine dropped to the door.
CS (15)
PS
https://youtu.be/9Ff_5SdLXvM
Limerick Soviet song
maith a fear (CS 15)…you were in mighty rapid with the Limerick Soviet…lovely reference too to “an seabhac”..as for thon screecher over the bushes….he may be destined for the pot if he dont change that tune….
truth is CS ,the day is not long enough….theres a lot to be done….I’ve been developing a good excercise routine, doing a bit in the garden each day, I’ve taken up cooking, I’m really enjoying the challenge and the dinner plates are always licked clean, I’m a divvil for the telly and there is no shortage of stuff to be seen, TG4 is the best Channel by far…..the Liam o”Flynn tribute was wonderful…also have re-looked at the “ßé mo Laoch” series, the “Mo Mháthair” series…saw a wonderful 6 parter called “Wolfhall” on BBC…
then I have daily revision of the ballads….I’m going back over the repertoire, revisiting old songs, finding new ways to sing lines, slipping in some new phrases,
I can lose myself in meditation with an old John Reilly song , also listened to his album again lately….there was a 7 hour “Folk on Foot” festival on line last weekend….numerous performances from a great array of artists…I’d say you’d enjoy it..watch out for `Peggy Seeger, Chris Drever and Karine Polworth to name but 3….
Keep up the good work CS, give my best wishes to the family,
Hello Christy.,
I hope this morning finds you well.
There’s been a recording device lurking upstairs for a while now covered in sliders and dials and buttons. It belongs to the technical half of my household. We’ve been playing with it, trying to get it to work. After two days we managed to get two tracks down and play then back together. Harp on one, voice on the other. Raggle Taggle. Once we’d worked out what overdub meant things went smoother ☺️. There’s nothing like recording to show where the work is needed. Back to it.
Rebecca
I envy your labour…I wish I had engaged with the process all those years ago…
Just heard lovely rendition of Barbara Allen sang by the late Mary Mcpartlan.
I think you sang this on an album..been meaning to sort all the CD’s here while I’m locked in. Can you remind what album it was?
I never sang this one Pat
Good day Christy,
I have two musical matters to enquire about today, each from the opposite ends of the seriousness spectrum.
Firstly i note that today is the 101st anniversary of the Limerick Soviet. Such bravery of thousands of honest working people in the face of an occupying army. Do you know of any songs commemorating this monumental event?
Secondly i just love the throw away line, in that fun filled ’16 fishermen’ song, that runs ‘you could ate yer fry off the back of her neck and if you want some more say please ‘. What a marvellous and bizarre line, where on earth did it come from?
All the best
Rory
I dont have a song for Limerick Soviet …Can anyone out there help ???
your “16 Fisherman Raving” query is most interesting..as you know Wally wrote this great song…I went to hear Wally play in “The Cobblestone” about 20 years ago..as always it was a leppin gig, really exciting with a great buzz in the room..I was standing beside Cathal Henry..at the end of Jolly Ravers he said to me “you should sing that song”..so I did..
years later we were at a party in the house of Mick and Peg Lally….. two wonderful people who really knew how to have a real good party…I was chatting with Wally and asked him about the line “you could ate your fry of the back of her neck”… I was curious about it just as you are now !
Wally told that he got the line from me !!!!! upon further reflection Val recalled a song I once worked on a song from Eamon Cowan ( he who wrote the original “Scapegoats”)
He sent me a great song about a “fine lasher”……somewhere in the song there was reference to a woman suffering from severe sun-burn
“You could ate your fry off the back of her neck” there lies the story
PS…Mick Lally was one of Ireland’s great actors…..he starred on stage ,Film and TV….the most loved actor in the country for decades he wore his celebrity very lightly, never changed from the man I first met in Galway in 1972…he was a founder of Druid Theatre in Galway…both Mick and Peggy are remembered with love and great affection
Hi Christy
Would it be too cheeky to ask for a short virtual gig to soothe our cover blues?
Stay safe.
Paul
I dont possess the equipment or skill for such an endeavour…I think about it every day
Hi Christy
I’m glad you found the lobby bar via folkonfoot…seemed like a real labour of love project.I’m glad it was a success and seems to have exceeded expectations of all involved…the website shows a clever concept for ‘normal’ times.
‘Spencer the rover’ came to my notice from the superb Copper Family,then John Martyn adding mojo..it was on our setlist for gigs in the 80s and scarpered for no specific reason-and has yet to return…to be rectified when normal service resumes.I’m sure you’ve had similar experiences…What song would you say would have been a regular of yours,then to disappear without reason…and which one finally made it to a gig,having put up a struggle to be ‘right’?Its a mysterious process-as Martin Simpson said yesterday about his wonderful song’Maps’…
great to ponder the highways and byways from the security of the bunker…now,back to the wonders of ‘Acoustic Guitar’ and its online geek fest about Dylan’s guitars through the ages…simple pleasures…
Dave
Some songs sounded so good in the studio…I really looked forward to including them in the live set…the time came and they simply did not work…just fell flat in the “live’ performance….songs like “Mystic Lipstick”, “China Waltz”,”Metropolitan Avenue” “The Little Drummer” “What Put The Blood” “Mercy” “On The Run” “The Piper’s Path”
I still love to hear The Waterson’s “Spencer”
just watched a superb set from Martin Simpson…will dip in and out ,but the excellent Peggy Seeger is on in the early evening…timings updated on the folkonfoot website… D
twas like being in The Lobby Bar….a Magic Night
Sam Lee’s “Spencer The Rover” so beautiful
He carries the flame
lights the night
his acceptance and gratitude truly inspiring
thanks everyone for this gig
http://www.folkonfoot.com/festival
now/this afternoon on the above…plus on website,loads of info/songs etc by class act folkies…only just spotted it,hence the scrappy message.
cheers,Christy
hope all well…and sincere thanks to Dr Jonny and other heroes
Dave
Thanks for the nod…..