Hi Christy, the great thing about the lockdown sessions is that you appear to be enjoying them almost as much as we are, great to hear the background stories to the songs. I remember someone telling me a tale once about Hamish Imlach, apparantly one year he had a contract with Glasgow City council to play the band stands in the public parks over the summer. Story goes Hamish turned up one day and there were about seventy deck chairs laid out in front of the band stand but only one man in the audiance. Hamish thought to himself one or a hundred and one its still an audiance so started into his set. After about 45 munutes his one man audiance approached the stage and asked Hamish if he was going to be much longer as he had to put the deck chairs away when he was finished singing.
Christy's reply
I often heard Hamish relate that story…always with fresh detours and nuances….I learned so much from his stagecraft….as did so many others
Many thanks again, Christy for giving us another outstanding Lockdown Session. The sessions just get better and better every week. Number 7 treated us to another set of terrific songs all beautifully performed and again combined with great stories of the people and places involved with the songs. Hearing you talk about Wally Page, Christie Hennessey and Hamish Imlach made me think again that you inspire others to keep the memories alive of special times shared with special people by playing and singing their songs and keeping talking about them. It was a wonderful tribute too to Frank Conroy and the other brigadistas.
Gortatagort was simply mesmerising and it was a lovely story of you and Val enjoying such a special day with John Spillane and his Auntie Mary. I’m sure it would have been a very proud day in the Passage West Hit Factory to hear how highly you rate John’s beautiful song.
Its always really good to hear Andy joining in with you on the vocals and the chat between the two of you always adds so much to the enjoyment of the sessions. I hope the following will help you and Andy with your rehearsals for next weeks’s rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone (no sign of the Pacemakers with Gerry but he did have the fantastic backing of a 60,000 strong choir inside Celtic Park) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzJqv_Oj_W0&t=59s
Please keep the sessions coming, Christy as they always bring so much postivity and happiness to so many people.
Great listening to your lockdown sessions – wonderful hearing the talk of the songs as well. I see that Canada is honouring Ron Hynes who they describe as “the man of a thousand songs” – remembered here as the writer of Sonny. I hope that all is well with you and that you are safe and well. Good to have Andy’s support too. Stay safe and we will hopefully get on the road again soon. Link here to the Ron Hynes story http://www.cshf.ca/2020-songwriter-induction-ron-hynes-ecma-st-johns/?fbclid=IwAR0V3N2I5G42ZQIIreM9SrosLAVA9TV-SsQoIGMSwWRnBz2CzDulHBeTSvE
You are spoiling us! Again what a lovely homemade gig.
And what a coincidence that you’ve played Viva la Quinta Brigada. I’m reading the last novel of Isabel Allende and it’s about the Spanish Civil War!
So yesterday Ennio Morricone past away at the age of 91.
Last year he was in Belgium, a bit of a grumpy Italian, but very impressive to see him at work.
So I hope when you are 90 you can still make music then !!
I was wondering how it is with Declan these days, and your crew? Are they all fine? Don’t you miss playing with him?
Thanks again for the fine music moments, but it will be even better if we can return to Ireland and see you live!
Kind regards Chris
Loving the homely feel of the 7 sessions and grateful to JP for posting the 1981 Planxty clip…I get your thinking about ‘Musgrave’ in lockdown format,but its a real treat to see the ’81 lineup playing the great song -as I didn’t see it on a gig.
Fantastic vocal intensity and classic band instrumental interplay…love Nollaig’s fiddle weaving variations in and out…a real treat on a grey afternoon.
I wonder if ‘A Dalesman’s Litany’ is a possibility for a future session?Brilliant,if so…great memories of you and Dec delivering a superb version at Buxton Opera House a few tours back…a very evocative song-some interesting detail about it and many others at http://www.yorkshirefolksong.net (good to cast the net oe’er th’lls from Bury)
All the best and thanks for so much great music in such varied forms.
Dave
Christy's reply
never saw that Lisdoon clip before….helped me realise the difference in my work practice these days
Maidin mhaith a Christy. Thankyou to you and Andy for lockdown 7. I listened to it last night via headphones and again this morning in my workshop – connected to blue tooth speaker your music filled the space. John Spillane’s wonderful elegy Gortatagort was made for your voice. We’d the pleasure of meeting John in a GAA club in Belfast following an evening of his music. Gortatagort – field of the priest. Our ancestors left their voice in the names they gave to the places where we live today ‘Leaving Home ‘…you ploughed the distance over syllables of fields leaving home and leaving me.’ Ride On.
Hello Christy,
Thankyou so much for episode 7.
Gortatagort pinned itself straight to my heart. I love the peace, the time, the stillness of it. I have to have a look at it but I think the low notes might be too far away for me to reach them. It needs to lie quite low overall, I think. So it might remain an aspiration. Got to try.
Thanks again.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
its a beautiful song to sing…
“saddle up the old grey mare and we’ll ride across the mountain to Puck Fair”
Hi Christy,
Wanted to say how i loved the set…7th heaven.
I felt released to ‘sing’ when you invited us to finish Hamish’s ‘black is the colour’, i was doing the Barrowlands boos and claps to the ‘viva la quinta’ and on the verge of tears as you played one of Charlie and my top 5 in the beautiful ‘gortatagort’.
I felt i was there in the room, thank you.
I will have my celtic scarf on ( sorry Andy) when ‘you’ll never walk alone’ emerges.
Some man Christy, some man.
With all Scotland’s love and wishes to you.
Rory
Christy's reply
recording these episodes…all of ye are always in the room…
@ easkey 12
Sorry, I know this page is not conversational per se but I saw your comment and
I knew Maura Fogarty, in fact my uncle is her Godfather, I remember hearing her sing at the Harp n’ Bard in Clifton NJ before she went to Nashville. Her sister Eileen did a gig for me in the first bar I owned, maybe 1999 ! RIP Maura.
Thank you Christy, the few songs are keeping us going. I loved “Rosalita and Jack Campbell”, I heard you sing it in Waterford a little while back and it seemed familiar but as it went on I knew I had never heard it before, however lately I realized the familiar connection, Pecker Dunne’s “Down in the Gutter” is set to the same tune. “Gortagort” reminds me of being a kid on the farm in Meath that was my Dad’s homeplace, five generations of us there and all the fields had a name. You called it out for me some years back in Killarney around the same time you sang it in the Aras. Lovely mention too for the wonderful Hank Wedel and “Listen”, anyway my request is keep singing the songs, we love them all. Best regards, be safe and well, to you and Andy and all the family. Brian.
Christy's reply
hey Brian..you keep listening and I’ll keep singin (I’ll bop til I drop!! PG)…..
“Listen to the whisper of Moonlight on The Water
Close your eyes and Listen”
what an opening line to a song….your a gem Hank
PS…I’ve heard that Declan is playing a bit with Hank these days…I look forward to hearing that
Hi Christy. I’m loving the lockdown sessions. Is there any chance of hearing the Little Musgrave? Thank you, Ken.
Christy's reply
there have been many Musgrave requests….I hesitate…I’ve not don it solo for yonks….I played it in the 70s with the CM Band, in the 80s with Planxty, the nineties and noughties with The Companeros and recently with The Trad Outfit…I hesitate to embark upon a solo version..the 5 instrumental breaks and outro are weaved into Little Musgrave in my mind…but who knows what might happen
Worth waiting for! Have to confess on my YouTube subs it’s a toss up who to watch first between yourselves and Sarah Cooper (who has now made listening to Trump almost bearable because you just think of her lipsyncing him). Special thanks for Viva la Quinta Brigada, story of Frank Conroy so moving. And what a profound rebuke to us all – we want to go to heaven but we’re always digging holes……
Hi Christy,
Thanks for another wonderful session……..great selection of songs and particularly the Stories, they really add to the experience. “Gortatagort” reminds me of my own young Days and the Feld names; such as the High field, the low field, of course the Haggard, the Bottoms, the River Field…..we could go on.
As someone who does a bit of Amateur photography, I love your use of the Pictures, and the stories behind them too; can I be Intrusive and enquire about the Picture above your Left shoulder? It looks like a person walking towards some Houses.
I hope you know how much we appreciate these sessions, as they sustain us while waiting for the Gigs to restart.
Best Regards,
Ride On
Patsy
Christy's reply
Thats Michael Collins….I grew up with that picture on the wall of our home in Moorefield Terrace…it was always there, on the left hand side of the the door in the front room
Tanks for mentioning artists, or folkies, you enjoy and admire. I’ve checked some out and made purchases of their music (and yours).
Years ago at an Iris Dement show I thanked Fordham radio host John Platt for all his Sunday Breakfast shows, turning me on to Iris, Gillian, Patties Larkin and Griffin. It scared me to think how difficult it is for musical voices to be heard. I feel sad for talented young folkies who’ll go unheard, and our loss at that.
I mentioned having only recently discovered Joni Mitchell, who I’d previously placed in Cat Stevens commercial-folk category. We talked about her recent release Shine a bit. I reminded him Mitchell (somewhat famously) revealed she thinks of herself not in terms of the blonde Canadian folkie the public might see, but as a black man. Adding that if the critics don’t like her latest, you know what she can tell them to do. Iris had a smile for me at beginning of next set.
Hi Christy, the great thing about the lockdown sessions is that you appear to be enjoying them almost as much as we are, great to hear the background stories to the songs. I remember someone telling me a tale once about Hamish Imlach, apparantly one year he had a contract with Glasgow City council to play the band stands in the public parks over the summer. Story goes Hamish turned up one day and there were about seventy deck chairs laid out in front of the band stand but only one man in the audiance. Hamish thought to himself one or a hundred and one its still an audiance so started into his set. After about 45 munutes his one man audiance approached the stage and asked Hamish if he was going to be much longer as he had to put the deck chairs away when he was finished singing.
I often heard Hamish relate that story…always with fresh detours and nuances….I learned so much from his stagecraft….as did so many others
Many thanks again, Christy for giving us another outstanding Lockdown Session. The sessions just get better and better every week. Number 7 treated us to another set of terrific songs all beautifully performed and again combined with great stories of the people and places involved with the songs. Hearing you talk about Wally Page, Christie Hennessey and Hamish Imlach made me think again that you inspire others to keep the memories alive of special times shared with special people by playing and singing their songs and keeping talking about them. It was a wonderful tribute too to Frank Conroy and the other brigadistas.
Gortatagort was simply mesmerising and it was a lovely story of you and Val enjoying such a special day with John Spillane and his Auntie Mary. I’m sure it would have been a very proud day in the Passage West Hit Factory to hear how highly you rate John’s beautiful song.
Its always really good to hear Andy joining in with you on the vocals and the chat between the two of you always adds so much to the enjoyment of the sessions. I hope the following will help you and Andy with your rehearsals for next weeks’s rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone (no sign of the Pacemakers with Gerry but he did have the fantastic backing of a 60,000 strong choir inside Celtic Park) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzJqv_Oj_W0&t=59s
Please keep the sessions coming, Christy as they always bring so much postivity and happiness to so many people.
Kevin
Sound Kevin
Great listening to your lockdown sessions – wonderful hearing the talk of the songs as well. I see that Canada is honouring Ron Hynes who they describe as “the man of a thousand songs” – remembered here as the writer of Sonny. I hope that all is well with you and that you are safe and well. Good to have Andy’s support too. Stay safe and we will hopefully get on the road again soon. Link here to the Ron Hynes story http://www.cshf.ca/2020-songwriter-induction-ron-hynes-ecma-st-johns/?fbclid=IwAR0V3N2I5G42ZQIIreM9SrosLAVA9TV-SsQoIGMSwWRnBz2CzDulHBeTSvE
“take off your shoes, stay out of the race”
https://youtu.be/F9_xbNHWetA
So hot off my pen I don’t know the words.
you got that sweet guitar soundin like an old Appalachian dulcimer
Really enjoyed no 7…… worth waiting for…… what a great collection for all to have…. the Magnificent Seven….
Ha , Boyfriend ,….. if I find out who he is……
Thanks Christy.
Whallup Marty
Hello Christy
You are spoiling us! Again what a lovely homemade gig.
And what a coincidence that you’ve played Viva la Quinta Brigada. I’m reading the last novel of Isabel Allende and it’s about the Spanish Civil War!
So yesterday Ennio Morricone past away at the age of 91.
Last year he was in Belgium, a bit of a grumpy Italian, but very impressive to see him at work.
So I hope when you are 90 you can still make music then !!
I was wondering how it is with Declan these days, and your crew? Are they all fine? Don’t you miss playing with him?
Thanks again for the fine music moments, but it will be even better if we can return to Ireland and see you live!
Kind regards Chris
I do miss everyone of my work mates….
Be well, Christy, wish to see / hear you again (with my heart) live. Svetlina
I dream of a gentle breeze blowing it all away…..
Hi Christy
Loving the homely feel of the 7 sessions and grateful to JP for posting the 1981 Planxty clip…I get your thinking about ‘Musgrave’ in lockdown format,but its a real treat to see the ’81 lineup playing the great song -as I didn’t see it on a gig.
Fantastic vocal intensity and classic band instrumental interplay…love Nollaig’s fiddle weaving variations in and out…a real treat on a grey afternoon.
I wonder if ‘A Dalesman’s Litany’ is a possibility for a future session?Brilliant,if so…great memories of you and Dec delivering a superb version at Buxton Opera House a few tours back…a very evocative song-some interesting detail about it and many others at http://www.yorkshirefolksong.net (good to cast the net oe’er th’lls from Bury)
All the best and thanks for so much great music in such varied forms.
Dave
never saw that Lisdoon clip before….helped me realise the difference in my work practice these days
https://youtu.be/4KbAwLfps20
Sorry first one didn’t take for some reason
you gotta tasty set up there Marty…you put me to shame !!
Maidin mhaith a Christy. Thankyou to you and Andy for lockdown 7. I listened to it last night via headphones and again this morning in my workshop – connected to blue tooth speaker your music filled the space. John Spillane’s wonderful elegy Gortatagort was made for your voice. We’d the pleasure of meeting John in a GAA club in Belfast following an evening of his music. Gortatagort – field of the priest. Our ancestors left their voice in the names they gave to the places where we live today ‘Leaving Home ‘…you ploughed the distance over syllables of fields leaving home and leaving me.’ Ride On.
Thank You, Mary of the Bog Meadow
Hello Christy,
Thankyou so much for episode 7.
Gortatagort pinned itself straight to my heart. I love the peace, the time, the stillness of it. I have to have a look at it but I think the low notes might be too far away for me to reach them. It needs to lie quite low overall, I think. So it might remain an aspiration. Got to try.
Thanks again.
Rebecca
its a beautiful song to sing…
“saddle up the old grey mare and we’ll ride across the mountain to Puck Fair”
Hi Christy,
Wanted to say how i loved the set…7th heaven.
I felt released to ‘sing’ when you invited us to finish Hamish’s ‘black is the colour’, i was doing the Barrowlands boos and claps to the ‘viva la quinta’ and on the verge of tears as you played one of Charlie and my top 5 in the beautiful ‘gortatagort’.
I felt i was there in the room, thank you.
I will have my celtic scarf on ( sorry Andy) when ‘you’ll never walk alone’ emerges.
Some man Christy, some man.
With all Scotland’s love and wishes to you.
Rory
recording these episodes…all of ye are always in the room…
@ easkey 12
Sorry, I know this page is not conversational per se but I saw your comment and
I knew Maura Fogarty, in fact my uncle is her Godfather, I remember hearing her sing at the Harp n’ Bard in Clifton NJ before she went to Nashville. Her sister Eileen did a gig for me in the first bar I owned, maybe 1999 ! RIP Maura.
Thank you Christy, the few songs are keeping us going. I loved “Rosalita and Jack Campbell”, I heard you sing it in Waterford a little while back and it seemed familiar but as it went on I knew I had never heard it before, however lately I realized the familiar connection, Pecker Dunne’s “Down in the Gutter” is set to the same tune. “Gortagort” reminds me of being a kid on the farm in Meath that was my Dad’s homeplace, five generations of us there and all the fields had a name. You called it out for me some years back in Killarney around the same time you sang it in the Aras. Lovely mention too for the wonderful Hank Wedel and “Listen”, anyway my request is keep singing the songs, we love them all. Best regards, be safe and well, to you and Andy and all the family. Brian.
hey Brian..you keep listening and I’ll keep singin (I’ll bop til I drop!! PG)…..
“Listen to the whisper of Moonlight on The Water
Close your eyes and Listen”
what an opening line to a song….your a gem Hank
PS…I’ve heard that Declan is playing a bit with Hank these days…I look forward to hearing that
Hi Christy. I’m loving the lockdown sessions. Is there any chance of hearing the Little Musgrave? Thank you, Ken.
there have been many Musgrave requests….I hesitate…I’ve not don it solo for yonks….I played it in the 70s with the CM Band, in the 80s with Planxty, the nineties and noughties with The Companeros and recently with The Trad Outfit…I hesitate to embark upon a solo version..the 5 instrumental breaks and outro are weaved into Little Musgrave in my mind…but who knows what might happen
I wrote this in memory for my beautiful and talented friend, Maura Fogarty.
She was on her way to the top in Nashville, God had other plans.
Planxty Little Musgrave Listoonvarna 12.07.1981 at 8pm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9yRXjAd1c4
never saw that before…pity they ignored the audience..I always love audience shots
Christy and Andy
Worth waiting for! Have to confess on my YouTube subs it’s a toss up who to watch first between yourselves and Sarah Cooper (who has now made listening to Trump almost bearable because you just think of her lipsyncing him). Special thanks for Viva la Quinta Brigada, story of Frank Conroy so moving. And what a profound rebuke to us all – we want to go to heaven but we’re always digging holes……
nice one Linda
Hi Christy,
Thanks for another wonderful session……..great selection of songs and particularly the Stories, they really add to the experience. “Gortatagort” reminds me of my own young Days and the Feld names; such as the High field, the low field, of course the Haggard, the Bottoms, the River Field…..we could go on.
As someone who does a bit of Amateur photography, I love your use of the Pictures, and the stories behind them too; can I be Intrusive and enquire about the Picture above your Left shoulder? It looks like a person walking towards some Houses.
I hope you know how much we appreciate these sessions, as they sustain us while waiting for the Gigs to restart.
Best Regards,
Ride On
Patsy
Thats Michael Collins….I grew up with that picture on the wall of our home in Moorefield Terrace…it was always there, on the left hand side of the the door in the front room
Tanks for mentioning artists, or folkies, you enjoy and admire. I’ve checked some out and made purchases of their music (and yours).
Years ago at an Iris Dement show I thanked Fordham radio host John Platt for all his Sunday Breakfast shows, turning me on to Iris, Gillian, Patties Larkin and Griffin. It scared me to think how difficult it is for musical voices to be heard. I feel sad for talented young folkies who’ll go unheard, and our loss at that.
I mentioned having only recently discovered Joni Mitchell, who I’d previously placed in Cat Stevens commercial-folk category. We talked about her recent release Shine a bit. I reminded him Mitchell (somewhat famously) revealed she thinks of herself not in terms of the blonde Canadian folkie the public might see, but as a black man. Adding that if the critics don’t like her latest, you know what she can tell them to do. Iris had a smile for me at beginning of next set.
I’ll never think of Joni the same again