Thanks Christy, know you will have a great night in Wexford tonight, and both of us looking forward to seeing you next Friday night, The Model County, home of best spuds, strawberries and good women! Mairéad and Peg Whelan
Christy's reply
Best ????
The Model ?………Yes
Strawberries ?…..Yes
Spuds ?……………debatable
Good Women ?…steady on Zelma
Hello Christy,
Wexford today, I hope you do a Jack Houghton. So many places on my want to visit list. Looks like these days I have about as many good ideas as Lady Barnard, so today I’ll be mainly singing Reel in the flickering light. I need to get the words out, I feel like I might have lost a verse somewhere along the way.
I wonder if children still learn to write with a fountain pen now it’s all tip tip tapping and flicking screens.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
Be it Jack Charlton or Ray Houghton, we’ll be going hell for leather….
Hi Christy.
Lucky enough to get tickets for your gig on Monday, so family trip to Dublin, and looking forward to it. Tremendous that you are giving your talents in aid of Women’s Aid. The People’s Kitchen Belfast, have sadly seen so many women who are victims of domestic violence.
Your version of the Jackson Browne song, ‘How Long’ doesn’t keep enough airings. We long for the day when it is no longer relevant, but until then.
(PS- sent a email to Andy regarding gig.Totally understand if not possible.)
Go raibh Maithili agat
Damian
Christy's reply
(I’ll reply to your email nearer the time)
fáilte romhat me cara
Hi Christy,
I must have been asleep until today i noticed your women’s aid gig.
Well in sir.
Roe v wade overturned, domestic violence prosecutions at an all time high, movements needed to keep our streets safe…..horrific times, in fact not far from Burning Times.
Such a powerful song i think i first came across her in a holiday let in wicklow county about 30 years ago.
Keep on keeping on.
Love from Bretagne.
Au revoir
Rory
Christy's reply
“She gives us the wisdom
to see through the chaos
She gives us the courage
it is our will to survive”……..( Burning Times, by Charlie Murphy)
Hello Christy,
This line is one of my favourites right now
Winter hung her coat on a hanger of dark
How are you doing? Hope you are ok .
I was invited to play at the Our Stars event for Calderdale but I couldn’t do it because I was in Cork. Anyway, it was postponed at the last minute because of the pandemic. Next time we’re in Ireland is the end of October for the second Armagh gig. I hope the don’t move it to then. Like buses…
Rebecca
Christy's reply
“the blood of Éireann, spilled in a lonely cave
the Flower of Ireland, adrift on a lonely wave,
the Lark of Mayfield, tumbling down the hill
the Child of Summer,I can remember it still”….( Spillane/Lynch)
Christy, Delighted to be heading to see you fri week in Wexford (15th) As part of my mother’s birthday celebrations, 80 this Friday, one of her requests was to go see you again and no better place than our own home county, She is a bit like the Queen spreading the celebrations out but would be great if you could wish her a Happy Birthday, no mention of age as she afraid locals will know her age. She is a fantastic mother, as Irish mothers can be, Her name is Peg Whelan, from Marshalstown Enniscorthy, and a bit like yourself you can’t keep a good thing down and she buzzing along with life, Would be great if you could give her a shout out , will love the show anyway. Many thanks Mairéad Whelan
Christy's reply
Zelma,
Where would we be without our Mothers…
particularly those of us who are blest to have (and to have had) Mothers like you describe… not all of us have been so lucky…
Thank You for reaching out…..for reminding me of our own Yellow Furze Woman…sounds like Peg and Nancy may have been two of a kind….
Hello Christy,
I’m learning Foxy Devil and The Contender side by side.
They’ve got lots of things in common and lots of differences too.
New way of working – pick up harp, start humming, play along.
It’s the first time in my life my music has been completely free.
I was tied to sheet music at 7 and I’ve been trying to escape for years.
Folk music has set me free.
Love it.
Hi Christy,
Very much enjoy dipping into ‘One Voice’. Looking forward to ‘One Voice Part Two’ !
Many thanks Christy for the favour in Waterford on Friday, much appreciated.
All the best, Vincent and Dolores.
Hello Christy,
I have 3 folders of songs on the go but it’s not very organised, they’re all mixed in there together. So I had a look through.
I’ve got 20 that are ready or could be brushed up really quickly, 12 that I’m working on and 16 sitting waiting for me.
I’m really pleased. I didn’t know I had so many.
Its 48 altogether with 32 active ones.
Hello Christy.Please play beeswing for Edward and Betty Davis and their extended family from Austin Texas on Friday 8 th July in Wexford .Thanks a million mgt
Christy's reply
Mgt…Fair play 2U…hope they have a good trip from Tex to Wex…..Cty
Hello Christy I have a group of 6 American friends attending your concert Friday night the 8 th in Wexford if I sent you there details could you please play a request for them .There’s a great story behind the trip .thanks mgt
Christy's reply
here is the place to post your request….I suggest one name rather then 6…nor can I guarantee anything..my priority is to sing to the audience collective….many ask for call outs..I try and facilitate a few
Hello Christy,
Thanks, there’s always a way to make things more complicated, isn’t there.
Diddle y diddle y dill dye doh
Any new songs tickling your fancy right now?
Rebecca
Christy's reply
I have book of songs I’d like to consider….over 50 in it at the mo.. I still try and write some verses but thats not been fruitful of late…but the excercise itself can be fulfilling,even if comes to nought
The rhythm of the words in this song is so beautifully Northern.
As you said, there’s a long and tedious discussion on Mudcat aon this very topic. It’s a strange group of people who prefer to argue about songs rather than listen to them and sing them… I think their well honed point is on the wrong planet.
Can I ask you a question please, it may be weird or not.
When you listen to your bodhran do you hear notes or just higher and lower tones?
What I hear has changed a lot over the last 3 years, but I’m still hearing tones not notes, I’m not that finely tuned yet.
I’m sorry, I guess I’m asking what it’s like to be in your head. I did say it might be weird…
Also thinking about lilting and the Speech Project.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
I simply take the old drum into my hand and hope for the best
row dill dum dill de dow dum dido
row dill dum de di dill doh
I must return to thon Speech Project mysen and listen again….a lovely bit of work for sure
Hello Christy
What a pleasure was it to see you ,Hilary and Paddy last night! Really missed the gigs and Ireland although Corona is still among us al sorrows were gone and forgotten.Last time we could see you was in 2019 in Sligo and Traudel and Horst were also there. She was in my mind yesterday evening and I’ve thought to late about it to ask you to play The Gardener as I remember it was one of her favourite’s. Anyway great gig, love it when you play the bodhrain and what a moving song about the holocaust.
Take care greetings to all 4711ers
Chris
Christy's reply
Hi Chris,
I often think of Traudel & Horst….Folk Tale, Motherland and Gortatagort were Traudel’s songs…she always maintained a presence here with her communiques…
I really like that Waterford Theatre..its always been a great gig City….
Dear Christy, I am looking for the name of the femalesinger who has sung the song of wandering aonghus. You have mentioned her name during the streaming last year. Thank you and kind regards.
PS.
What has the wind told you on the pier in Dublin?😉
Moeke
Christy's reply
Words by WB Yeats, Music by Judy Collins…I heard Richie Havens sing Judy’s arrangement many years ago..
Hello Christy,
Did you sing the Derby Ram in school. That’s where I met it. It’s in Elizabeth Cronin’s book.
I spent the whole day yesterday exploring old songs from Lancashire and Yorkshire. Found some that I really like including a funny one from the 19th century that’s a spoof on a shipwreck song set on the Manchester ship canal.
I heard these guys for the first time yesterday too. I was so moved by this song and its outro. https://youtu.be/xpZor78ad-c
No compromising, they go straight for it don’t they. I remember you mentioning them a couple of times. Finally followed up on it and I’m gobsmacked by them.
And they really like drones.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
we gave the 1949 Gibson a birl in the sound check…..it sounds good but needs a few adjustments before launching upon the ocean of good JuJu
Lankum have really taken off since I first heard them many years ago..more power to them..they’re pure divvils for the drones
there is a similar song to the one you mention called The Good Ship Calabar..how it foundered near the 7th Lock of The Grand Canal… perhaps Mudcat will argue the point
ps The Holy Sisters, Christian Brothers and Dominican Priests were otherwise engaged than to be teaching us Derbyshire Folksongs….they got their holy orders from Pius the twalfth via Arch-Bishop Charles J McQuaid and Taoiseach Eamonn De Valera…(all three complicit in silence upon the Holocaust..and I’ll throw in Oliver J Flananagan for good measure)
Christy, I just wanted to say thank you for the years of music, singing, performing and whatever else you do. I ran public radio stations in Oregon for 28 years in Astoria and Portland. My favorite on-air part of every week was my Celtic music show I did on KMUN-FM, in Astoria. Astoria was settled long ago with Scandinavians, mostly Finns, and they are a hardy bunch. But my Celtic music show was very well received by the rank and file of the town. Hell, I would say it was one of the most listened to programs on the air! Our public radio station has been on the air for almost 40 years and continues with music from Ireland, Scotland, and GB to this day.
Of the artists I preferred, you were my favorite. I have heard Andy Irvine in a concert and like his work, but you, are the best of the best. Just want to thank you for most of my lifetime of great music…. I am 78 and not ready to cash in, yet, and glad you keep on. Hope someday to see you in concert…… I’m listening to The Iron Behind the Velvet right now….. Thank you! Doug Sweet
Christy's reply
Doug…thanks for sharing,for listening and giving the discs a spin on your show….Portland Town has long since been a favoured halting site for travelling Troubadours…quite a few settled there along the way…..
I’m thinking back to the recording of the album you mention…we got together in the Summer of 1976….we rehearsed on the Castlecomer Plateau….we flew real high and got down real low….
Thanks Christy, know you will have a great night in Wexford tonight, and both of us looking forward to seeing you next Friday night, The Model County, home of best spuds, strawberries and good women! Mairéad and Peg Whelan
Best ????
The Model ?………Yes
Strawberries ?…..Yes
Spuds ?……………debatable
Good Women ?…steady on Zelma
Hello Christy,
Wexford today, I hope you do a Jack Houghton. So many places on my want to visit list. Looks like these days I have about as many good ideas as Lady Barnard, so today I’ll be mainly singing Reel in the flickering light. I need to get the words out, I feel like I might have lost a verse somewhere along the way.
I wonder if children still learn to write with a fountain pen now it’s all tip tip tapping and flicking screens.
Rebecca
Be it Jack Charlton or Ray Houghton, we’ll be going hell for leather….
Go raibh Maith agat! (Autocorrect not bilingual obviously! ) Apologies!
Hi Christy.
Lucky enough to get tickets for your gig on Monday, so family trip to Dublin, and looking forward to it. Tremendous that you are giving your talents in aid of Women’s Aid. The People’s Kitchen Belfast, have sadly seen so many women who are victims of domestic violence.
Your version of the Jackson Browne song, ‘How Long’ doesn’t keep enough airings. We long for the day when it is no longer relevant, but until then.
(PS- sent a email to Andy regarding gig.Totally understand if not possible.)
Go raibh Maithili agat
Damian
(I’ll reply to your email nearer the time)
fáilte romhat me cara
Hi Christy,
I must have been asleep until today i noticed your women’s aid gig.
Well in sir.
Roe v wade overturned, domestic violence prosecutions at an all time high, movements needed to keep our streets safe…..horrific times, in fact not far from Burning Times.
Such a powerful song i think i first came across her in a holiday let in wicklow county about 30 years ago.
Keep on keeping on.
Love from Bretagne.
Au revoir
Rory
“She gives us the wisdom
to see through the chaos
She gives us the courage
it is our will to survive”……..( Burning Times, by Charlie Murphy)
Hello Christy,
This line is one of my favourites right now
Winter hung her coat on a hanger of dark
How are you doing? Hope you are ok .
I was invited to play at the Our Stars event for Calderdale but I couldn’t do it because I was in Cork. Anyway, it was postponed at the last minute because of the pandemic. Next time we’re in Ireland is the end of October for the second Armagh gig. I hope the don’t move it to then. Like buses…
Rebecca
“the blood of Éireann, spilled in a lonely cave
the Flower of Ireland, adrift on a lonely wave,
the Lark of Mayfield, tumbling down the hill
the Child of Summer,I can remember it still”….( Spillane/Lynch)
Christy, Delighted to be heading to see you fri week in Wexford (15th) As part of my mother’s birthday celebrations, 80 this Friday, one of her requests was to go see you again and no better place than our own home county, She is a bit like the Queen spreading the celebrations out but would be great if you could wish her a Happy Birthday, no mention of age as she afraid locals will know her age. She is a fantastic mother, as Irish mothers can be, Her name is Peg Whelan, from Marshalstown Enniscorthy, and a bit like yourself you can’t keep a good thing down and she buzzing along with life, Would be great if you could give her a shout out , will love the show anyway. Many thanks Mairéad Whelan
Zelma,
Where would we be without our Mothers…
particularly those of us who are blest to have (and to have had) Mothers like you describe… not all of us have been so lucky…
Thank You for reaching out…..for reminding me of our own Yellow Furze Woman…sounds like Peg and Nancy may have been two of a kind….
Hello Christy,
I’m learning Foxy Devil and The Contender side by side.
They’ve got lots of things in common and lots of differences too.
New way of working – pick up harp, start humming, play along.
It’s the first time in my life my music has been completely free.
I was tied to sheet music at 7 and I’ve been trying to escape for years.
Folk music has set me free.
Love it.
It helps that I’m as blind as a bat these days…
Rebecca
in the drink
Hi Christy,
Very much enjoy dipping into ‘One Voice’. Looking forward to ‘One Voice Part Two’ !
Many thanks Christy for the favour in Waterford on Friday, much appreciated.
All the best, Vincent and Dolores.
it could be quite a while
Hello Christy,
I have 3 folders of songs on the go but it’s not very organised, they’re all mixed in there together. So I had a look through.
I’ve got 20 that are ready or could be brushed up really quickly, 12 that I’m working on and 16 sitting waiting for me.
I’m really pleased. I didn’t know I had so many.
Its 48 altogether with 32 active ones.
Rebecca
Hello Christy.Please play beeswing for Edward and Betty Davis and their extended family from Austin Texas on Friday 8 th July in Wexford .Thanks a million mgt
Mgt…Fair play 2U…hope they have a good trip from Tex to Wex…..Cty
Hello Christy I have a group of 6 American friends attending your concert Friday night the 8 th in Wexford if I sent you there details could you please play a request for them .There’s a great story behind the trip .thanks mgt
here is the place to post your request….I suggest one name rather then 6…nor can I guarantee anything..my priority is to sing to the audience collective….many ask for call outs..I try and facilitate a few
Hello Christy,
Thanks, there’s always a way to make things more complicated, isn’t there.
Diddle y diddle y dill dye doh
Any new songs tickling your fancy right now?
Rebecca
I have book of songs I’d like to consider….over 50 in it at the mo.. I still try and write some verses but thats not been fruitful of late…but the excercise itself can be fulfilling,even if comes to nought
Hello Christy,
Bingo! It looks like you were bang on withe Manchester canal song and the Calabar. You really are the best.
Harry boardman puts a few notes at the top of some of the songs in his book, and that’s exactly what he says too.
https://twitter.com/rebeccaholton/status/1543515221846892545?s=20&t=rGhmLZxJQFfd2NgMB1etfw
The rhythm of the words in this song is so beautifully Northern.
As you said, there’s a long and tedious discussion on Mudcat aon this very topic. It’s a strange group of people who prefer to argue about songs rather than listen to them and sing them… I think their well honed point is on the wrong planet.
Can I ask you a question please, it may be weird or not.
When you listen to your bodhran do you hear notes or just higher and lower tones?
What I hear has changed a lot over the last 3 years, but I’m still hearing tones not notes, I’m not that finely tuned yet.
I’m sorry, I guess I’m asking what it’s like to be in your head. I did say it might be weird…
Also thinking about lilting and the Speech Project.
Rebecca
I simply take the old drum into my hand and hope for the best
row dill dum dill de dow dum dido
row dill dum de di dill doh
I must return to thon Speech Project mysen and listen again….a lovely bit of work for sure
Yes I’ve always loved Judy Collins songs inc “The Golden Apples of the Sun” (as it’s called sometimes).
Even Bob Lind covered it on his self-hated first album.
I find your version very thoughtful even reverent as you feel the beauty & wonder of the tale…
I reckon JC’s cut of Jimmy Webb’s “The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress” is as pretty as it gets.
Glad to hear your shows are so well received by your audiences & yourself- after all : that’s the point!
Best wishes
Danny Harris Mildura Victoria Australia
Hello Christy
What a pleasure was it to see you ,Hilary and Paddy last night! Really missed the gigs and Ireland although Corona is still among us al sorrows were gone and forgotten.Last time we could see you was in 2019 in Sligo and Traudel and Horst were also there. She was in my mind yesterday evening and I’ve thought to late about it to ask you to play The Gardener as I remember it was one of her favourite’s. Anyway great gig, love it when you play the bodhrain and what a moving song about the holocaust.
Take care greetings to all 4711ers
Chris
Hi Chris,
I often think of Traudel & Horst….Folk Tale, Motherland and Gortatagort were Traudel’s songs…she always maintained a presence here with her communiques…
I really like that Waterford Theatre..its always been a great gig City….
Dear Christy, I am looking for the name of the femalesinger who has sung the song of wandering aonghus. You have mentioned her name during the streaming last year. Thank you and kind regards.
PS.
What has the wind told you on the pier in Dublin?😉
Moeke
Words by WB Yeats, Music by Judy Collins…I heard Richie Havens sing Judy’s arrangement many years ago..
Sorry, I forgot to ask if the Gibson got an outing?
Hello Christy,
Did you sing the Derby Ram in school. That’s where I met it. It’s in Elizabeth Cronin’s book.
I spent the whole day yesterday exploring old songs from Lancashire and Yorkshire. Found some that I really like including a funny one from the 19th century that’s a spoof on a shipwreck song set on the Manchester ship canal.
I heard these guys for the first time yesterday too. I was so moved by this song and its outro.
https://youtu.be/xpZor78ad-c
No compromising, they go straight for it don’t they. I remember you mentioning them a couple of times. Finally followed up on it and I’m gobsmacked by them.
And they really like drones.
Rebecca
we gave the 1949 Gibson a birl in the sound check…..it sounds good but needs a few adjustments before launching upon the ocean of good JuJu
Lankum have really taken off since I first heard them many years ago..more power to them..they’re pure divvils for the drones
there is a similar song to the one you mention called The Good Ship Calabar..how it foundered near the 7th Lock of The Grand Canal… perhaps Mudcat will argue the point
ps The Holy Sisters, Christian Brothers and Dominican Priests were otherwise engaged than to be teaching us Derbyshire Folksongs….they got their holy orders from Pius the twalfth via Arch-Bishop Charles J McQuaid and Taoiseach Eamonn De Valera…(all three complicit in silence upon the Holocaust..and I’ll throw in Oliver J Flananagan for good measure)
Christy, I just wanted to say thank you for the years of music, singing, performing and whatever else you do. I ran public radio stations in Oregon for 28 years in Astoria and Portland. My favorite on-air part of every week was my Celtic music show I did on KMUN-FM, in Astoria. Astoria was settled long ago with Scandinavians, mostly Finns, and they are a hardy bunch. But my Celtic music show was very well received by the rank and file of the town. Hell, I would say it was one of the most listened to programs on the air! Our public radio station has been on the air for almost 40 years and continues with music from Ireland, Scotland, and GB to this day.
Of the artists I preferred, you were my favorite. I have heard Andy Irvine in a concert and like his work, but you, are the best of the best. Just want to thank you for most of my lifetime of great music…. I am 78 and not ready to cash in, yet, and glad you keep on. Hope someday to see you in concert…… I’m listening to The Iron Behind the Velvet right now….. Thank you! Doug Sweet
Doug…thanks for sharing,for listening and giving the discs a spin on your show….Portland Town has long since been a favoured halting site for travelling Troubadours…quite a few settled there along the way…..
I’m thinking back to the recording of the album you mention…we got together in the Summer of 1976….we rehearsed on the Castlecomer Plateau….we flew real high and got down real low….