Hello Christy,
Those long firelit nights needed long songs and stories. Did you get to the rugby yesterday, or play guitar to it on the box?
Here’s something lovely https://youtu.be/94fR6zdjEfc
Rebecca
Christy's reply
Ewan MacColl is the undoubted leader of an imaginary Tribe that I seek to follow…I listen to this rendition..his voice resounding clearly, Peggy ‘s accompaniment perfect this Sunday Morning…..there are times when I wonder… how might it sound in Mancunian/Salford accent/dialect…..
I heard Ewan & Peggy live on 6 occasions, each time I marvelled at his repertoire, craft, politic,performance, Peggy always right on the beat and harmony. Ewan always Ewan..
I met him once, sat between them in their Folk Club, that 20 minutes still resounds 54 years on…he encouraged me…and sent me one of the last songs he wrote…”Green Island”
And interestingly Ed! Its not too well known but prior to Paul Simon heading to the UK in mid 60’s he lived in Drumcondra, North Dublin, early 60s after touring the country!
Christy's reply
he hung out around Mountrath in the early 60’s I heard him at the Abbeyleix Fleadh in 1962..he was knockin around with a hippy quare one from Pedigree Corner….
R. Good version of Scarborough Fair. When you think that Paul Simon made that song famous. Martin Carthy, apparently, collected it and Paul Simon took it and listened to it; liked it. Rest is history. I wouldn’t doubt someone might unearth its history in here.
“Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.” Jayney, exotic food sellers at that fair!
Christy's reply
I have it on good authority that its a bastardised version of the Old Laois Ballad “Maryborough Fair”
Ah Rebeccah. 146 verses. Go easy on us! Jayney. Hadnt they a ‘hape’ of time on their hands to scribe 140+ verses. Often about skirmishes, battles lost. We’ll maybe take ‘ten’ verses, R.
“Anyone for the last choc ices now……”
Christy's reply
no distractions..no devices, premiership, takeaways, netflix,flat screens, alexis,…its no so long since a good long song would be greatly appreciated by the fire in the lamplight…
Good man Danny. Sounded good. Ah the heady days of Planxty. Did you see Johnny Fean, Horslips, has died? I managed to have a foot in ‘both camps’, Horslips and Planxty. I considered it the norm to go see either group. Tho’ as time went on, Horslips did change direction. I did like the celtic rock. Spud and Mushroom were great exponents ‘da keltic rock’. I refuse to get involved with the apparent snobishness and Horslips and people who joined and left because Horslips – well various reasons. I think they thought they were better musicians. I dunno.
Christy's reply
RIP Johnny Fean…. always a nice man to meet….
you are spot on Ed..thats why I left Planxty in 1974..they were definitely much better musicians…but snobbishness..not a hint of it…its such an ugly word
I rem Spud & Mushroom too..back in those far off smoky boozy Baggott Inn nights….I think the U2 manager kicked-off with Spud and Aonghus McAnally was in Mushroom..he hammered me at snooker… rapid around the green beize is Aongus
Hello Christy,
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my recording, and also for commenting on it. It means so much to have your feedback. I’ve been working and working and all the time I’ve wanted to make something beautiful. That’s what life’s about. Anyway, the damn thing is plastered all over Facebook’s folk groups.
I found a book the other day. “the Ballads and Songs of Yorkshire, Transcribed from Private Manuscripts, Rare Broadsides, and scarce publications”. By Christopher James Davison Ingledew. They knew how to write a snappy title in 1860…
It’s full of treasure.
Just working my way through it.
There’s a song called History of Sir John Eland, of Eland, and his antagonists. !!!
Elland is just up the road from here.
So I read it.
It’s pretty long, 124 verses if I counted it right
“upon my solemn oath
There’d be 40 verses note for note”
It’s full of things that happened right here round about 1350. They did a lot of fighting.
Really exciting to think these places were here then.
Brighouse gets a few mentions, Brighouse turnpike, whatever that was.
Cromwell Bottom thankfully has nothing to do with ironsides. It’s much older.
It’s far too long to sing, but great to read.
People must have had a lot of time to listen to songs then. It’s like a whole feature film.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
124 verses….with introductory words, tuning, a musical intro, a creative extended outro,& at least 10 instrumental verses I reckon an Electric Folk Band could knock a 3 hour gig outa that one …there would be scope for a few gavottes as well…maybe a raffle plus a break for refreshments and WC….
Danny Doyle, music promoter, used to have a sponsored programme on the one-time Radio Eireann. Used to be on, an afternoon show some time after 2 or 3pm. He promoted showbands, ballroom and band bookings. Wexford. A lad in Athlone, I asked him was his family connected to him? He said yes, his family is.
I recall the Old Shieling programme and a gaeltacht programme. (‘Gaelinn’ was it called?) A great blast of trad music you might get on it. Plus a nice whack of ballad music.
Christy's reply
In 1972 Danny ran a Festival of gigs in Adamstown Co Wexford….Planxty were just coming to the fore having been signed by Des Kelly and Ruby Records..our first two singles had charted, we played the Late Late show and were interviewed on Radio Éireann by Liam Nolan (in Henry Street)…Danny Booked us for the Adamstown Festival where we had a night to remember…we got 3 encores…the after-gig catering was magnificent…we gorged on the very finest fare from the catering skills of local Wexford ICA confectioners, before we left Danny paid us our £200 (in cash) and promised to have us back..which he did frequently…
From Anja Murray’s Wild Embrace a littlest known fact about one of our littlest’s friends – The Wren…
“Males make three or four nests in spring, giving potential
partners a choice of which nest she likes best. The male then adds the finishing touches, a lining of soft downy feathers for his mate to lay a clutch of eggs in. Male wrens are serial monogamists, choosing up to three consecutive mates each nesting season. By the time September arrives, a male wren may have built as many as twelve nests that year.”
The Wren, The Wren, The dirty little fecker
‘
Christy's reply
if only the State was as productive in the provision of homes as our wee hero..the glorious Wren..the King of All Birds
One post and I’ll leave you alone. I only just got hold of ‘Ain’t It Grand Boys – hidden gems of Clancy Bros and Tommy Makem”, which is a joy to spin for clarity of it’s beautiful performances. Final song was introduced with “Pete’s gonna sing This Land”. Seeger and the Bros. Clancy sound so wonderul, and I dare say only in Ireland would an audience add what it did.
Hi C. I just saw this motto on the site of the lobbying and grant aid foundation that Harry Belafonte (RIP) created ( http://www.sankofa.org ) ” Artists are the Gatekeepers of Truth ” it is attributed to Paul Robeson, it is certainly true and totally relevant to the work you do C. Beir bua agus beannacht. H
The cuckoo she’s a pretty bird
she sings as she flies
She brings us good tidings
and tells us no lies
She sucks the young birds’ egg
to make her voice clear
And the more she cries “cuckoo”
the summer draws near.
Apt for the time of the year. Not sure if it’s the same cuckoo
from Lawless. Wonderful bird none the less.
Hi C. Today is Poetry Day here on the Island and though anyone of your own compositions could be shared, I think you too are a fan of the writings of Michael Coady, were the themes of this great poem ever so relevant and current ? https://youtu.be/1-LjviV9pg4 You mentioned Folk Tale recently Congrats are due to Paula Meehan who was made a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin this week. Beir bua agus beannacht. H
Hello Christy,
I’ve listened to you talk a few times about getting a song done to your satisfaction.
Started to understand it yesterday. I mean understand with my bones, not just my head.
Anyway, here it is. I’m ok for you to comment if you want to. https://rebeccaholton.bandcamp.com/track/scarborough-fair
Rebecca
Christy's reply
first time I’ve heard solo harp with Scarborough Fair….well done…
Hi all,
Just came across Luke Kelly singing Bunclody.
It’s on The Dubliners Fifteen years on LP.
In Des Geraghty’s a memoir of Luke Kelly the great man tells how he first heard the song.
“… we were in the boozer on the bridge, playing for our own enjoyment. There was only one other customer, a very nicely dressed gentleman, and he said: “Very nice, gentlemen, do you mind if I sing a song myself ?” We said not at all, fire away, expecting it to be, you know, something a la John McCormack, a tenor’s song. And he had a beautiful light tenor voice, of course; and he sang a song none of us had ever heard before, a beautiful song. We were mesmerised by that. This was a real example of collecting without expecting to collect.”
Afterward “Bunclody” became one of Luke’s songs; when he sang it in Bunclody he dedicated it to the singer in the boozer on the bridge, a local schoolmaster Michael J Flannery who’d been visiting Enniscorty.
Hope you all have a good day
Bourkey
Christy's reply
That Bunclody Fleadh Ceol back in the early 60s had a lasting impact on many of us who were fortunate enough to have been there…..
Decades later it was Caesar’s Palace that brought me back to that beautiful town..
Run by the legendary promoter Danny Doyle I played there a few times in the 1980s….the Sunday gigs there were followed by Dances featuring leading Showbands…got to meet many singers and players from that alternative music scene…same thing used to happen at The Beaten Path in Claremorris where my “cabaret” spots were always followed by top ranked Country Bands….
I’d pack away my wee H&H PA system as the Bands gear was assembled..some nights I’d stick around and watch the gig..heard some great musicians
Oh the streams of Bunclody they flow down so free
By the streams of Bunclody I’m longing to be
a-drinking strong liquor in the height of my cheer
Here’s health to Bunclody and the lass I love dear
I haven’t heard your version. I’ll do a bit of searching.
Talking of the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, the pogues did a version of it. So convincing I thought it was written by them. Then I heard the Liam Clancy version. Two different songs but the same too. Neither can be forgotten once heard.
We’re listening to your music just now Christy. As always, I remember and tell my friends or family about the time my friends and I stayed with you and your family back in 1982. You and Val really looked after us then. Yous had two kids then. One was Juno. They were very young. I know that two of the lads with me have since passed. I’m not sure about the other. I might be the last 😊. You wrote words for the tune we had with us. ” The Hero” was about Patsy O’ Hara. You gave us all a copy of the Moving Hearts album as you took us down to the bus to hit the road again. Well thanks again Christy, Val and kids for the best of Irish hospitality. Adh mhór. Le meas Micí.
You’ve nailed it there Rory! Since i 1st heard Liam Clancy sing that song in about 77 i thought nothing else will ever get near that and I don’t think it has! I’m going to nail my colours to the mast here! For me its the greatest! If this doesn’t get you in floods of tears nothing will! If you look into his eyes he’s there!?
Hello Christy,
Those long firelit nights needed long songs and stories. Did you get to the rugby yesterday, or play guitar to it on the box?
Here’s something lovely
https://youtu.be/94fR6zdjEfc
Rebecca
Ewan MacColl is the undoubted leader of an imaginary Tribe that I seek to follow…I listen to this rendition..his voice resounding clearly, Peggy ‘s accompaniment perfect this Sunday Morning…..there are times when I wonder… how might it sound in Mancunian/Salford accent/dialect…..
I heard Ewan & Peggy live on 6 occasions, each time I marvelled at his repertoire, craft, politic,performance, Peggy always right on the beat and harmony. Ewan always Ewan..
I met him once, sat between them in their Folk Club, that 20 minutes still resounds 54 years on…he encouraged me…and sent me one of the last songs he wrote…”Green Island”
“The Island lies like a leaf upon the Sea”
If you sang and survived 140 verses they’d be chinks of daylight coming through the curtains, never mind lamplight.
I once knew a man who never got out of bed until he saw daylight
one night the wind caught a large sheet of discarded black plastic and it covered his small bedroom window
he stayed in bed for a fortnight
And interestingly Ed! Its not too well known but prior to Paul Simon heading to the UK in mid 60’s he lived in Drumcondra, North Dublin, early 60s after touring the country!
he hung out around Mountrath in the early 60’s I heard him at the Abbeyleix Fleadh in 1962..he was knockin around with a hippy quare one from Pedigree Corner….
R. Good version of Scarborough Fair. When you think that Paul Simon made that song famous. Martin Carthy, apparently, collected it and Paul Simon took it and listened to it; liked it. Rest is history. I wouldn’t doubt someone might unearth its history in here.
“Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.” Jayney, exotic food sellers at that fair!
I have it on good authority that its a bastardised version of the Old Laois Ballad “Maryborough Fair”
Ah Rebeccah. 146 verses. Go easy on us! Jayney. Hadnt they a ‘hape’ of time on their hands to scribe 140+ verses. Often about skirmishes, battles lost. We’ll maybe take ‘ten’ verses, R.
“Anyone for the last choc ices now……”
no distractions..no devices, premiership, takeaways, netflix,flat screens, alexis,…its no so long since a good long song would be greatly appreciated by the fire in the lamplight…
Good man Danny. Sounded good. Ah the heady days of Planxty. Did you see Johnny Fean, Horslips, has died? I managed to have a foot in ‘both camps’, Horslips and Planxty. I considered it the norm to go see either group. Tho’ as time went on, Horslips did change direction. I did like the celtic rock. Spud and Mushroom were great exponents ‘da keltic rock’. I refuse to get involved with the apparent snobishness and Horslips and people who joined and left because Horslips – well various reasons. I think they thought they were better musicians. I dunno.
RIP Johnny Fean…. always a nice man to meet….
you are spot on Ed..thats why I left Planxty in 1974..they were definitely much better musicians…but snobbishness..not a hint of it…its such an ugly word
I rem Spud & Mushroom too..back in those far off smoky boozy Baggott Inn nights….I think the U2 manager kicked-off with Spud and Aonghus McAnally was in Mushroom..he hammered me at snooker… rapid around the green beize is Aongus
Hello Christy,
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my recording, and also for commenting on it. It means so much to have your feedback. I’ve been working and working and all the time I’ve wanted to make something beautiful. That’s what life’s about. Anyway, the damn thing is plastered all over Facebook’s folk groups.
I found a book the other day. “the Ballads and Songs of Yorkshire, Transcribed from Private Manuscripts, Rare Broadsides, and scarce publications”. By Christopher James Davison Ingledew. They knew how to write a snappy title in 1860…
It’s full of treasure.
Just working my way through it.
There’s a song called History of Sir John Eland, of Eland, and his antagonists. !!!
Elland is just up the road from here.
So I read it.
It’s pretty long, 124 verses if I counted it right
“upon my solemn oath
There’d be 40 verses note for note”
It’s full of things that happened right here round about 1350. They did a lot of fighting.
Really exciting to think these places were here then.
Brighouse gets a few mentions, Brighouse turnpike, whatever that was.
Cromwell Bottom thankfully has nothing to do with ironsides. It’s much older.
It’s far too long to sing, but great to read.
People must have had a lot of time to listen to songs then. It’s like a whole feature film.
Rebecca
124 verses….with introductory words, tuning, a musical intro, a creative extended outro,& at least 10 instrumental verses I reckon an Electric Folk Band could knock a 3 hour gig outa that one …there would be scope for a few gavottes as well…maybe a raffle plus a break for refreshments and WC….
Danny Doyle, music promoter, used to have a sponsored programme on the one-time Radio Eireann. Used to be on, an afternoon show some time after 2 or 3pm. He promoted showbands, ballroom and band bookings. Wexford. A lad in Athlone, I asked him was his family connected to him? He said yes, his family is.
I recall the Old Shieling programme and a gaeltacht programme. (‘Gaelinn’ was it called?) A great blast of trad music you might get on it. Plus a nice whack of ballad music.
In 1972 Danny ran a Festival of gigs in Adamstown Co Wexford….Planxty were just coming to the fore having been signed by Des Kelly and Ruby Records..our first two singles had charted, we played the Late Late show and were interviewed on Radio Éireann by Liam Nolan (in Henry Street)…Danny Booked us for the Adamstown Festival where we had a night to remember…we got 3 encores…the after-gig catering was magnificent…we gorged on the very finest fare from the catering skills of local Wexford ICA confectioners, before we left Danny paid us our £200 (in cash) and promised to have us back..which he did frequently…
From Anja Murray’s Wild Embrace a littlest known fact about one of our littlest’s friends – The Wren…
“Males make three or four nests in spring, giving potential
partners a choice of which nest she likes best. The male then adds the finishing touches, a lining of soft downy feathers for his mate to lay a clutch of eggs in. Male wrens are serial monogamists, choosing up to three consecutive mates each nesting season. By the time September arrives, a male wren may have built as many as twelve nests that year.”
The Wren, The Wren, The dirty little fecker
‘
if only the State was as productive in the provision of homes as our wee hero..the glorious Wren..the King of All Birds
One post and I’ll leave you alone. I only just got hold of ‘Ain’t It Grand Boys – hidden gems of Clancy Bros and Tommy Makem”, which is a joy to spin for clarity of it’s beautiful performances. Final song was introduced with “Pete’s gonna sing This Land”. Seeger and the Bros. Clancy sound so wonderul, and I dare say only in Ireland would an audience add what it did.
Hi C. I just saw this motto on the site of the lobbying and grant aid foundation that Harry Belafonte (RIP) created ( http://www.sankofa.org ) ” Artists are the Gatekeepers of Truth ” it is attributed to Paul Robeson, it is certainly true and totally relevant to the work you do C. Beir bua agus beannacht. H
Hi Christy,
That’s the one. Another bit goes
The cuckoo she’s a pretty bird
she sings as she flies
She brings us good tidings
and tells us no lies
She sucks the young birds’ egg
to make her voice clear
And the more she cries “cuckoo”
the summer draws near.
Apt for the time of the year. Not sure if it’s the same cuckoo
from Lawless. Wonderful bird none the less.
Tabhair Aire
Bourkey
O ! were I at the moss house
Hi C. Today is Poetry Day here on the Island and though anyone of your own compositions could be shared, I think you too are a fan of the writings of Michael Coady, were the themes of this great poem ever so relevant and current ? https://youtu.be/1-LjviV9pg4 You mentioned Folk Tale recently Congrats are due to Paula Meehan who was made a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin this week. Beir bua agus beannacht. H
a beautiful concept from Michael Coady
Hello Christy,
I’ve listened to you talk a few times about getting a song done to your satisfaction.
Started to understand it yesterday. I mean understand with my bones, not just my head.
Anyway, here it is. I’m ok for you to comment if you want to.
https://rebeccaholton.bandcamp.com/track/scarborough-fair
Rebecca
first time I’ve heard solo harp with Scarborough Fair….well done…
Eric Bogle wrote the song. Liam Clancy’s version of the song is the best I reckon.
” and the Band played Waltzing Matilda”
Damn, should have looked in the songbook first. Mick Tracy is the man.
Hi all,
Just came across Luke Kelly singing Bunclody.
It’s on The Dubliners Fifteen years on LP.
In Des Geraghty’s a memoir of Luke Kelly the great man tells how he first heard the song.
“… we were in the boozer on the bridge, playing for our own enjoyment. There was only one other customer, a very nicely dressed gentleman, and he said: “Very nice, gentlemen, do you mind if I sing a song myself ?” We said not at all, fire away, expecting it to be, you know, something a la John McCormack, a tenor’s song. And he had a beautiful light tenor voice, of course; and he sang a song none of us had ever heard before, a beautiful song. We were mesmerised by that. This was a real example of collecting without expecting to collect.”
Afterward “Bunclody” became one of Luke’s songs; when he sang it in Bunclody he dedicated it to the singer in the boozer on the bridge, a local schoolmaster Michael J Flannery who’d been visiting Enniscorty.
Hope you all have a good day
Bourkey
That Bunclody Fleadh Ceol back in the early 60s had a lasting impact on many of us who were fortunate enough to have been there…..
Decades later it was Caesar’s Palace that brought me back to that beautiful town..
Run by the legendary promoter Danny Doyle I played there a few times in the 1980s….the Sunday gigs there were followed by Dances featuring leading Showbands…got to meet many singers and players from that alternative music scene…same thing used to happen at The Beaten Path in Claremorris where my “cabaret” spots were always followed by top ranked Country Bands….
I’d pack away my wee H&H PA system as the Bands gear was assembled..some nights I’d stick around and watch the gig..heard some great musicians
Oh the streams of Bunclody they flow down so free
By the streams of Bunclody I’m longing to be
a-drinking strong liquor in the height of my cheer
Here’s health to Bunclody and the lass I love dear
Hello Christy,
Ok, I’m out of the traps first.
I think it was written by Paul Lebiedzinski. Cowbot Ronnie Reagan
https://culturevannin.bandcamp.com/track/cowboy-ronnie-reagan
I haven’t heard your version. I’ll do a bit of searching.
Talking of the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, the pogues did a version of it. So convincing I thought it was written by them. Then I heard the Liam Clancy version. Two different songs but the same too. Neither can be forgotten once heard.
Rebecca
afraid not
We’re listening to your music just now Christy. As always, I remember and tell my friends or family about the time my friends and I stayed with you and your family back in 1982. You and Val really looked after us then. Yous had two kids then. One was Juno. They were very young. I know that two of the lads with me have since passed. I’m not sure about the other. I might be the last 😊. You wrote words for the tune we had with us. ” The Hero” was about Patsy O’ Hara. You gave us all a copy of the Moving Hearts album as you took us down to the bus to hit the road again. Well thanks again Christy, Val and kids for the best of Irish hospitality. Adh mhór. Le meas Micí.
You’ve nailed it there Rory! Since i 1st heard Liam Clancy sing that song in about 77 i thought nothing else will ever get near that and I don’t think it has! I’m going to nail my colours to the mast here! For me its the greatest! If this doesn’t get you in floods of tears nothing will! If you look into his eyes he’s there!?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PFCekeoSTwg