Thistle Song
Origins
Sources include Wikipedia,
Micky Mulligans Song Book , Mudcat.org , Netstate.com,
imageaustralia.com
Fairytale of New
York is an Irish folk style
ballad by UK-based punk/folk group The Pogues, also featuring Kirsty
MacColl.
It features two Irish
immigrants, lovers or ex-lovers, reminiscing and bickering in the drunk tank
over Christmas in New York. MacColl's melodious singing contrasts with the
harsh sound of Shane MacGowan's voice and the lyrics which are sometimes
bittersweet, sometimes plain bitter.
The Hills of Connemara-
Trad. Irish Song, about evading the "exise
men" in search of illegal poitin (moonshine) in the Connemara
Hills. This song probably
originated in the late 19th Century, although it may be early 20th. Beware
the excise man if you're brewing up moonshine!
The Fields of
Athenry
is a song about the
Irish Famine of the late 1840s, which was composed in the 1980s by Pete St.
John, a prolific composer of widely sung modern ballads; his other most
famous song is Dublin in the rare ol' times. His songs often express regret
for the loss of old certainties (the latter song regrets the loss of
Nelson's Pillar and the Metropole Ballroom, two symbols of old Dublin, as
progress makes a 'city of my town'). The Fields of Athenry is widely seen as
the definitive folk song on the Famine, telling the story of the Famine
through the personal experiences of someone gaoled and deported.
The song, which was first recorded by Irish
ballad singer Paddy Reilly, recounts the tale of a mythical Irishman in
prison, reporting the story he could hear through the prison walls of
another prisoner who is being deported to Tasmania for stealing food to feed
his starving family.
Blue Moon Of Kentucky - words and music by William Smith "Bill"
Monroe. In 1911, William Smith Monroe, a descendent of President James
Monroe, was born near Rosine, Kentucky. Music was natural to William Smith
Monroe. He grew up singing on the front porch with his family. By the time
he was 12, he was an eager guitar player. Between 1928 and 1930, William
Smith and his brothers, Charlie and Birch, formed their own band, the Monroe
Brothers. William was picked to play the mandolin because the other brothers
didn't know how to play it and William, well...he was the youngest. The
Monroe Brothers, playing Appalachian songs about sin and redemption, found
success with such great tunes as "Kentucky Waltz", "Footprints in the Snow"
and "Blue Grass Ramble".
In 1938, the Monroe Brothers broke up and
William formed the Kentuckians, which evolved into The Blue Grass Boys.
Monroe's new musical directions included driving rhythms and tight
harmonies. His music was a combination of Appalachian, Church, Jazz and
Breakdown styles. This was the beginning of bluegrass.
From 1939-1941, Bill Monroe and The
Bluegrass Boys performed at the Grand Ole Opry, were signed by RCA Records
and formed their own touring company.
In 1946 Bill Monroe wrote and The Bluegrass
Boys first recorded a song that was to become Monroe's signature, "Blue Moon
of Kentucky."
By 1970, Bill Monroe was widely recognized
as the "Father of Bluegrass." And in that year, he was inducted into the
Country Music Hall of Fame, the next year into the Nashville Songwriters
Association International Hall of Fame and more was to come...
Formed the Bean Blossom Festival
Opened Bluegrass Hall of Fame in
Nashville
Inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of
Honour
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
National Medal of the Arts
"Blue Moon of Kentucky" Official
Bluegrass Song of Kentucky
1986 - US Senate passed a resolution
honouring "his many contributions to American culture and his many ways of
helping American people enjoy themselves." The resolution went on to say,
"As a musician, showman, composer, and teacher, Mr. Monroe has been a
cultural figure and force of signal importance in our time."
Bill Monroe died from a stroke on September
9, 1996, in Springfield, Tennessee.
The Green
Fields of France
Written
by Eric Bogle (born 1944) a Scottish-born Australian singer and songwriter.
He was born in Peebles, Scotland, and emigrated to Australia in 1969. He
currently resides near Adelaide, South Australia. Perhaps his best-known
song, written in 1972, is "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", a haunting
evocation of the ANZAC experience fighting in the Battle of Gallipoli; it
has also been interpreted as a reaction to the Vietnam war.
His songs cover a wide range, including
bright comic songs, satires ("I Hate Wogs"), protest songs and other serious
considerations of the human condition. Some idea of the breadth of his work
can be gained from the fact that another of his well-known songs is "The
Aussie Bar-B-Q", a cheerful ditty about a completely different Australian
institution.
In a similar vein to "And
the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", his song "No Man's Land" refers to the
old Scots song "Flowers of the Forest" being played over the grave of a
World War I soldier. (Bogle is also on record as calling the song "The Green
Fields of France", and it has sometimes been covered as "Flowers of the
Forest".)
Wild Rover No More - another folk song of Irish
flavour but without any hint of sadness as in The Black Velvet Band. This
song is about gold and love, but not the romantic kind of love. You will
see the lyrics tell a story as old as time itself stretching right back to
the start of the biblical era. This tune and lyrics express a great cheeky
confidence and expectation that everything will be alright, and if it isn't
- well that's okay too (typical Australian traits) on behalf of Wild Rover
and we all know what the end result will be. Forgiveness - do you agree?
But maybe Wild Rover has gone too far this time - it can happen.
The Holy
Ground
This an Irish set of lyrics to the tune: Old
Swansea Town Once More. The "Holy Ground" is a quarter of Cobh (once known
as Queenstown), which was inhabited mainly by fisherman. The tune is also
referred to as The Cobh Sea Shanty. It was popular on the docks of Cork and
Cobh as well as on the ships. The tune was originally a capstan shanty. (A
song sung as sailors turned the capstan to raise the anchor.)
The Rare
Ould Times
Another song by Pete St.John. In this song he express regret
for the loss of old certainties like the loss of
Nelson's Pillar and the Metropole Ballroom, two symbols of old Dublin, as
progress makes a 'city of my town'.
Pete St. John is a
Dubliner. Educated at Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Inchicore and Synge Street C.B.S.
he served his time as an electrician and then emigrated to Canada. Moving on
to Alaska, Central America and the West Indies he worked as a professional
athelete, truck driver, logging camp labourer, Pr/Sales Official and finally
electrical contracting executive in the U.S.A.
He became deeply
involved in the Peace Movement and International Civil Rights before
returning to his native city of Dublin in the late 70's.
Finding the face of
his city greatly changed he began writing songs in a very distinctive and
unique style depicting the social conditions around him. Redundancy became
the core element of his work and the city soon recognised his talent with
the major folk artists recording his songs with great success.
All for me grog. An old song popular
among Irish balladeers. It is a celebration of the famous three vices: wine,
women and song and the cost of our indulgence. Old Grog, nickname of Edward
Vernon died 1757 English admiral responsible for diluting the sailors' rum.
Dirty
Old Town,
written by Ewan
MacColl about his home town of Salford in Lancashire.
Ewan MacColl (1915- October 22, 1989) was a
Scottish playwright, poet, actor, folk-singer, and record producer.
Born Jimmy Miller, either in Auchterarder,
Scotland or in Salford where he was brought up, MacColl changed his name to
that of a Scottish poet whom he admired.
Eileen OG
The
song is written by Percy French. "Eileen Og" means "young Eileen". The
place name was Petrovogue or Petravore?. It is believed that French made up
the name. However, "Pedar a Voher"
is on an Ordnance Map of 1836. Pedar is Peter in Irish.
Hey Good
Lookin
Words & Music by
Hank Williams and first Recorded by Hank Williams, 1951
"Mr.
Tambourine Man"
is a song,
originally written and performed by Bob Dylan, and featured on his 1965
album, Bringing It All Back Home. It was then covered and popularized by The
Byrds on their debut album Mr. Tambourine Man (1965). The song is allegedly
about an attempt to make a drug deal, with the titular character being the
drug dealer. The album brought the folk-rock sound into mainstream American
consciousness.
"The Town I Loved So Well"
is a tune by Phil Coulter that was
recorded by the Dubliners (among others, but noteworthy for the subsequent
collaborations between the Pogues and the Dubliners). It's rooted in
traditional Irish music but with a modern sensibility. The song itself
describes the devastation to Derry (we can see the Irish Republican leanings
of the song in the use of the name "Derry" for the town; the English refer
to it as "Londonderry") wrought by British occupation as the Troubles began
to heat up again.
Streams of Whiskey
"Last night as I slept
I dreamed I met with Behan..."
Most likely a reference to Irish playwright
and author Brendan Behan .
"I am going, I am going
Any which way the wind may be blowing
I am going, I am going
Where streams of whiskey are flowing"
Given the causes of Behan's death
(alcoholism) this chorus detailing his philosophy of life is rather
poignant.
Danny Boy
It was George Petrie who
gave the "Londonderry Air" its title in his compendium of Irish Music, the
Ancient Music of Ireland, which was published in 1855. The melody was
supplied to Petrie by Jane Ross of Newtown Limavady
Jane Ross (1810-1879) stated that she had taken down the tune in Limavady in
1851 when she heard it played by an itinerant fiddler. One of Ireland's most
distinguished folk song collectors, Sam Henry, states in "Songs of the
People" a regular weekly feature in the Northern Constitution (1923- 1939),
that blind Jimmy McCurry (1830-19 10) was the fiddler referred to by Jane
Ross.
Jimmy McCurry
Jimmy was born in the flatlands of Myroe
and his favourite spot for playing the fiddle on market days was outside the
Burns & Laird Shipping Office in Limavady. It was customary for the farmers
of the day to bring their produce to the Limavady market by horse and cart.
After they had unyoked their horses they left their carts with shafts on the
ground all lined up along the Main Street. Jimmy usually took up position
between the shafts of one of these carts just opposite the home of Jane
Ross, who lived at 51 Main Street.
Black
Velvet Band
The Black Velvet Band tells about the
transportation of prisoners from Belfast to Port Arthur in Van-Diemen's Land
- meaning of course Tasmania. Typically up-beat and optimistic with just
that little twist of sadness as most of these traditional Irish tunes have.
Ten years after the naming of Botany Bay
the first fleet left Britain in May 1787 and reached Botany Bay on January
19-20-1788. There were eleven vessels which carried about 730 convicts and
250 free settlers
One of the most evil and notorious penal
colonies was situated at Port Arthur in Tasmania, where apart from the
extreme cruelty meted out to the prisoners, the total population of
Aboriginals bar one were killed.
American
Pie
"American Pie" is an eight-and-a-half
minute long classic pop song by singer-songwriter Don McLean, about "the day
the music died".
Background
Recorded in 1971 and released that year on
the album of the same name, it was a #1 US hit in 1972. It is an allusive
history of rock and roll, inspired by the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie
Valens, and J. P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) in a plane crash in 1959.
Although McLean dedicated the American Pie
album to Buddy Holly, none of the singers in the plane crash are identified
by name in the song itself. Later performers are also alluded to with easily
decoded identifications, leading to much discussion, encouraged by McLean's
canny lifelong refusal to explain the lyrics. (Asked what "American Pie"
meant, McLean once replied, "It means I never have to work again." Later, he
more seriously stated, "You will find many 'interpretations' of my lyrics
but none of them by me.… Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but
long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move
on, maintaining a dignified silence.")
The "standard interpretation"
During its initial popularity, guessing
about the meaning of the song's lyrics was a popular pastime; many radio
stations and disc jockeys published unofficial interpretations. Over the
years, assisted by the collective power of the Internet, something
approaching a "standard interpretation" of the song has emerged. How much of
it was actually in McLean's mind, consciously or unconsciously, when he
wrote the lyrics is a matter of popular debate among fans.
According to this interpretation, the song
is a tribute to Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper, though most
especially Holly. With the deaths of Holly et al, McLean felt that dance
music was gone.
Contrary to popular belief, McLean has
discussed the meaning of the song on multiple occasions, in his 2000 Starry,
Starry Night video he said, "I'm very proud of the song. It is biographical
in nature and I don't think anyone has ever picked up on that. The song
starts off with my memories of the death of Buddy Holly. But it moves on to
describe America as I was seeing it and how I was fantasizing it might
become, so it's part reality and part fantasy but I'm always in the song as
a witness or as even the subject sometimes in some of the verses. You know
how when you dream something you can see something change into something
else and it's illogical when you examine it in the morning but when you're
dreaming it it seems perfectly logical. So it's perfectly okay for me to
talk about being in the gym and seeing this girl dancing with someone else
and suddenly have this become this other thing that this verse becomes and
moving on just like that. That's why I've never analyzed the lyrics to the
song. They're beyond analysis. They're poetry."
The chorus is simple, with most reviewers
equating "Miss American Pie" with all types of American music or everything
that is good about the country. There is also an unconfirmed rumour that
McLean dated a Miss America contestant for a time. The chorus ends with
"this'll be the day that I die." Holly had a popular song called "That'll Be
The Day", in which the line "that'll be the day that I die" is repeated in
the chorus. "Bye, bye Miss American Pie" may also refer to the loss of
innocence caused by the assassination of John F. Kennedy, since "American
pie" may be an oblique reference to apple pie, a symbol of traditional
American values and morality. In addition, the singer drives a Chevy to the
levee; Chevrolet was an American company at a time when foreign cars were
very popular. Some believe that the reference to "rye" may mean Rye, New
York with "The Levee" being the name of a bar where McLean and his friends
mourned the death of Buddy Holly. The belief that "Miss American Pie" was
the name of the plane that crashed is an urban legend — the plane had no
name, only a registration number.
First Verse
In the first verse, the singer expresses
his desire to become a musician because "I could make those people dance/And
maybe they'd be happy for awhile." "February made me shiver" refers to the
winter plane crash, which occurred in the early hours of February 3, 1959.
"With every paper I'd deliver" refers to McLean's only job besides
singer/songwriter; he was a paperboy as a young man. "I can't remember if I
cried/When I read about his widowed bride" refers to Holly's wife, Maria
Elena, who was pregnant at the time of his death.
Second Verse
The beginning of the second verse ("Did you
write the book of love"... "if the Bible tells you so") may be McLean
questioning the final destinations (i.e. Heaven or Hell) of the dead
musicians. The "Book of Love" is a reference to the 1958 song by the
Monotones. The line "Can you teach me how to dance real slow" may refer to
the decline of slow-dancing that accompanied the rise of psychedelic music.
Rock and roll from the 1950s included frequent slow songs, played at sock
hops and other dances. Sock hops are referenced later in the second verse,
with "I saw you dancing in the gym" (sock hops were frequently held in gyms)
and "You both kicked off your shoes" (shoes would scuff the floor of gyms,
hence teens danced in socks). There are also, of course, other more sexual
interpretations of 'dancing' and removing clothing.
Third Verse
The third verse begins with "Now for ten
years we've been on our own" - the song was being written in the late 1960s,
about ten years after the plane crash. The "moss grows fat on a rolling
stone" may be a criticism of the alleged greed of the Rolling Stones; "a
rolling stone gathers no moss" is of course a traditional proverb. A strong
case has been made that the jester who "sang for the king and queen" was Bob
Dylan, since the song says that he sang "in a coat he borrowed from James
Dean". Dean famously wore a red windbreaker in Rebel Without a Cause, and
Dylan was shown in a distinctly similar windbreaker on the cover of one of
his albums. It makes sense for the King to be Elvis Presley (nicknamed The
King), and the queen may be Connie Francis, or Queen Elizabeth II of the
United Kingdom (to whom Dylan gave a command performance), or Little
Richard. The royal pair may also refer to President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
and his wife, Jackie Kennedy, with the jester being Lee Harvey Oswald or
Jack Ruby.
Assuming that the jester really does refer
to Dylan (or maybe Buddy Holly), the fact that he sang in a "voice that came
from you and me" refers to the populist origin of folk music, such as sung
by Bob Dylan, or similarly, the populism of Buddy Holly. A further
interpretation, supporting the Dylan claimants, is Dylan's untrained vocal
style, which stood out a mile from those of his early contemporaries. "While
the King was looking down/The jester stole his thorny crown" may refer to
Dylan overtaking Presley in popularity, or to Buddy Holly's meteoric rise to
fame. The "thorny crown" is a reference to Jesus, who was also forced to
wear a crown of thorns in the Bible, and it can carry connotations of the
price of fame and power, similar to the Sword of Damocles. The lines may
also be interpreted to mean that JFK's legacy of populism, as he "was
looking down" was transferred to Bob Dylan instead of Lyndon Baines Johnson,
JFK's successor as president--hence, the line means that politicians are no
longer interested in the trials of the common man. "The courtroom was
adjourned/No verdict was returned" may mean that the lone gunman theory of
JFK's assassination was not accepted, or refer to the trial of the Chicago
7, or simply that fans of Elvis and Dylan were perpetually unable to
reconcile their differences because the music of the 1950s and the 1960s
were incredibly different from each other. "Lennon read a book on Marx"
refers to John Lennon (of The Beatles) actually reading about socialism in
the work of Karl Marx and indicates the political message of music, unheard
of during the 1950s but predominant by the end of the 1960s. "Lennon" may
also be a play on words, referring to the Communist leader of the USSR,
Vladimir Lenin, while "Marx" could refer to Groucho Marx or the other Marx
Brothers, whose style of verbal wit was evident in the Beatles' own
interviews and writing. "The quartet practiced in the park" may refer to the
Beatles (a quartet) playing in Shea Stadium, or it may refer to The Weavers,
a musical group from the early 1960s that McLean was friends with; they were
later blacklisted because of McCarthyism. Some critics believe that the
Beatles are the quartet and are practicing in the park because their brand
of music was still unpopular, as the early rock and roll of Buddy Holly et
al was still popular. The park could also be a reference to England, as
viewed from the US. The last line of the verse is "we sang dirges in the
dark", perhaps referring to art rock or progressive rock, frequently long,
symphonic and undanceable music that was becoming popular at the time. A
dirge is a funereal song, so this may refer to the deaths of countless
people, including Buddy Holly. Also, it may be the national mourning that
occurred after the assassination of JFK.
Fourth Verse
The fourth verse begins with the line
"Helter Skelter in a summer swelter", a reference both to the Beatles tune
and to the Tate/LaBianca murders of August 1969 (or perhaps the 1967 Summer
of Love or the "long, hot summer" of Watts, California in 1965). The line
"the birds flew off ... eight miles high, and falling fast," likely refers
to The Byrds and their controversial song Eight Miles High from 1966. The
reference to them flying off "with the fallout shelter" may be a reference
to their entering the counterculture music scene in 1965 covering Dylan's
"Mr. Tambourine Man" making it much more widely popular and the peace
protest song "Turn, Turn, Turn" by Pete Seeger. The jester returns to the
song and is "on the sidelines in a cast", referring to Dylan's 1966
motorcycle crash that badly injured him. The beginning may also refer to the
sudden rise to fame of the Beatles after Holly's death (with Holly being the
jester and the cast being death). "The halftime air was sweet perfume" may
refer either to the use of illegal drugs, such as marijuana, or the 1968
Democratic National Convention, which was broken up by tear gas, making the
"sweet perfume" an ironic reference. "The sergeants played a marching tune"
may refer to the Chicago police and Illinois National Guard, who used tear
gas the DNC in 1968, or to the Beatles magnum opus, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band which is "marching" music because it is not meant to be
danced to. The "marching tune" may also be the draft. "We all got up to
dance/But we never got the chance" could be a reference to the Beatles
thirty-five minute concert at Candlestick Park in 1966, or to the lack of
dance music being created at the time. The following two lines ("Cause the
players tried to take the field/The marching band refused to yield") may
bring back the DNC of 1968, with the marching band being the protestors and
the players being the Chicago police and Illinois National Guard. The
players may also be the Ohio National Guard, referring to the infamous
shootings of unarmed protestors at Kent State University. More generally,
some have interpreted it as an indictment of the military-industrial
complex's refusal to heed the desires of the people of the United States on
the subject of the Vietnam War. Others interpret this line as the rivalry
between intelligent, art rock (such as the Beatles) and fun, dance rock
(such as the Beach Boys).
Fifth Verse
The fifth verse begins with "There we were
all in one place/a generation lost in space" which probably refers to the
hippie generation congregating at Woodstock, who were "lost in space"
because of rampant drug use. They may also be "lost in space" because of the
lack of good music at the time. Because the alleged drug abuse, the hippies
had "no time left to start again" as they had spent so much time stoned. "So
come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick" may refer to Mick Jagger of the
Rolling Stones and their 1968 song "Jumping Jack Flash" as well as a nursery
rhyme with the same line. "Jack Flash sat on a candlestick" is also from the
nursery rhyme and may refer to the Rolling Stones concert at Candlestick
Park. "Fire is the devil's only friend" may refer to "Sympathy for the
Devil" by the Rolling Stones, or "Friend of the Devil" by the Grateful Dead.
Alternatively, the "fire" refers to the fire that burned the plane Holly
died in; Holly died from the fire itself, and not the crash. The entire
beginning of this verse has also been interpreted as referring to the Cuban
Missile Crisis, with "Jack" referring to John F. Kennedy, the devil being
either Cuba, Communism or the Soviet Union and candlesticks referring to
ICBMs or other nuclear weapons. "Sympathy for the Devil" was part of the
Rolling Stones' set in their notorious concert at Altamont Speedway, during
which a fan was killed by the Hells Angels, who had been hired as security
for the concert. (However, the song playing at the time of the killing was
"Under My Thumb", not "Sympathy for the Devil" as is commonly thought.) The
rest of the verse ("As I watched him on the stage...I saw Satan laughing
with delight" may refer to this concert. McLean may have been among those
who blamed the song ("Sympathy for the Devil") for inciting the riot because
of the Rolling Stones frequent allusions to alleged Satanic themes; in this
case, "Satan laughing with delight" may be Mick Jagger. However, the Rolling
Stones recorded many roots-rock covers (which McLean probably liked) and
were unusually dance-oriented for their time. "To light that sacrifical
rite" may also refer to Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar on fire in concert
at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, though the rest of the verse seems to
refer to 1968. Some have claimed that the end of this verse refers to McLean
prophetically knowing that the plane would crash and kill his musical heroes
but was unable to stop it.
Sixth Verse
The sixth verse begins with "I met a girl
who sang the blues", probably referring to Janis Joplin or Billie Holiday,
who "smiled and turned away" (died of an overdose) when McLean asks her if
she has any "happy news". The "sacred store" may refer to a literal church
or synagogue where McLean had heard music in his childhood ("years before"),
or to record stores and music performance venues (which are seen as sacred
as rock and roll is sacred, as per the earlier line "Can music save your
mortal soul") or just to the Fillmore West. There is also an allusion here
to many of the origins of rock and roll in the church music of the American
south. The following line, "But the man there said the music wouldn't play",
may mean the discontinued practice of record stores allowing shoppers to
preview music before buying it, or that listeners had stopped listening to
Buddy Holly and similar rockers, or that good music was no longer being
created. "In the streets the children screamed" may refer to brutal tactics
used to disperse protestors in Chicago, Kent State University or, most
likely, Berkeley, California's People's Park riots. The broken church bells
later in the verse may be the people killed and injured at these protests,
or to the death of innocence caused by the US government's heavy-handed
tactics, or to the dead musicians from the plane crash.
"The three men that I admire most/The
Father, Son and the Holy Ghost" is an unmistakable allusion to the Christian
Trinity of God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost, as it is a quote of a
phrase used weekly in churches of many denominations. But it is presumably a
metaphor for something else. The interpretation that is most consistent with
the main topic of the song is that the three stand for Holly, Valens and the
Big Bopper. This line is followed by "they caught the last train for the
coast/the day the music died" and "the day the music died" is the day Holly,
Valens and the Big Bopper died and "going west" (as in to the West Coast of
the United States) is a common metaphor for death. However, thoughtful
people also hold out for Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, or
John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy (three
political figures who were assassinated). Some critics believe this is a
reference to the many religions (generally New Age) that came from
California in the 1960s. Many other critics believe that the Father, the Son
and the Holy Ghost were the intended subject, and that the lines refer to
the supposed abandonment of the United States by God, who had protected the
nation through World War 1 and World War 2 but not when greed became the
motive for the Vietnam War.
Just enjoy the song !!!
Star of the County Down is an old Irish ballad
which has been re-recorded many times. This song shares its melody with the
church hymn "Led By the Spirit" and many other works. It has been covered by
many artists, including Van Morrison, the Pogues, the Chieftains, the Flash
Girls, Béla Fleck and Orthodox Celts. The song is notable for its
particularly intricate rhyme scheme, whereby the lines are in rhyming
couplets, but every line also has an internal rhyme on the second and fourth
feet.
The song is sung from the point
of view of a young man who chances to meet a charming lady by the name of
Rose McCann, referred to as the "star of the County Down". From a brief
encounter the writer's infatuation grows until, by the end of the ballad, he
plans to wed the girl.
Don't
think twice, it's alright.
Originally from the Bob Dylan album The
Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)
"Goodnight Irene" is a folk
standard, made famous by Leadbelly in a 1950 recording. It is
associated with the Bristol Rovers football team.
Leadbelly, nickname of Huddie William Ledbetter, 1885–1949, American singer,
b. Mooringsport, La. While wandering through Louisiana and Texas, he earned
a living by playing the guitar for dances. For a time he joined with Blind
Lemon Jefferson, the blues singer, who influenced his future style.
Leadbelly's blues and work songs are a survival of the earliest
African-American music. He was jailed in 1918 for murder and put on a chain
gang; he was pardoned in 1925 but was again put in jail for attempted murder
(1930–34) and for assault (1939–40). The folklorist John A. Lomax discovered
Leadbelly in prison and used his songs for a book, Negro Folk Songs as Sung
by Lead Belly (1936). In the 1940s Leadbelly made numerous nightclub
appearances, accompanying himself on his 12-string guitar; in 1949 he made a
concert tour in France.
Molly
Maguires,
The Molly Maguires were members of a secret
organization of miners in the anthracite-coal country of northeastern
Pennsylvania in 1865-1875. These men (all of whom belonged to an
Irish-American fraternal society, the Ancient Order of Hibernians) took
their name, and to some extent their methods, from an extralegal association
in Ireland organized to resist oppressive landlords. Angered by the grim
conditions under which they lived and worked, frustrated by the mine owners'
ability to prevent all union activity, and denied legal recourse by the
owners' control of local police and politics, the Mollies turned to
intimidation, arson, and murder.
In 1875, they finally succeeded in forming
a miners' union and called a strike. At this point, the president of the
Reading Railroad called in the Pinkerton Agency, and one of the Pinkertons,
James McParlan, successfully infiltrated the Molly Maguires. Based on the
testimony of McParlan and other agents, the organization was destroyed and
twenty of its members hanged in 1877. Amid the bitter class conflict that
characterized the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the Mollies were
remembered by some as brutal terrorists, whereas others saw them as martyred
heroes of the labour movement.
City of New Orleans
Written by Steve Goodman (July 25, 1948–September 20, 1984) an American
folk music singer and songwriter.
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Goodman began writing and
performing songs as a teenager. By 1969, after a brief sojourn in New York
City's Washington Square, Goodman was a regular performer at the
well-known Earl of Old Town folk music
club in Chicago, while attending Lake Forest College. During this time
Goodman also married Nancy Pruter, and paid bills by writing and singing
advertising jingles.
It was also during this time that Goodman wrote many of his most
enduring songs, including "City of New Orleans", the song which would
become most associated with Goodman. Goodman's songs first appeared on a
locally-produced record, Gathering at the Earl
of Old Town, in 1971.
In 1971, Goodman was playing at a Chicago bar called the Quiet Knight
as the opening act for Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson, impressed with
Goodman, introduced him to Paul Anka who brought Goodman to New York to
record some demos; these resulted in Goodman signing a contract with
Buddah Records.
Seeing Arlo Guthrie in a bar, Goodman
asked to be allowed to play a song for him. Guthrie grudgingly agreed;
Goodman played "City of New Orleans" which Guthrie liked enough that he
asked for the right to record it. Guthrie's version of the song became a
hit in 1972, and provided
Goodman with enough financial success to make his music a full-time
career. The song would become an American standard, covered by many other
musicians including Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, and Willie Nelson.
In 1974, singer David Allen Coe achieved considerable success on the
country charts with Goodman's "You Never Even Call Me By My Name", a song
which good-naturedly spoofed stereotypical country music lyrics.
Goodman's own success as a recording artist was more limited. Although
known in folk circles as a great song writer and highly influential, his
albums received more critical than commercial success.
Goodman's singing career remained centered around the folk music clubs
of Chicago, and Goodman wrote and performed many humorous songs about the
city, including two about the Chicago Cubs: "The Dying Cub Fan's Last
Request" and "Go, Cubs, Go." Others included "The Lincoln Park Pirates",
about the notorious Lincoln Towing Company, and "Daley's Gone," about
Mayor Richard J. Daley. He could also write serious songs, most notably
"My Old Man," a tribute to Goodman's father, Bud Goodman, a used car
salesman.
Goodman was closely involved with the Old Town
School of Folk Music, where he met and mentored his good friend,
John Prine.
Around the time Goodman's career began to take off, he was diagnosed
with leukaemia. The entire time he was writing and signing, he was also
fighting cancer. On September 20, 1984, Goodman died at University of
Washington Hospital in Seattle, Washington . Eleven days later, the
Chicago Cubs, the baseball team Goodman rooted for and wrote two songs
about, would play their first play-off game since 1945 at Wrigley Field.
South
Australia is a sea shanty used by
the wool
traders
who worked the clipper ships between Australian ports and London. It is now
a very famous folk song that is recorded by many artists and is present in
many of today's song books.
This is well known as a farewell song, sung
at the docks as the big ships were leaving. The men grew a sentimental
attachment to the song and were even known to request a rousing chorus on
their death beds, so that they could die happy.
N17
"N17" is a song about an Irish emigrant longing
to be driving on the N17 trunk road that connects Galway with the Saw
Doctors' hometown of Tuam.
Waterboys'
frontman Mike Scott produced the band's first single in August 1989