The Wild Rover
This traditional Irish drinking song tells of the return of a gallivanting young man who returns home to settle down and finds that everyone he might have slighted back in the old days when he was a more unscrupulous person is more than willing to forgive him his offenses now that he’s rich. Good thing he had […]
The Fields of Athenry
A somber ballad by Pete St. John about a man named Michael who was sent off on a prison ship for stealing some corn to feed his children during The Great Hunger. Makes you want to go back in time just to wring Charles Trevelyan’s neck.
The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond
Finally, a Scottish song! I ran across this version while binging on The Corries and fell in love with it. There are many theories about the meaning of the song, most of which are connected to the Jacobite Uprising of 1745. One interpretation based on the lyrics is that the song is sung by the […]
Big Strong Man
Some might say that the Irish bards are prone to embellishing the tales they tell. If anyone states the contrary, just show them this song.
I’ll Tell Me Ma
Also know as “The Wind” or “The Belle of Belfast City”, this is a popular childrens’ song in Ireland, usually accompanied by a game in which children hold hands forming a circle around another child. At the end of the chorus, when they ask “Please won’t you tell me who they be?”, the one in […]
Kathleen Mavourneen
It’s early morning, a lad is about to set off on a journey that will keep him away from his home and his love Kathleen for years and maybe even forever… and she’s sound asleep, apparently not losing any sleep over his imminent departure. I personally think she’s just fake snoring and waiting for him […]
The Irish Rover
The Irish Rover is the name of a fabled ship, 27 in masts and with enough storage to a few million hogs, dogs, barrels of porter and, of course, eight million balls of old nanny-goats’ tails. Although enormous in size, it was taken down by a bout of the measels, some fog and a rock. […]