Author Topic: music in Ireland  (Read 1044 times)

a non-amos

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music in Ireland
« on: May 28, 2019, 11:26:47 AM »
For the last several years I have enjoyed playing Irish music.  It's delightful.  It can be quite lively or hauntingly beautiful or it can be many other things.

My lovely bride and I just returned from our first trip to Ireland.  We were impressed by their friendliness, the beauty of their island, their history, and by many other facets of their culture.  We are also significantly heavier, primarily due to our new found love of their seafood.

By and large we were not impressed by the music.  Most of their musicians seem to be fixated on Johnny Cash and John Denver, with a few playing Billy Joel or the stray Beatles tune.  It seems that Irish music might be dead in Ireland, or at least on life support!

I would love to be proven wrong.  I would love to hear that traditional Irish music is alive and well in Ireland.  I'm guessing that as much as I hope and wish, that is not likely.

- A
Carpe digitus.
(Roughly translated, this is possibly the world's oldest "pull my finger" joke)

anona

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Re: music in Ireland
« Reply #1 on: May 28, 2019, 06:57:35 PM »
Do you like traditional Irish music, non-amos? I regret I am not a fan. I find it very hard on the ears after quite a short time - but then I imagine much of it is meant for dancing and could be fun to play. Many years ago, I did very much like Clannad and enya, and some of that is traditional though. Do you remember Harry's Game?
https://youtu.be/2KpNzalFKPo  Clannad
https://youtu.be/DK9-nQqgHPA  enya


Hobbit

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Re: music in Ireland
« Reply #2 on: May 28, 2019, 07:20:09 PM »
I remember Harry's Game Anona.  I had to look on Mr Google to see how long ago it was.  1982!  Thanks for the reminder about the theme.
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Linda

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Re: music in Ireland
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2019, 10:17:29 PM »
One of my favourite bands of all time - The Pogues - play some brilliant Irish 'toons'.  Check out the album 'If I Should Fall From Grace With God' - especially this one:



Medley

The Pogues

As I was walking down the road
A feeling fine and larky oh
A recruiting sergeant came up to me
Says he you'd look fine in khaki oh

For the King he is in need of men
Come read this proclamation oh
A life in Flanders for you then
Would be a fine vacation now

That maybe so says I to him
But tell me sergeant dearie-oh
If I had a pack stuck upon my back
Would I look fine and cheerie oh

For they'd have you train and drill until
They had you one of Frenchies oh
It may be warm in Flanders
But it's draughty in the trenches oh

The sergeant smiled and winked his eye
His smile was most provoking oh
He twiddled and twirled his wee moustache
Says he I know you're only joking oh

For the sandbags are so warm and high
The wind you won't feel blowing oh
Well I winked at a cailin passing by
Says I what if it's snowing oh

Come rain or hail or wind or snow
I'm not going out to Flanders oh
There's fighting in Dublin to be done
Let your Sergeants and your Commanders go

Let Englishmen fight English wars
It's nearly time they started oh
I saluted the Sergeant a very good night
And there and then we parted oh

As I went down to Galway Town
To seek for recreation on the 17th of August
Me mind being elevated
There were passengers assembled

With their tickets at the station
And me eyes began to dazzle
And they off to see the races

With me wack fol the do fol
The diddle idle day

There were passengers from Limerick
And passengers from Nenagh
The boys of Connemara
And the Clare unmarried maiden

There were people from Cork City
Who were loyal, true and faithful
Who brought home the Fenian prisoners
From dying in foreign nations

With me wack fol the do fol
The diddle idle day

And it's there you'll see the pipers
And the fiddlers competing
And the sporting wheel of fortune
And the four and twenty quarters

And there's others without scruple
Pelting wattles at poor Maggie
And her father well contented
And he gazing at his daughter

With me wack fol the do fol
The diddle idle day

And it's there you'll see
The jockeys and
They mounted on so stably
The pink, the blue, the orange, and green

The colours of our nation
The time it came for starting
All the horses seemed impatient
Their feet they hardly touched the ground
The speed was so amazing!

With me wack fol the do fol
The diddle idle day

There was half a million people there
Of all dominations
The Catholic, the Protestant, the Jew
The Presbyterian

Yet no animosity
Not matter what persuasion
But failte hospitality
Inducing fresh acquaintance

With me wack fol the do fol
The diddle idle day

mkenuk

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Re: music in Ireland
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2019, 11:32:16 AM »
I have to admit that, apart from their splendid Fairytale of New York, I don't know very much of the Pogues.
Perhaps I should make an effort.

I do remember that Irish bands such as The Dubliners, whom I saw live while at university, were at the heart of the 1960s 'folk revival'.

As for hearing authentic native music while on holiday in whatever country, it's important to get away from the tourist bars and music lounges.
In Thailand, for example, in Bangkok and the (in)famous seaside resorts such as Pattaya and Phuket, there are lots of Thai bands playing 'Western' music for tourists. They nearly all have the same repertoire - a few very familiar Beatles, Eric Clapton and Eagles songs, played on three guitar chords and with badly pronounced lyrics.

If you wanted to hear authentic Thai music, it's not too hard to find, but you would have to go elsewhere.
I suspect the same is true of most tourist destinations.
Listen to Spanish music in Ibiza? Forget it!

 


a non-amos

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Re: music in Ireland
« Reply #5 on: July 21, 2019, 01:57:46 PM »
This is not really what I meant, but The Pogues are a bit closer to the target than Enya.

Lately I have been working on an Irish dance tune from back in the 80's.

That would be the 1680's.

For some unknown reason the composer did not post this on YouTube, did not release a CD, and didn't even press it on vinyl.  How inconsiderate!

- A
Carpe digitus.
(Roughly translated, this is possibly the world's oldest "pull my finger" joke)