Olaim Punch/The Pigtown Fling (Traditional)
The first, vocal, part of this medley is a song in praise of living on welfare and of drinking as an avocation. I learned it as a child in primary school in Ireland. It's probably not politically correct at any grade level these days, but the spirit of the piece is obviously happy and meant as a 'lighten-up' message. It's followed by 'The Pigtown Fling.'
County Carlow (Brian Mullins), Oxford Road Publishing, BMI.
Brian wrote this one. A couple of years ago he visited Ireland and, of course, had to visit his namesake town--St. Mullins in County Carlow. The town is named for Moling, an early Christian cleric who gave refuge and comfort to Mad Sweeney, a king who had been cast into madness by Ronan, another early Irish Christian cleric. It's a great story--and this is a fine tune. Brian sends this out to Maggie Dwyer and the folks at Blanchfields.
The Ploughboy Lads (Traditional)
Well, it's always something. First they picked on the soldiers--warning the girls away. Now its ploughboys (or plowboys, if you wish--but don't you think it looks funny?). How come nobody is warning me about seamstresses or waitresses or female mail carriers? Why are there no cautionary tales about bass players? 'The ploughboy lads, they're all fine lads, but they're false and they're deceiving. They'll take your all and they'll go away and they leave the lassies weeping.' Bounders.
Green Tea/The Blue Pantaloons/The Lovely Lassie Winking (Traditional)
This set is wonderful fun to play and we often use it to start out concerts. It gets us in just the right mood.
Last Letter Home (James H. Brown, Jr. & David H. McDade)
Late March, 1999--We were in Montrose, CO at the end of an exhilerating round of concerts. We went to dinner and, later, in Brian's motel room--with a couple of bottles of rather good wine--we sat around telling stories and singing songs. Brian sang this one--and we knew immediately that this was a keeper. (He probably sings it better than I do, but the Union says I have seniority.)
Roberto Corvus (Jean Bolger), Oxford Road publishing, BMI.
Also known as Bob the Crow, this stygian scavenger is the ringleader of a flock of brawling marauders that has made the sky above our street its own particular 'hood. They are, however, quite a charming bunch in a noisy sort of way.
April (Mike Fitzmaurice/Mick Bolger), Oxford Road publishing, BMI.
Mike wrote the melody. It spent it's adolescence known as No. 2. I always thought it would make a great song so we wrote the lyrics one afternoon as we hung out and drank tea. I suppose it was because of that lonely adolescence that we named it 'April.' There's something gangly, graceless and unformed about the month, but you know it's going to be just fine. The lyrics are about the same uncertainty of emotion--but you know it's going to be just fine.
Vespers Hinge (Brian Mullins), Oxford Road publishing, BMI.
You'll have to ask Brian about this one. I'll admit, the title has a certain...I don't know...a certain--je ne sais quoi--perhaps? The words in 'Irish' are deliberate nonsense and are there simply to provide sounds rather than sense. In the past, however, band members have heard references to 'anxious lawn-chairs' and other strange allusions when I've been singing in Irish...so if you want to think of the words as a kind of aural Rorschach test...
The Praties (Traditional)
This song is sometimes called 'The Famine Song.' I first came upon it in 'Irish Songs of Resistance' by Patrick Galvin. 'Praties' is an Anglicization of the Irish word 'pratai,' which, in turn, was a Hibernicization of the English word 'potato.' (Just to further complicate things, the original word 'batata' was a Spanish and Portuguese version of a South American word.)
Throw the Beetle at Her/The Swaggering Jig/Tear it to Rags (Traditional)
Two slip-jigs and a slide. The collector of the first translated 'caith an tslis lei' as 'throw the beetle at her.' I'm not conviced...I would have been inclined to translate the title as 'put the finishing touches on it' but the Irish language is, sometimes, a strange language--would you believe?
Flags (Jean Bolger/Mick Bolger), Oxford Road Publishing, BMI.
George Bernard Shaw once described patriotism as the notion that "this is the greatest country in the world because I was born here." As an European and as an Irishman, I have a dread of nationalism and of the facility with which we can think of human beings that we don't know as 'the other.' My parents explained it to me quite simply--'everybody is your flesh and blood.'
The Best Dream (Rod Garnett), Oxford Road publishing, BMI.
'The Best Dream' was written by Rod for his wife, Sandy--the infamous 'Subsitute Librarian.' The title is from a song lyric--"The best dream I have is you."
Margaret's Birthday (Mike Fitzmaurice), Oxford Road publishing, BMI.
'Margaret's Birthday' is dedicated by Mike to his aunt, Margaret Licht, on the occasion of her 100th birthday. We were rehearsing the tune on the very day--December 13, 1999.
Cuaichin Ghleann Neifin (Traditional)
This is a great melody; you'll find words to it in all the song traditions of Ireland--and they're still writing them. This one is my favorite. It starts with a farewell--the man is leaving for a long time--until the cuckoo sings on top of the trees. The woman he loves is as beautiful as the blooming sloe-flower or the daisies 'swimming' in the valleys or the sun over Carnain shining on him in the street. It is fine for the path on which she walks, and finer still for the ground she walks on--but finest of all for the young man who is about to marry her.
Bolton Street Medley (Bolton Street/The Silver Tip/The Silver Spire/The Green Fields of Roscommon) Traditional
'Bolton Street' is a street in Dublin: home to the famous Bolton Street College. 'The Silver Tip' is the only piece we've ever recorded twice. It was part of a medley we put on a tape many years ago. I am very fond of both versions. Rod steps out on 'The Silver Spire' and we end with a paean to the lovely 'Green Fields of Roscommon.'
