Monday, March 15, 2010

Irish Fact of the Day #11


Irish Music is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the entire island of Ireland. More After Lyrics.....

One of my favorites


In the merry month of June, From my home I started,
Left the girls of Tuam, Nearly broken hearted,
Saluted me father dear, Kissed me darling mother,
Drank a pint of beer, My grief and tears to smother,
Then off to reap the corn, And leave where I was born,
Cut a stout blackthorn, To banish ghost and goblin,
In a brand new pair of brogues, go rattling o'er the bogs,
Frightening all the dogs, On the rocky road to Dublin.

One, two, three, four, five

In Mullingar last night, I rested limbs so weary,
Started by daylight, Next morning bright and early,
Took a drop of the pure, To keep my heart from sinking,
That's the Paddy's cure, When he's on the drinking.
See the lassies smile, Laughing all the while,
At me darling style, 'Twould set your heart a-bubbling.
Asked me was I hired, The wages I required,
Till I was almost tired, Of the rocky road to Dublin.

One, two, three, four, five
Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road and all the way to Dublin, whack-fol-la-de-da!

In Dublin next arrived, I thought it such a pity,
To be so soon deprived, A view of that fine city.
Decided to take a stroll, All among the quality,
My bundle it was stole, In a neat locality;
Something crossed my mind, When I looked behind;
No bundle could I find, Upon me stick a wobbling.
Enquiring for a rogue, They said me Connacht brogue,
Wasn't much in vogue, On the rocky road to Dublin.

One, two, three, four, five
Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road and all the way to Dublin, whack-fol-la-de-da!

From there I got away, Me spirits never failing
Landed on the quay just as the ship was sailing;
Captain at me roared, Said that no room had he,
then I jumped aboard, A cabin found for Paddy,
Down among the pigs played some funny rigs,
Danced some hearty jigs, The water round me bubbling,
When off to Holyhead, Wished myself was dead,
Or better far instead, On the rocky road to Dublin.

One, two, three, four, five
Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road and all the way to Dublin, whack-fol-la-de-da!

The boys of Liverpool, When we safely landed,
Called meself a fool; I could no longer stand it;
Blood began to boil, Temper I was losing,
Poor old Erin's isle They began abusing,
"Hurrah my soul," sez I, Let the shillelagh fly;
Some Galway boys were nigh, Saw I was a hobbling,
With a loud hurray, They joined me in the fray.
Soon we cleared the way, O'er the rocky road to Dublin.

One, two, three, four, five
Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road and all the way to Dublin, whack-fol-la-de-da!
One, two, three, four, five
Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road and all the way to Dublin, whack-fol-la-de-da!

******************

Some of the best known "Irish music" was written by men who never stepped foot in Ireland.
I'll take you home again, Kathleen
was written by a school teacher in Indiana.
It's a long way to Tipperary was written by a London vaudeville performer.
Frederick Edward Weatherly, who wrote Danny Boy was an English lawyer.

The most recorded distinctly Irish song is called May Morning Dew.
Here is a version by The Chieftains


The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20Th, and into the 21st century, despite globalizing cultural forces. In spite of emigration and a well-developed connection to music influences from Britain and the United States, Irish music has kept many of its traditional aspects and has itself influenced many forms of music, such as bluegrass, country and roots music in the USA, which in turn have had some influence on modern rock music. It has occasionally been fused with rock and roll, punk rock and other genres. Some of these fusion artists have attained mainstream success, at home and abroad.Examples are U2 and Thin Lizzy.

Some of the best know traditional Irish music includes the use of a few instruments whose names might not be known to many. The bodhran(pronounced booh ran or bore ron),the uilleann(pronounced ill-in or ill-yun) pipes are two that are frequently used in traditional music.They also use tin whistles, fiddles, accordions, Concertinas, and harps.


Unaccompanied vocals ar sean nós ("in the old style") are considered the ultimate expression of traditional singing. This is usually performed solo (very occasionally as a duet). Sean-nós singing is highly ornamented and the voice is placed towards the top of the range. A true sean-nós singer will vary the melody of every verse, but not to the point of interfering with the words, which are considered to have as much importance as the melody.


The term Caoineadh(pron. queen-ah) is an Irish/Gaelic term which translates as crying/weeping. The Caoineadh-type song is therefore a lament song which is typified by lyrics which stress sorrow and pain. Traditionally, the Caoineadh song contained lyrics in which the singer lamented for Ireland after having being forced to emigrate due to political or financial reasons.

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