Radio Dé Danann

Get Your Music Played on Radio Dé Danann!

2012-01-11T10:56:00.000-08:00

We love to play music by independent musicians! We make sure at least one track from each independent band or solo artist is played almost every week.

All you have to do to get your recordings played is send them to us!

Notice: We can't pay you. Why? Because we don't make a dime, a peso, a penny, a drachma, nothing. Nada, zip. So consider this your notice that if you send us your recording, you are doing so freely and with no expectation of getting royalties or the like.

Contact us at hawthorne@nanhawthorne.com to find out how to send your mp3s to us.

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Winter

2011-11-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

Starting this week we pepper our usual eclectic selection of music from the pan-Celtic world with winter and holiday selections, increasing the proportion as the weeks go by. We even some some Celtic Hanukkah music. If you have tracks or requests, just go to our station and use the "Slout" form to contact us.. include your email address if you want an answer.

<- The image avove left -- isn't it gorgeous ?-- is from a Celtic Christmas shop online with stunning cards and other gifts. Take a look!

Chicken on a Raft: Ships and Sailors Week

2011-11-18T20:19:00.000-08:00

Delicious Chicken on a Raft

(Cyril Tawney)

Skipper in the wardroom drinkin' gin,
Hey yo, chicken on a raft!
I don't mind knockin', but I ain't goin' in!
Hey yo, chicken on a raft!

The jimmy's laughin' like it'd rain,
Hey yo, chicken on a raft!
He's lookin' at me comic cuts again!
Hey yo, chicken on a raft!

Chorus

Chicken on a raft on a Monday morning,
Oh, what a terrible sight to see,
Dabtoes forward and the dustmen aft,
Sittin' there a'pickin' at a chicken on a raft!
Hi, ho, chicken on a raft!
Hey, ho, chicken on a raft!
Hi, ho, chicken on a raft!
Hey, ho, chicken on a raft!

Gave me the middle and the forenoon too,
Now I'm pullin' on a whalin' crew.
Seagulls wheelin' overhead,
I oughter be home in me featherbed!

I had a little girl in Donny-B,
And did she make a fool of me.
Her heart was like a pusser's shower,
Run hot to cold in a quarter of an hour!

We kissed goodbye on a midnight bus,
She didn't cry and she didn't fuss,
Am I that one she loves the best,
Or just a cuckoo in another man's nest?

An amazon girl lived in Dumfries,
Only had her kids in two's and three's,
She's got a sister in Maryhill,
Says she won't but I think she will!

Author M. Kei, Pirates of the Narrow Seas series, offers this glossary of terms in the song:

Dabtoes are ordinary seamen, from getting their feet wet while swabbing the deck. Dustmen are taking out the trash, ie, heaving it overboard (20th century dustmen were stokers in the engine room. They got the dirty jobs.) These are standard morning chores. The jimmy is jimmy-number-one, ie, the first lieutenant/executive officer. The middle and forenoon are two watches, the middle 0000-0400 and the forenoon 0800-1200, so our narrator is standing watch-and-watch and is no doubt very tired. Comic cuts are orders--our poor narrator is about to be run ragged again. Pusser is the purser, ie, the ship's accountant, famous for cheating the men. Donny-B is Donnibristle, a place name.

Thanks, M. Kei!

Scotland the Rave

2011-11-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

For once it's not a typo.. I mean "Rave". Enjoy this week's playlist dedicated to the music of Scotland.

Gearing Up for the Winter Holidays

2011-11-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

It may be early November, but we are gearing up for our Winter holidays playlist, four weeks of an increasingly dense mix of music for Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's. Even the Same Difference program will be seasonal: Greensleeves, Wexford Carol, Suo Gann and Auld Lang Syne.

So get your Celtic Holiday music requests in soon!holiday

Back to Normal... So To Speak

2011-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

Your broadcaster is immersed in national Novel Writing Month, so sit back and enjoy a broad mix of Pan-Celtic music!

Halloween Music Continues...

2011-10-28T14:43:00.001-07:00

to haunt you through October 31.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Have a scary Samain with ghosties and

ghooulies and dead things of all clans and

fairies and banshees and devils and things

that go bump in the night, Celtic style!

The Ballads

2011-10-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

A Gypsy Tale
A Maid In Bedlam
Ballad of Accounting
Ballad of General Shields
Battle of Rory McGuinness
Barbry Ellen (Barbara Allen)
Battle of Waterloo
Bonnie Jean Cameron
Bonnie Lass of Anglesea
Bridgett O'malley
British Grenadiers
Bruton Town
Captain Jack and the Mermaid
Fair Margaret Sweet William
FairColleensAll
Foggy Dew
Frank Gardiner Is Caught At Last
Gallant Hussar
Galway Shawl
Glenlogie
Grace O' Malley
Gypsy Rover
In London So Fair
Lord Randall
Lord Thomas And Fair Annie
Nicky Tans - Bothy Ballad
Pleasant Ballad
Poor Ned (Ballad of Ned Kelly)
Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford
Rosemary Lane - Rosemary Lane
Royal Navy
Sir Gavin Grimbold
Sir Patrick Spens
Streets of Forbes Ben Hall Ballad
The Ballad of Blind Mattie
The Ballad of Cappy John
The Ballad of Edward Fitzgerald
The Ballad of Henry and nnah
The Ballad of the Ship
The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
The Banks of Newfoundland
The Banks Of The Nile
The Battle Of Harlaw - Play Live
The Battle Of Lake Erie
The Disappointment or The Force of Credulity
The Exile
The Female Captain
The House Carpenter
The Kind Country Lovers broadside ballad
The King s Shilling
The Nightingale
The Slow Men of London and The Jovial Broo
The Wild Colonial Boy
The Wild Rover
Two Brothers
Waltzing Mathilda
Whiskey in the Jar
Wild Kitty

A partial list... listen to learn more.

Ballads: What Makes Them Tick?

2011-10-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Barbara Allen's Cruelty, by Henry Matthew Broc

This week's Same Difference is one tof the most familiar ballads in the English language, Barbara Allen. It is the story of a young woman for the love of whom a young man is dying but who is cold hearted to him even at his death bedside. She realizes her mistake after he dies, dies for love or for guilt, and the rose and brier growing from theirgraves entwine as a symbol of thwarted lvoe. If I didn't know better I would think that everyone of those "dying for lovve" ballads was written by a fourteen year old girl. happily, with maturity comes a realization that someone who dies for love of someone who loves them not is probably going to turn out to be unbearably needy.

Fortunately that's not the olnly kind of ballad. I humbly point to my own composition, performed by Druidsong on this station, "The Ballad of Rory McGuinness" -- at least he dies by something tangible. Listen this week to hear a lot of stories being told musically.

So this week we conside, just what is a ballad?

Ballad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many ballads were written and sold as single sheet broadsides. The form was often used by poets and composers from the 18th century onwards to produce lyrical ballads. In the later 19th century it took on the meaning of a slow form of popular love song and the term is now often used as synonymous with any love song, particularly the pop or rock power ballad.

Origins

The ballad probably derives its name from medieval French dance songs or "ballares" (from which we also get ballet), as did the alternative rival form that became the French Ballade. In theme and function they may originate from Scandinavian and Germanic traditions of storytelling that can be seen in poems such as Beowulf. The earliest example we have of a recognisable ballad in form in England is ‘Judas’ in a 13th-century manuscript.

Ballad form

Most, but not all, northern and west European ballads are written in ballad stanzas or quatrains (four-line stanzas) of alternating lines of iambic (an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable) tetrameter (eight syllables) and iambic trimeter (six syllables), known as ballad meter. Usually, only the second and fourth line of a quatrain are rhymed (in the scheme a, b, c, b), which has been taken to suggest that, originally, ballads consisted of couplets (two lines) of rhymed verse, each of 14 syllables. As can be seen in this stanza from ‘Lord Thomas and Fair Annet’:

The horse| fair Ann|et rode| upon|
He amb|led like| the wind|,
With sil|ver he| was shod| before,
With burn|ing gold| behind|.

However, there is considerable variation on this pattern in almost every respect, including length, number of lines and rhyming scheme, making the strict definition of a ballad extremely difficult. In southern and eastern Europe, and in countries that derive their tradition from them, ballad structure differs significantly, like Spanish romanceros, which are octosyllabic and use consonance rather than rhyme.

In all traditions most ballads are narrative in nature, with a self-contained story, often concise and relying on imagery, rather than description, which can be tragic, historical, romantic or comic.Another common feature of ballads is repetition, sometimes of fourth lines in succeeding stanzas, as a refrain, sometimes of third and fourth lines of a stanza and sometimes of entire stanzas.

Composition

Scholars of ballads are often divided into two camps, the ‘communalists’ who, following the line established by the German scholar Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803) and the Brothers Grimm, argue that ballads arose by a combined communal effort and did not have a single author, and ‘individualists’, following the thinking of English collector Cecil Sharp, who assert that there was a single original author. The communalist position tends to lead to the view that more recent, particularly printed broadside ballads, where we may even know the author, are a debased form of the genre. The individualists position has tended to lead to the view that later changes in the words of ballads are corruptions of an original text. More recently scholars have pointed to the interchange of oral and written forms of the ballad.

Classification

European Ballads have been generally classified into three major groups: traditional, broadside and literary. In America a distinction is drawn between ballads that are versions of European, particularly British and Irish songs, and 'native American ballads', developed without reference to earlier songs. A further development was the evolution of the blues ballad, which mixed the genre with Afro-American music. For the late 19th century the music publishing industry found a market for what are often termed sentimental ballads, and these are the origin of the modern use of the term ballad to mean a slow love song.

Traditional ballads

Broadsides

Main article: Broadside (music)

Broadside ballads (also known as 'roadsheet’, ‘stall’, ‘vulgar’ or ‘come all ye’ ballads) were a product of the development of cheap print in the 16th century. They were generally printed on one side of a medium to large sheet of poor quality paper. In their heyday of the first half of the 17th century, they were printed in black-letter or gothic type and included multiple, eye-catching illustrations, a popular tune tile, as well as an alluring poem.^[9] By the 18th century, they were printed in white letter or roman type and often without much decoration (as well as tune title). These later sheets could include many individual songs, which would be cut apart and sold individually as "slipsongs." Alternatively, they might be folded to make small cheap books or "chapbooks" which often drew on ballad stories. They were produced in huge numbers, with over 400,000 being sold in England annually by the 1660s. Tessa Watt estimates the number of copies sold may have been in the millions. Many were sold by travelling chapmen in city streets or at fairs.The subject matter varied from what has been defined as the traditional ballad, although many traditional ballads were printed as broadsides. Among the topics were love, religion, drinking-songs, legends, and early journalism, which included disasters, political events and signs, wonders and prodigies.

Literary ballads

Literary or lyrical ballads grew out of an increasing interest in the ballad form among social elites and intellectuals, particularly in the Romantic movement from the later 18th century. Respected literary figures like Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott in Scotland both collected and wrote their own ballads, using the form to create an artistic product. Similarly in England William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge produced a collection of Lyrical Ballads in 1798, including Coleridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’. At the same time in Germany Goethe cooperated with Schiller on a series of ballads, some of which were later set to music by Schubert^1. Later important examples of the poetic form included Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Barrack Room Ballads’ (1892-6) and Oscar Wilde’s ‘Ballad of Reading Gaol’ (1897).

The Irish in Australia

2011-10-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

Australians (Irish: Gael-Astrálach) have played a long and enduring part in Australia's history. Many came to Australia in the eighteenth century as settlers or as convicts, and contributed to Australia's development in many different areas.

There is no definitive figure of the total number of Australians with an Irish background. At the 2006 Census, 1,803,741 residents identified themselves as having Irish ancestry either alone or in combination with another ancestry. This nominated ancestry was third behind English and Australian in terms of the largest number of responses. However this figure does not include Australians with an Irish background who chose to nominate themselves as 'Australian' or other ancestries. The Australian Embassy in Dublin states that up to 30 percent of the population claim some degree of Irish ancestry.

The 2006 Australian Census recorded 650,256 born in the Republic of Ireland.

Demographic history

Around 40,000 Irish convicts were transported to Australia between 1791 and 1867, many for political activity, including those who had participated in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the 1803 Rising of Robert Emmet and the Young Ireland skirmishes in 1848 in the midst of the Great Famine. Once in Australia, many of these prisoners continued to plan escapes from British military custody — for example, the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion, and continual tension on Norfolk Island in the same year also led to an Irish revolt. Both risings were soon crushed. In these decades, the Irish language was the main language of Irish prisoners, and many Irish were flogged or killed by fellow convicts for speaking what was seen as a conspiratorial tongue. As late as the 1860s, Fenian prisoners were being transported, particularly to Western Australia, where the Catalpa rescue of Irish radicals off Rockingham was a memorable episode.

Other than convicts, most of the laborers who voluntarily emigrated to Australia in the 19th century were not drawn from the poorest sector of British and Irish society. After 1831, the Australian colonies employed a system of government assistance in which all or most immigration costs were paid for chosen immigrants, and the colonial authorities used these schemes to exercise some control over immigration. While these assisted schemes were biased against the poorest elements of society, the very poor could overcome these hurdles in several ways, such as relying on local assistance or help from relatives.

The number of Ireland-born in Australia peaked in 1891, when the colonial Census accounted for 228,232. A decade later the number of Ireland-born had dropped to 184,035. Dominion status for the Irish Free State in 1922 did not diminish arrivals from Ireland as Irish people were still British subjects. This changed after the Second World War, as people migrating from the new Republic of Ireland (which came into being in April 1949) were no longer British subjects eligible for the assisted passage. People from Northern Ireland continued to be eligible for this and continued to be seen officially as British. Only during the 1960s did migration from the south of Ireland reduce significantly. By 2002, around one thousand persons born in Ireland — north and south — were migrating permanently to Australia each year. For the year 2005-2006, 12,554 Irish entered Australia to work under the Working Holiday visa scheme.

Orphans

Over four thousand young female orphans from Irish workhouses were shipped to the Australian colonies at the time of the Great Famine (1848–50) to meet a demand for domestic servants. Treated with hostility by Australian public opinion, and often exploited or abused by employers and others, the girls frequently died in poverty. Some, however, made upwardly mobile marriages, often surviving older husbands to experience long widowhoods. The Catholic Church only became involved in the 1870s, when its relief agencies in England were overwhelmed with Irish immigration; still, only about 10% of the resettlements were through Catholic agencies until after World War II. Australian Catholic groups began importing children in the 1920s to increase the Catholic population, and became heavily engaged in placing and educating them after World War II. The practice quietly died out during the 1950s.

Status of the Irish

Walker (2007) compares Irish immigrant communities in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Great Britain respecting issues of identity and 'Irishness.' Religion remained the major cause of differentiation in all Irish diaspora communities and had the greatest impact on identity, followed by the nature and difficulty of socioeconomic conditions faced in each new country and the strength of continued social and political links of Irish immigrants and their descendants with the old country. From the late 20th century onward, Irish identity abroad became increasingly cultural, nondenominational, and nonpolitical, although many emigrants from Northern Ireland stood apart from this trend.

For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, Irish Australians — particularly but not exclusively Catholics — were treated with suspicion in a sectarian atmosphere. The outlaw Ned Kelly (1855–80) achieved the status of a national folk hero; ballads, films and paintings have since 1878 kept the feisty robber's tale alive. Kelly, who was hanged for murder, is often viewed romantically as the sort of treatment Irish Catholics in Australia could expect: in reality, however, most of the Irish were urban workers who experienced less official discrimination in Australia than they had at home in Ireland, and many Irish Australians — Catholic and Protestant — rose to positions of wealth and power in the colonial hierarchy. Many Irish men, for example, entered law, the judiciary and politics, while in Ned Kelly's time 80% of the Victorian police were Irish-born, and half of those had served in the Royal Irish Constabulary. In major cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, Irish social and political associations were formed, including the Melbourne Celtic Club, which survives today. The Irish settler in Australia - both voluntary and forced - was crucial to the survival and prosperity of the early colonies both demographically and economically. 300,000 Irish free settlers arrived between 1840 and 1914. By 1871, the Irish were a quarter of all overseas-born.

St. Patrick’s Day

O'Farrell (1995) demonstrates the importance of St. Patrick to the Irish, whether northern or republican, Protestant or Catholic, and how Australian manifestations of the Irish festival evolved. St. Patrick's Day became an expression of Irish identity and was emblematic of Irish culture and traditional separatism that migrated with the Irish to Australia. The early immigrants to Australia from Ireland were mainly members of penal colonies; assemblies or any such expression of Irish culture were not permitted. St. Patrick's Day at first was the exception, because it was not highly political, was ecumenical and was subordinate to the wider recognition of Britain. The situation changed, however, in the 1830s with the growth of wealthy Irish Catholic emancipists and the introduction of Irish Catholic priests. These factors gave rise to conflicts and tensions that were to remain constant thereafter as the rise and decline of domestic Irish political movements influenced the Irish population in Australia. With the outbreak of World War I, imperatives imposed by the demands of war overshadowed Australian Irish sentiment.

Orange

The idea of fraternity and how to organize it was one of 19th-century Europe's invisible exports to the New World. Fitzpatrick (2005) explores the international diffusion of the Loyal Orange Institution, with comparative reference to Freemasonry, its main model. Three alternative explanations are discussed for its appeal outside Ireland: that it facilitated the assimilation of emigrants, transmitted 'tribal' Irish animosities to fresh contexts, or adapted itself to preexisting sectarian rivalries abroad. These hypotheses are tested using evidence from South Australia, where Orangeism flourished in the absence of heavy Ulster immigration. A collective profile of Orange South Australia is derived from lodge records showing age, religious denomination, and occupation, and the appeal of Orangeism is related to local political and religious contexts. In this case, Orangeism was primarily an export of organizational techniques rather than Irish personnel or bigotry.

Catholic Nuns

McGrath, (1995) demonstrates the success of the Catholic nuns who arrived in Parramatta, New South Wales, from Ireland in 1888, noting their group's growth from nine newcomers into a flourishing congregation of over two hundred women within sixty years. By the 1950s this group of women religious was responsible for 24 primary schools, five secondary schools, and two orphanages. In Australia they carried on the Irish tradition of the Sisters of Mercy and lived a monastic lifestyle. Their sparsely furnished bedrooms were referred to as cells. There was little or no heating. The sisters sustained their monastic lifestyle by a spirituality that originates from the 17th-century school of spirituality. Their relationship to the clergy was one of devotion, dedication, and subordination. They kept themselves very much in the shadow of the clergy, reflecting the status of women in the larger population. It was societal pressures from without that eventually led to the decline of the Sisters of Mercy as Australia moved into the 1960s. Radical reevaluations forced a restructuring of the Catholic Church as a whole, and a rethinking of what kinds of service the Church would require in modern times.

Politics

Before 1890, Irish Catholics opposed Henry Parkes, the main liberal leader, and free trade, since both represented Protestant, English landholding and wealthy business interests. In the great strike of 1890 Cardinal Moran, the head of the church, was sympathetic toward unions, but Catholic newspapers were critical of labor throughout the decade. After 1900, Catholics joined the Labor Party because its stress on equality and social welfare appealed to people who were workers and small farmers. In the 1910 elections Labor gained in areas where the concentration of Catholics was above average, and the number of Catholics in Labor's parliamentary ranks rose.

World War I

Irish Catholics comprised a quarter of Australia's population in the early 20th century. They were largely working-class and voted for the Labor Party. The referendum on conscription in 1917, following the Easter Uprising in Dublin, caused an identification between the Irish, Sinn Féin, and the anticonscription section of Labor. Proconscription forces exploited this, denouncing outspoken anticonscription Catholics, such as Archbishop Mannix, and T. J. Ryan, the premier of Queensland, for disloyalty. In general, Protestants, armed with the authority of tradition, championed the idea of Australia as an integral part of the Empire; and Catholics, freed from that authority by their Irish origins and their working-class affiliations, looked to the future by placing Australia first and the Empire second. There was no simple correlation between Catholicism, Protestantism and conscription, but the idea of an anticonscription Catholic-Labor alliance stuck for many years.

Sports

Irish-Catholics have been the nation's largest minority throughout most of Australia's history. Their resistance to the elite Anglocentric establishment has keenly marked the development of sport. Mostly working class, the Irish played sports such as rugby and Australian Rules football, while the Protestant majority often preferred cricket, soccer, and boxing. The tensions and contrasts between these two sporting cultures eventually built the attitudes and beliefs toward games and sports that Australians share today.

The Present Day

At the 2006 Census 50,256 Australian residents declared they were born in the Republic of Ireland. Cities with the largest Irish-born populations were Sydney (12,730), Melbourne (8,950) and Perth (7,060).

At the 2006 Census 1,803,741 Australians declared they had Irish ancestry either alone or in combination with another ancestry; only Australian and English ancestries were more frequently nominated.

According to census data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2004, Irish Australians are, by religion, 46.2% Roman Catholic, 15.3% Anglican, 13.5% other Christian denomination, 3.6% other religions, and 21.5% "No Religion".

Irish Australian settlement patterns are not significantly different to those of the Australian population as a whole — that is, a third live in New South Wales and a quarter live in Victoria — except that around 22 per cent live in Queensland (compared to only 18 per cent of the general population). Relatively few as a proportion reside in Western Australia (7.6 per cent of Irish Australians compared to 9.9 per cent of the general population).

The 2001 Australian census recorded that persons reporting some Irish Australian ethnicity accounted for 10.7 per cent of all responses in the Australian Capital Territory (42,540 responses), 10.2 per cent in Victoria (469,161 responses), 9.9 per cent in New South Wales (622,944), 9.7 per cent in Queensland (433,354), 7.8 per cent in Tasmania (42,552), 7.6 per cent in Western Australia (171,667), 7.5 per cent in the Northern Territory (18,325) and 6.7 per cent in South Australia (119,063).

918 persons at the 2006 Census reported using the Irish language at home.

Further reading

Jupp, James. The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins (2002)
O'Farrell, Patrick. The Irish in Australia: 1798 to the Present Day (3rd ed. Cork University Press, 2001)
Wells, Andrew, and Theresa Martinez, eds. Australia's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook (ABC-CLIO, 2004)

From Wikipedia.

Where In the celtic World?

2011-09-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Take a trip around the Celtic world with this week's play list containing songs about places like Dublin, Cardiff, Cape Breton, London, Edinburgh, Toronto.. not to mention Australia, Ballyhooley, Liverpool and Americay. See if you can keep up with all the towns, geographic features and political entities.

Nan's and Jim's Special Favorites

2011-09-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

Jinn and I each have our favorite tracks, a rather wide ranging selection if you ask me. We admittedly veer off the genre (Celtic) at times, but we hope you will enjoy both the music and getting to know our divers and rather revealing tastes.

Nan and Jim at Snoqualmie Falls, Washington

Some of our favorites - see if you can guess who likes what!

Ballad of Rory McGuiness - Ballad of Rory McGuiness - Johnny Jump Up
Changing Your Demeanour - Changing Your Demeanour - Long Black Veil
Fair Colleens All
Galician Waltzmp Gladly Playe Wyth Stryngs
Pinafore (or The Lass that Loved a Sailor) Act I
Grace OMalley - Grace O'Malley - Somewhere Along The Road
Handsome Meadow Boy Dransfield - Handsome Meadow Boy - Folk Favorites
Henry Joy - Henry Joy - Irish Songs Of Freedom - Volume
John Tams - A Sailor's Life - The Reckoning
Jon Boden - Gallant Hussar - A Folk Song A Day
Joyfull Strings - Suo Gan - Blessings of Christmasn/a
Keltish - Annie Laurie - Keltish
Kevin Conneff - I'M Here Because I'M Here - The Week Before Easter
Lower the Sails - Lower the Sails - Water Journeys
Lucky Mud - Royal Navy Man - The Tinkers (Our Celtic Roots)n/a
Marc Gunn & The Dubliners' Tab - Wild Kitty - Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers
Matthew Manning - the lark in the clear air - Silver River
Maxine Sullivan - Annie Laurie - The Very Best Ofn/a
Meg Davis - Captain Jack and the Mermaid - Captain Jack and the Mermaidn/a
Milt Briggs - Annie Laurie - Milt Briggs Champion Whistlern/a
Monte Rey - Annie Laurie - Best Of The sn/a
Nell Flaherty s Drake - Nell Flaherty's Drake - Irish Songs of Drinking and Rebellion
Ogma/Live recording - Back Home in Derry - Druidsong
Original TV Soundtrack - Sharpe's Song / Sharpe's Theme - Over the Hills and Far Away
Penny Merriments - The Female Captain - No Album
Please Don t Bend - Please Don't Bend - Try for the Sun - The Journey of Donovan
Republican Flag - Republican Flag - Maintain the Rage
Rira With Stuart Mitchell - Roddy Mccorley - Mischievous Merriment & Other Noble Sentiments
Roll Down Cyril Tawney The Transports - Roll Down - The Transports
Sandy Brechin and Ewan Wilkinson - Kings & Queens of England - The Sunday Night
Sinéad O'Connor - He Moved Through the Fair - Long Black Veil
Tanzila - Tanzila - The Other Side
Terry O'Neill - Wolfe Tone - Irish Rebels - Historical Songs
The Bold Robert Emmet - The Bold Robert Emmet - A Nation Once Again
The Hennesseys - Grangetown Whale - Bluebirds
The Johnstons - Spanish Lady - Folk Favorites
The King Of Ballyhooley - The King Of Ballyhooley - No Bedrolls Or Backpacksn/a
The McCallmans - Smuggler - Folk Favorites
The Music of Sharpen/a
The Pirates Of St Piran - Captain Kidd - Three Sheets To The Wind (Another Night At The Mermaid
The Whiskey Bards - Drunken Sailor - Women Whiskey and War
The Wolfe Tones - Admiral William Brown - A Sense Of Freedomn/a
The X-Seamen'S Institute - Heart of Oak - Heart of Oak!n/a
The X-Seamen'S Institute - Strike the Bell - Heart of Oak!n/a
The Yew Tree Ed Miller Never Frae My Mind - The Yew Tree - Never Frae My Mind
The Young Tradition - John Barleycorn - Transatlantic Folk Box Set
Thomas "Doc" Grauzer - Gentle Maiden - Infernal Harp Racket
Whiskey In the Jar Dub - Whiskey In the Jar - Whiskey In the Jar - Essential Irish Drinking Songs

Jigs Etc. Times Two

2011-09-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

Our latest playlist runs no fewer than 140 tracks, all dances, and that is well over eleven hours' worth. So rather than upload a n ew playlist, let's let those good times roll for another seven days, eh?

Jigs and Reels and Hornpipes, Oh My!

2011-09-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

Highland fling

Starting two weeks of Celtic and related dances!

Definitions for some of the aong and dance types common to Celtic musical traditions.

jig
Any of various lively dances in triple time. The music for such a dance. Also called gigue.
Example: Morrison's Jig, The Irish Experience

reel
Any of various lively Scottish dances, such as the eightsome reel and foursome reel for a fixed number of couples who combine in square and circular formations. Music, other) a piece of music having eight quavers to the bar composed for or in the rhythm of this dance.
Example: Yester's Reel, Old Grey Goose

hornpipe
An old British solo dance to a hornpipe accompaniment, traditionally performed by sailors. A piece of music for such a dance
Example: Irish Hornpipe, Thomas Fraser

fling
A lively Scottish dance.
Example: Flings in a Row, Trianam

air
A simple tune for either vocal or instrumental performance.
Example: Hindeg (Welsh Air), Idlewild

waltz
A ballroom dance in triple time with a strong accent on the first beat. A piece of music for this dance. An instrumental or vocal composition in triple time.
Example: Genevieve's Waltz, Mithril

ballad
A narrative poem, often of folk origin and intended to be sung, consisting of simple stanzas and usually having a refrain. The music for such a poem.
Example: McLeod's Lament (I will go) , Paul Murray & David McKeown

march
A piece of music, usually in four beats to the bar, having a strongly accented rhythm
Example: Brian Boru's March, James Galway and Marisa Robles

round
A part song in which the voices follow each other at equal intervals at the same pitch.
Example: Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Kidztown Kids

fancy
Also called fantasy fantasia Music a composition for solo lute, keyboard, etc., current during the 16th and 17th centuries
Example: Rovers Fancy, The Irish Rovers

step dance
A dance in which emphasis is placed on certain steps, such as clogging or tapping, rather than body position or gesture.
Example:

WE DID IT!

2011-09-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

1,000 presets!!!!!

And the winner of the sweepstakes is Rowan Plantagenet! She chose September 4th.. and no one chose the 5th... so the CDs, bumper stickers and playlist choices are all hers!

Thanks to all of you who entered.. and to the increddible listeners to Radio Dé Danann: Music of the pan-Celtic World on Live365.com!

Down To the Wire

2011-09-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

As of this writing we are at 99 presets!

Here are all the entries:

~~August 20 - 98a4e67c-c5bc-11e0-b5bb-000bcdcb471e~~
~~August 29 - Sarah Glenn~~
~~August 30 - Smantha Ruskin~~
~~September 3 - Ron Franzzetti~~
~~September 3 - Suzy Witten~~
September 4 - Rowan Plantagenet
September 6 - Kathy Tedford Waddell
September 7 - Noveleagle
September 10 - Jim
September 10 - Michael Scott mcGinn

Presets are when a listener chooses to put a station on his/her set of five s/he wasnts to visit again. One can also set a station as a favorite.. of those we have forty-odd.

As dates pass I will cross them out.

The winner will receive four CDs od Celtic music:

David Kincaid's The irish American Song
Marc Gunn's Kilted For Her Pleasure plus bumper stickers
Druidsong's Rebels and Rogues
The Mickey's Dryad

And.. you get to choose songs for a future play list!!!

So stay tuned.. literally and figuratively!

Your Lucky Star?

2011-09-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

We are due to hit 1000 presets any day now.. today, tomorrow, the next?

Perhaps your lucky star is this week's Same Difference, "Star of the County Down"?

"Star of the County Down" is an old Irish ballad set near Banbridge in County Down, in Ireland. The words are by Cathal McGarvey, 1866-1927, from Ramelton, County Donegal.^[ The tune of the song, a pentatonic melody, is similar to that of several other works, including the almost identical English tune "Kingsfold", well known from several popular hymns, such as "Led By the Spirit." The folk tune was the basis for Ralph Vaughan Williams' Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus.

The melody was also used in an old Irish folk song called My Love Nell. The lyrics of My Love Nell tell the story of young man who courts a girl but loses her when she emigrates to America. The only real similarity with Star of the County Down is that Nell too comes from County Down. This may have inspired McGarvey to place the heroine of his new song in Down as well. McGarvey was from Donegal.

The Star of the County Down uses a tight rhyme scheme. Each stanza is a double quatrain, and the first and third lines of each quatrain have an internal rhyme on the second and fourth feet: [aa]b[cc]b. The refrain is a single quatrain with the same rhyming pattern.

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 (or Rosie) 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 imagines wedding the girl.
One popular arrangement was recorded by Rick Summer Droit on his CD released in 2000. A popular adaptation (keeping the music, but changing the lyrics) is "The Fighting 69th", which is about the famed Irish Brigade of the American Civil War. Michael Card includes a rendition on his album Starkindler.

The melody is also used for the carol "The Seven Rejoices of Mary," sung by Loreena McKennitt on A Midwinter Night's Dream and for the eponymous song on The Wind That Shakes the Barley (album).

A parody of the song was produced by "Trifolkal" called "The Starbucks of County Down".

Lyrics

Near Banbridge town, in the County Down
One morning in July
Down a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín
And she smiled as she passed me by.
Oh she looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
To be sure I was really there.

Chorus:
And from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the sweet cailín
That I met in the County Down.

As she onward sped I shook my head
And I gazed with a feeling rare
And I said, says I, to a passerby
"Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?"
He smiled at me, and with pride says he,
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown.
She's young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann
She's the star of the County Down."

Chorus

I've travelled a bit, but never was hit
Since my roving career began
But fair and square I surrendered there
To the charms of young Rose McCann.
I'd a heart to let and no tenant yet
Did I meet with in shawl or gown
But in she went and I asked no rent
From the star of the County Down.

Chorus

At the crossroads fair I'll be surely there
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
And I'll try sheep's eyes, and deludhering lies
On the heart of the nut-brown rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Though with rust my plow turns brown
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down.

Chorus

The Countdown Begins!

2011-08-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

As of this writing, we only have ten presets to go to the 1000! Make sure you jump to it, because the goal may be reached any day now! If you have entered already, well enter again!

"She Moved Through the Fair"

"She Moved Through the Fair" (or "She Moves Through the Fair") is a traditional Irish folk song, existing in a number of versions and which has been recorded many times.

Origins

The song was first collected in Donegal by poet Padraic Colum and musicologist Herbert Hughes, and published by Boosey & Hawkes in London in a work entitled Irish Country Songs in 1909. The tune is in mixolydian mode. The lyrics were also published in Colum's 1922 book Wild earth: and other poems (though the book doesn't mention their traditional origin).

A longer variant of the song is called "Our Wedding Day". A related song, "Out of the Window", was collected by Sam Henry, from Eddie Butcher of Magilligan, Northern Ireland, around 1930, and published in Henry's Songs of the People. Another song, "I Once Had a True Love", also appears to be related, as it shares some lyrics with "She Moved Through the Fair".

The traditional singer Paddy Tunney learned it in County Fermanagh and recorded it in 1965. Other singers who sang it in the 50s/60s were Dominic Behan and Anne Briggs. It was a popular song among members of the Traveller community in Ireland by that time.
Fairport Convention recorded the song in 1968, adopting the style of the song from the influential travelling singer Margaret Barry, though she herself had learned it from a vinyl recording made by Count John McCormack at Abbey Road in 1941. Also of note are the recordings of the song by Alan Stivell in 1973.

Lyrics

One version of the lyrics is as follows:

My young love said to me,

My mother won't mind

And my father won't slight you

For your lack of kind.

And she laid her hand on me

And this she did say:

It will not be long, love,

Till our wedding day.

As she stepped away from me

And she moved through the fair

And fondly I watched her

Move here and move there.

And then she turned homeward,

With one star awake,

Like the swan in the evening

Moves over the lake.

The people were saying,

No two e'er were wed

But one had a sorrow

That never was said.

And I smiled as she passed

With her goods and her gear,

And that was the last

That I saw of my dear.

Last night she came to me,

My dead love came in.

So softly she came

That her feet made no din.

As she laid her hand on me,

And this she did say:

It will not be long, love,

'Til our wedding day.

Variants

Colum may have altered the traditional words significantly, perhaps cutting a number of verses; the variant of the song called Our Wedding Day has ten verses, to Colum's four. The song is often shortened further by omitting the third verse (above).
Several versions of the lyrics are in current use. For example, in the first line of Colum's version published in Wild earth:

My young love said to me, "My brothers won't mind,

the word 'brothers' is usually changed to 'mother'.
Similarly, the second line:

And my parents won't slight you for your lack of kind. [kind = goods or commodities]

is usually rendered:

And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind.

or even as:

And my father won't slight you for your lack of kine. [kine = cattle]

The original "My dead love" in verse 4 is often rendered as "my dear love", "my own love", or "my young love" (particularly when verse 3, which implies that the woman may have died, is omitted). In Colum's version, this final appearance of the woman is in a dream, whereas other versions imply she is a ghost.
In the variant called Our Wedding Day, the woman goes into the man's bedroom while he is asleep, but she is not dead; she then runs off with another suitor, and the man joins the army.

Alternative versions recounted by Paddy Tunney

The traditional singer Paddy Tunney relates^[6] how Colum "wrote" the song after returning from a literary gathering in Donegal with Herbert Hughes and others. Tunney suggests, however, that it would be more accurate to say that Colum simply improved an original traditional song which at that time had splintered into many variations throughout Ireland.
Tunney himself collected one version from an Irish singer called Barney McGarvey. This version was called I Once Had A True Love. The opening four lines are reminiscent of She Moved Through The Fair and the second four lines are unmistakably similar.
The words to the first verse are:
I once had a sweet-heart, I loved her so well
I loved her far better than my tongue could tell
Her parents they slight me for my want of gear
So adieu to you Molly, since your are not here
I dreamed last night that my true love came in
So softly she came that her feet made no din
She stepped up to me and this she did say
It will not be long love, till our wedding day

The remaining two verses, however, are quite different. Nevertheless, this opening verse shows how songs could be changed and adapted as they were passed down in the oral tradition.
Tunney also points to a version of the song which he learnt from his mother which she called, My Young Love Said to Me. The first verse is virtually the same as Colum's but the remaining three verses are quite different and describe how the woman in the song went off with another man. It is as follows:

My young love said to me, my mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind
And she went away from me and this she did say:
It will not be long now till our wedding day.

She went away from me and she moved through the fair
Where hand-slapping dealers' loud shouts rent the air
The sunlight around her did sparkle and play
Saying it will not be long now till our wedding day.
When dew falls on meadow and moths fill the night
When glow of the greeesagh on hearth throws half-light
I'll slip from the casement and we'll run away
And it will not be long love till our wedding day

According to promise at midnight he rose
But all that he found was the downloaded clothes
The sheets they lay empty 'twas plain for to see
And out of the window with another went she

Colum's version is more subtle. It gives no explanation for the young woman's disappearance, which gives the song a sense of mystery and allows the listener the freedom to interpret it in his or her own way.

Recordings

In recent times, following Fairport Convention's version of the song in the sixties, hundreds of artists have recorded this song in its traditional form. Most have kept to some form of the traditional lyrics: however, the versions by Sinéad O'Connor (as used in the soundtrack of the film Michael Collins), Trees and Nana Mouskouri change the gender of the pronouns and so the song became "He Moved Through the Fair". O'Connor and Trees' versions keep the original "She Moved Through the Fair" title on their sleeves, although Mouskouri changes the name to suit the variant. An alternative version of the lyrics was also used in Mary Black's version of the song.
Other notable versions:

Davey Graham recorded a version in 1962.

Anne Briggs sang an unaccompanied three-verse version in 1963.

Odetta recorded the song on her 1963 album, One Grain of Sand.

John Martyn's version was present on his 1967 debut album, London Conversation.

Alfred Deller performed a version of it with Desmond Dupre, for the Folksongs album.

Alan Stivell's 1972 version, sung in English, is also very close to the original song.

Roger Whittaker recorded a version for his 1977 release, Folksongs of our Island Vol 1.

Loreena McKennitt featured it on her 1985 album Elemental.

In 1986, Eyeless in Gaza featured an a cappella version on the album Back from the Rains.

All About Eve featured a version on their eponymous 1988 debut album, and often performed it live in their early days. Following an acrimonious departure from the band, guitarist Tim Bricheno would later use a sample of the vocal in the song "Wrong Thing", recorded by his later band, XC-NN.

In 1988 Van Morrison and the Chieftains recorded a version for the album Irish Heartbeat and a live version of it also appeared on Van Morrison's 1990 concert video, Van Morrison: The Concert.

In 1989 Simple Minds recorded a song called "Belfast Child", which made it to No. 1 in the UK Charts. This song uses the traditional tune associated with "She Moved Through the Fair", but with completely different words. The song appears on their album Street Fighting Years.

Marianne Faithfull featured a version on her 1990 album Blazing Away, and has often sung it in concert.

In 1991 it was recorded by Feargal Sharkey.

Máire Brennan recorded a version as a B-side to her 1992 single, "Against the Wind".

Jam Nation a recording project commissioned by Peter Gabriel for his 'Real World Records' label. Their rootsy, dubwise version is available on the album "Way Down Below Buffalo Hell" http://realworldrecords.com/catalogue/way-down-below-buffalo-hell/#

Sinéad O'Connor performed it on The Chieftains' collaborative album The Long Black Veil in 1995. She also recorded a solo version which was featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 film Michael Collins.

Irish Boyband Boyzone performed it on the album A Different Beat in 1996.

English musician Mike Oldfield covered the song on his 1996 album, Voyager.

For the Irish musical Lord of the Dance, which began touring in 1996, the musical score composed by Ronan Hardiman includes a version of the song from the female point of view sung by Anne Buckley.

Bert Jansch recorded a version for his 1998 album Toy Balloon.

In 1998, Sarah Brightman recorded a version (as "He Moved Through the Fair") as a B-side to her "Eden" single.

Alan Hacker and Tony Coe recorded an arrangement by Hacker, under the title "One Star Awake", on their 1999 album Sun moon and stars.

Charlie Zahm recorded it on his 1999 album The Celtic Balladeer.

Charlotte Church recorded the song on her 2000 album Charlotte Church.

Sissel and The Chieftains performed the song live at the Ole Blues Music Festival in Bergen, Norway on April 29, 2001, which can be heard at archive.org.

Anthony Kearns recorded it on the 2002 album The Very Best of the Irish Tenors.

Wayne Shorter recorded an instrumental arrangement as "She Moves Through the Fair" on his 2003 album Alegría.

Celtic Woman recorded the song on their 2004 eponymous first album.

Enter the Haggis covered the song on their 2005 album Casualties of Retail.

The song was used by Granada Reports in one of their bulletins to commemorate the life of George Best who died in 2005.

Hayley Westenra recorded a version in her 2005 album Odyssey.

Michael Londra recorded a version in his 2006 album Celt.

German techno group Scooter sampled the song on the track "Ratty's Revenge" from their 2007 album The Ultimate Aural Orgasm.

Cara Dillon recorded the song on her 2009 Hill of Thieves album.

Nyle Wolfe included a version in his 2009 album Home Ground.

Camilla Kerslake included a version in her eponymous debut album.

Culann's Hounds are joined by Sara Gardner on their album One for the Road.

The Borderers - an Australian band also recorded the song and it was used as a movie soundtrack sometime in the 90's.

Rolf Harris recorded a version with Kate Bush in 2009 which has not yet been released.

Fionnuala Sherry of the New Instrumental duo Secret Garden recorded a version for her 2010 solo debut Songs From Before.

Jim Causley recorded a Devonshire version on his 2011 album Dumnonia.

From Wikipedia.

Irish Rebellion of 1798

2011-08-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

Sweepstakes

Down to the wire! See latest number on the right.

Irrish Rebellion of 1798

Inspired by Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man and the American and French Revolutions a group of idealists in Ireland, both Catholic and protestant, establish the Society of United Irishman. Led by people like Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Wolfe Tone, and Roddy McCorley and inspiring men like Robert Emmet and the coming Fenian cause, they sought the help of the Republican French and later Napoleon Bonaparte to overthrow the Protestant Ascendancy in Dublin that kept Irish Catholics from holding office or having meaningful participation in the running of the land in which they were the majority.

Join Radio Dé Danann this week for songs that came down from and commemorate those "brace United men" and women who sought for equal rights under the law.

And an Additional Prize!

2011-08-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

As of this minute we aree at 977 presents with only 23 to go, and thanks to the Akron, Ohio band The Mickeys we have one more album to add to the list of prizes for our "When will we reach 1000" sweepstakes!

DRYAD

The Mickeys

http://www.themickeysband.com

YourLlast Chances to Enter the Sweepstakes!!!

2011-08-12T23:27:00.000-07:00

There are only 26 more presets to go until we reach 1000! Only two entries have been sent in, so if you can get your choice of a date in right away, you have a real chance to win four albums of celtic music by The Mickeys, Druidsong, Marc Gunn and David kincaid, a couple bumber stickers, and the right to choose the songs for a future playlist! You don't have to be irish to have the luck of the irish.. the end is near, so jig on down to Comments and leacve your choice for the day we reach 1000! If the comment form doesn't work, just send the date to me at hawthorne@nanhawthorne.com .

John Barleycorn

2011-08-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

"John Barleycorn" is an English folksong. The character of John Barleycorn in the song is a personification of the important cereal crop barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it, beer and whisky. In the song, John Barleycorn is represented as suffering attacks, death and indignities that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting

Origins

Scholar Kathleen Herbert draws a link between Beowa (a mythical figure stemming from Anglo-Saxon paganism that appears in early Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies whose name means "barley") and the figure of John Barleycorn. Herbert says that Beowa and Barleycorn are one and the same, noting that the folksong details the suffering, death and resurrection of Barleycorn, yet also celebrates the "reviving effects of drinking his blood."

Barleycorn, the personification of the barley, encounters great suffering before succumbing to an unpleasant death. However, as a result of this death bread can be produced; therefore, Barleycorn dies so that others may live. Finally his body will be eaten as the bread. A popular hymn, "We Plough the Fields and Scatter", is often sung at Harvest Festival to the same tune.

On the other hand, in their notes to the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs (London, 1959), editors A L Lloyd and Ralph Vaughan Williams ponder whether the ballad is "an unusually coherent folklore survival" or "the creation of an antiquarian revivalist, which has passed into popular currency and become 'folklorized'". It is in any case, they note, "an old song", with printed versions dating as far back as the sixteenth century. .

Versions and variants

Countless versions of this song exist. A version of the song is included in the Bannatyne Manuscript of 1568, and English broadside versions from the 17th century are common. Robert Burns published his own version in 1782, and modern versions abound. Burns's version makes the tale somewhat mysterious and, although not the original, it became the model for most subsequent versions of the ballad.

Burns's version begins:

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
John Barleycorn

There was three kings into the east,
Three kings both great and high,
And they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn should die.

An early English version runs thus:

There was three men come out o' the west their fortunes for to try,
And these three men made a solemn vow, John Barleycorn must die,
They ploughed, they sowed, they harrowed him in, throwed clods upon his head,
And these three men made a solemn vow, John Barleycorn was dead.

Earlier versions resemble Burns's only in personifying the barley, and sometimes in having the barley be foully treated or murdered by various artisans. Burns' version, however, omits their motives. In an early seventeenth century version, the mysterious kings of Burns's version were in fact ordinary men laid low by drink, who sought their revenge on John Barleycorn for that offence:

Sir John Barley-Corn fought in a Bowl,
who won the Victory,
Which made them all to chafe and swear,
that Barley-Corn must dye.

Another early version features John Barleycorn's revenge on the miller:

Mault gave the Miller such a blow,
That from [h]is horse he fell full low,
He taught him his master Mault for to know
you neuer saw the like sir.

Adaptations

Many versions of the song have been recorded, most notably by Traffic, whose album John Barleycorn Must Die is named after the song. The song has also been recorded by Fire + Ice, Gae Bolg, Bert Jansch, The John Renbourn Group, Pentangle, Finest Kind, Martin Carthy, Roy Bailey, Martyn Bates in collaboration with Max Eastley, the Watersons, Steeleye Span, Jethro Tull, Joe Walsh, Fairport Convention, The Minstrels of Mayhem, Oysterband, Frank Black, Chris Wood, Woody Lissauer, Quadriga Consort, Maddy Prior, Heather Alexander, Tim van Eyken and many other performers. Jack London gave the title John Barleycorn to his 1913 autobiographical novel that tells of his struggle with alcoholism. The song is also a central part of Simon Emmerson's The Imagined Village project. Martin and Eliza Carthy perform the song alongside Paul Weller on The Imagined Village album. Billy Bragg sang in Weller's place on live performances. Rock Guitarist Joe Walsh covered the song live in 2007 as a tribute to Jim Capaldi.

From Wikipedia.

Up To 966 Now!

2011-08-05T14:36:00.001-07:00

Visit Radio De Danann at http://www.radiodedanann.com/ to enter our "When Will We Reach 1000?" sweepstakes. Guess the date and you might win albums by Marc Gunn, David Kinkaid and Druidsong and get to choose songs for your own playlist! Hurry! We are appeoaching 1000 soon!

Sweetening the Pot

2011-07-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

In addition to the prizes you will receive if you choose the closest date when we reach 1,000 presents, you will be able to put together as much of a playlist (usually about 80 tracks) as you want! Only requirement is that the pieces must be Celtic, old English or Renaissance era music. (We reserve the right to say no to any track, but are not likely to.)

Remember, you can enter a new date every week when this page is updated.

Latest On Sweepstakes - 3 Albums!

2011-07-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

The count as of today is 945 presets. That is, Radio Dé Danann has been selected as aone of a LIve365.com listener's five stations to return to 945 times.

It should be at 1000 sometime in 2011. That's where the sweepstakes comes in. You guess what day that wonderful moment will come!

Sweepstakes Amended Rules

Just click on Comments and add the month and day you think we will achieve 1000 presents. You might, for example, say "October 15". Also put in where we can contact you.
You can enter one date per weekly post on this blog until the 1000th preset is set.
If two people or more choose the same date and it turns out to be the right one, the person who entered that date earliest will be the winner.
"Employees" of Radio Dé Danann are not eligible to enter.

What You Will Win

More on Sweepstakes

2011-07-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Remember, we are taking entries to our "When Will We Reach 1000 Presets?" - just leave a comment on any post until we reach the limit. In the upper right you will find the latest number. The person who comes closest to the actual day we reach 1000 will receive at least these albums:

Druidsong, Rebels and Rogues
An album by David Kincaid
An album by Marc Gunn

Only one entry per post.. so you can enter once a week.

Tell your friends!

You can find the latest totals atevery Friday eifhr hwew on rhia page. Good luck!

Win Celtic Music CDs By Guessing When We Reach 1000!

2011-07-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

Sometime in 2011, no one yet knows when, Radio Dé Danann will reach its 1000th preset. In honor of the event we are hosting a sort of sweepstakes to guess on what day this will happen.

A preset is when a listener on Live365.com adds a station to a list of five s/he wants to revisit. OUr numbers have always rocketed, especially during the time Radio Dé Danann was a featured station on Live365.

We are at 931 as of today. We started with zero on December 22, 2008.

To enter the sweepstakes just click on "Comments" on this post and state a month and a day. One entry per person. Entries must be in this form: September 22 . When more than one person chooses a date, the earlier entry will be official. One person will receive the prize. This will be announced when the number 1000 is reached.

The winner will win at least three brand new Celtic albums often played on Radio Dé Danann. More details will be announced in the next weeks, along with updated totals of presets.

For the Fourth of July: The Irish in Americay

2011-07-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

Irish American music by David Kincaid

This week's Pan-Celtic playlist is in honor of Indpependence Day in the United States, July 4.

Irish-Americans in the Civil War

Due to the amount of Irish immigrants to the Industrial Revolution-era United States, Irish-American participation in the American Civil War was commonplace.

Pre-1861 Irish immigration

Although Irish immigration to the United States has taken place since colonial times (Six Declaration of Independence signers were of Irish descent and Andrew Jackson was partially Irish), worsening conditions (under British rule) in Ireland-especially the Great Potato Famine-caused many Irish to emigrate in the mid-19th century.

An Irish immigrant, having suffered through an arduous overseas journey, would have been thrust into a terrible situation, as many were poor and unused to American customs.

Soon, however, the amount of Irish-Americans in some cities grew so great that immigrant Patrick Murphy stated "New York is a grand handsome city. But you would hardly know you had left Ireland." American customs, once utterly foreign to the immigrants, became blended with traditional ones, forming a distinct Irish-American culture.

The American Civil War

Most Irish-Americans had settled in the northern, anti-slavery American states and were thus called up to service when southern, slaveholding states seceded and formed the Confederacy in 1861.

Many Irish-Americans formed their own units, which embraced Irish customs such as Catholic masses and priests.

The first two casualties of the Civil War were Irish, as well.

Irish service to the Union

The northern states remained loyal to the United States government, which was led by President Abraham Lincoln. Irish-Americans living in the Union states often formed their own regiments, notably the 69th New York State Volunteers. The Volunteers flew a green flag with a golden harp on it, symbolizing Ireland.
Seven Union generals were Irish-born and 150,000 Irish-Americans fought for the Union during the war. At the 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg, the Union Irish Brigade charged up Marye's Heights, suffering 41.4% casualties. During the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, the Irish Brigade heard a Catholic mass before battling Confederate troops.

Irish-Americans in Confederate service

Although significantly fewer Irish lived in the Confederate States of America, six Confederate generals were Irish-born. Units such as the Charleston Irish Volunteers attracted Confederate Irish-Americans in South Carolina, while Irish Tennesseans could join the 10th Infantry Regiment, called "the Sons of Erin."

Results

Many Irish-Americans died in the Civil War, but the amount of Irish immigrants did not stop after the Union's eventual victory. As early as the 1860s, while the war was raging, immigrants dared to cross the Atlantic. Among them was former US president Ronald Reagan's grandfather.

From Wikipedia.

All About "The Ash Grove"

2011-06-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

he Ash Grove (Welsh: Llwyn Onn) is a traditional Welsh folk song whose melody has been set to numerous sets of lyrics. The most well-known was written, in English, by John Oxenford in the 19th century.

The first published version of the tune was in 1802 in "The Bardic Museum". The book was written by Edward Jones, a harpist. About 4 years later a version with words appeared, under the name "Llwyn Onn". It tells of a sailor's love for "Gwen of Llwyn". The tune might be much older, as a similar tune appears in "The Beggar's Opera" by John Gay (1728), in the song "Cease Your Funning". In 1922 , however Kidson claimed that John Gay's tune derives from the morris dance tune "Constant Billy", which is first known in Playford's "Dancing Master".

The tune of "The Ash Grove" is used for the hymn "Let All Things Now Living" in 1939 by composer Katherine K. Davis. This hymnal version resulted in it being included on a number of Christmas albums up through the 1950s; like Jan August's 1955 album "Christmas Favorites" (Mercury Records #MG 20160). It was in use as a hymnal long before the 20th century under the title "The Master Hath Come" by Sarah Doudney (1871) and has been updated since in a retelling of the nativity by Robert Cullinan as "On This Night, Most Holy" (1996). Around 1962 another song called "The Irish Free State" was written to this tune. "The Ash Grove" featured in the 1980 BBC mini-series Pride and Prejudice.
Ed Pearl's Ash Grove folk music club at 8162 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles was named after the song. The Ash Grove opened in 1958 and closed in 1973. The Greenbriar Boys, Lightnin' Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson, Ry Cooder and many others performed there.

Oxenford Lyrics

The ash grove how graceful, how plainly 'tis speaking
The harp through its playing has language for me.
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking,
A host of kind faces is gazing on me.
The friends from my childhood again are before me
Each step wakes a memory as freely I roam.
With soft whispers laden the leaves rustle o’er me
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home.

Down yonder green meadow where streamlets meander
When twilight is fading I pensively roam
Or in the bright noon tide in solitude wander
Amid the dark spaces of that lonely ash grove.
‘Twas there while the black bird was cheerfully singing
I first met my dear one the joy of my heart
Around us for gladness the blue bells were springing
The ash grove, the ash grove that sheltered my home.

My lips smile no more, my heart loses its lightness;
No dream of the future my spirit can cheer.
I only can brood on the past and its brightness
The dear ones I long for again gather here.
From ev'ry dark nook they press forward to meet me;
I lift up my eyes to the broad leafy dome,
And others are there, looking downward to greet me
The ash grove, the ash grove, again is my home.

	The Ash Grove
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From Wikipedia.

Nautical Week

2011-06-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

Join us this week for songs of ships, sailors, and privateers.

On for two weeks.. 100 tracks, so no worries. I will actually be sailing on the Californian out of Sn Diego about the time I would be uploading a new playlist!

Whiskey in the Jar

2011-06-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

This week on Same Difference: Qhiskey in the Jar -- and all week, songs of bbeverages!

"Whiskey in the Jar" is a famous Irish traditional song, set in the southern mountains of Ireland, with specific mention of Cork and Kerry counties, as well as Fenit, a village in Kerry county. It is about a highwayman, or perhaps a footpad, who is betrayed by his wife or lover, and is one of the most widely performed traditional Irish songs. It has been recorded by numerous professional artists since the 1950s. The song first gained wide exposure when the Irish folk band The Dubliners performed it internationally as a signature song, and recorded it on three albums in the 1960s. Building on their success, the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy hit the Irish and British pop charts with the song in the early 1970s. The American metal band Metallica brought it to a wider rock audience in 1998 by playing a version very similar to that of Thin Lizzy's with a heavier sound, and won a Grammy for the song in 2000 for Best Hard Rock Performance.

Variations

Whiskey in the Jar is sung with many variants on locations and names — In typical song book fashion, the Grateful Dead version begins:

As I was goin' over the Cill Dara Mountains,

I met Colonel Pepper and his money he was counting.
I drew forth my pistols and I rattled my saber,
Sayin': "Stand and deliver, for I am a bold deceiver!".
Musha rin um du rum da, Whack for the daddy-o,
Whack for the daddy-o, There's whiskey in the jar-o.

However, The Dubliners version, which is often sung in Irish traditional music sessions around the world, begins:

As I was goin' over the far famed Kerry mountains,

I met with Captain Farrell, and his money he was counting.
I first produced me pistol and I then produced me rapier,
Saying: "Stand and deliver, for I am your bold deceiver!".
Musha rin um du ruma da, Whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, There's whiskey in the jar.

The Thin Lizzy version begins:

As I was goin' over the Cork and Kerry mountains.

I saw Captain Farrell and his money he was counting.
I first produced my pistol and then produced my rapier.
I said: "Stand or deliver or the devil he may take ya".
Yeah
Musha ring dum-a do dum-a da, Whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, There's whiskey in the jar-o.

History

The song's exact origins are unknown. A number of its lines and the general plot resemble those of a contemporary broadside ballad "Patrick Fleming" (also called "Patrick Flemmen he was a Valiant Soldier") about an Irish highwayman executed in 1650.

In the book The Folk Songs of North America, folk music historian Alan Lomax suggests that the song originated in the 17th century, and (based on plot similarities) that John Gay's 1728 The Beggar's Opera was inspired by Gay hearing an Irish ballad-monger singing "Whiskey in the Jar". In regard to the history of the song, Lomax states, "The folk of seventeenth century Britain liked and admired their local highwaymen; and in Ireland (or Scotland) where the gentlemen of the roads robbed English landlords, they were regarded as national patriots. Such feelings inspired this rollicking ballad."[5]

At some point, the song came to the United States and was a favorite in Colonial America because of its irreverent attitude toward British officials. The American versions are sometimes set in America and deal with American characters. One such version, from Massachusetts, is about Alan McCollister, an Irish-American soldier who is sentenced to death by hanging for robbing British officials.[5]

The song appeared in a form close to its modern version in a precursor called "The Sporting Hero, or, Whiskey in the Bar" in a mid-1850s broadsheet.

The song collector Colm Ó Lochlainn, in his book Irish Street Ballads,[7] described how his mother learnt Whiskey in the Jar in Limerick in 1870 from a man called Buckley who came from Cork. When O Lochlainn included the song in Irish Street Ballads, he wrote down the lyrics from memory as he had learnt them from his mother. He calls the song, There's Whiskey in the Jar and the lyrics are virtually identical to the version that was used by Irish bands in the 1960s such as the Dubliners. The O Lochlainn version refers to the "far fam'd Kerry mountain" rather than the Cork and Kerry mountains, as appears in some versions.

The song also appears under the title There's Whiskey in the Jar in the Joyce [8] collection, but that only includes the melody line without any lyrics.

Story

"Whiskey in the Jar" is the tale of a highwayman or footpad who, after robbing a military or government official, is betrayed by a woman; whether she is his wife or sweetheart is not made clear. Various versions of the song take place in Kerry, Kilmoganny, Cork, Sligo Town, and other locales throughout Ireland. It is also sometimes placed in the American South, in various places among the Ozarks or Appalachians, possibly due to Irish settlement in these places. Names in the song change, and the official can be a Captain or a Colonel, called Farrell or Pepper among other names. The protagonist's wife or lover is sometimes called Molly, Jenny, or Ginny among various other names.

The victim, Captain Farrell could well have been another highwayman, as many Irish highwaymen 18th century affected a military rank or title.

Around the world

The Israeli "Yarkon Bridge Trio" (Hebrew: "Shlishiyat Gesher Hayarkon", "שלישיית גשר הירקון") used the melody of "Whiskey in the jar" in their song "It's a sign that you are young" (Hebrew: "Siman She'ata Tza'ir", "סימן שאתה צעיר").
The Swedish pop band "Toms Tivoli" recorded a track called "Brännvin i mitt krus" on the album "Jag tror dom ljuger" in 1990. "Brännvin" is a word for distilled alcohol, and "krus" means "flagon" or "vessel".
The Metallica cover of the song is played whenever Pittsburgh Pirates Outfielder Garrett Jones steps up to bat at PNC Park.[citation needed]
Estonian band "Poisikõsõ" recorded a track called "Hans'a õuhkaga" on the album "Tii päält iist" in 2007.
The Icelandic folk band "Þrjú á palli" recorded it in 1971 as "Lífið er lotterí" with lyrics by Jónas Árnason.
The Russian songwriter-singer Aleksandr Karpov (a.k.a. Aleksandr O'Karpov or Shurman) translated the lyrics into Russian in 1997.[12] The Russian version is titled Bylo b viski u menya (Было б виски у меня - As long as I've got whiskey) or, alternatively, Viski vo flyage (Виски во фляге - Whiskey in the flask) and the meaning of the text is somewhat different from the original version.
Australian pop band "The Seekers"

From Wikipedia.

For Memorial Day: Music of Battles and War

2011-05-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

Our playlist of music of battles and war, not necessarily in this order:

Admiral William Brown - The Wolfe Tones - A Sense Of Freedom
All Quiet Along The Potomac - Various Artists - Authentic Songs Of The American Revolution & The Civil War Era
An Anti - Fenian Song - Tramp, Tramp, Tramp the Boys Are Marching - Alan Mills - Canada's Story in Song
Arthur McBride - Cormorant's Fancy - Web
Asturian Reels And Jigs (Marcha d'Arnau, Marcha de San Roque, Saleede Llanes, Villancicu Pixuatu) - City of Washington Pipe Band - Scottish Rant
Balaclava - Roy Harris - The Rambling Soldier
Ballad of Rory McGuiness - DruidSong - Rebels and Rogues
The Band Played Waltzing Matilda - The Pogues - Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Bannockburn - Various Artists - Scotland the Brave [Scotdisc]
Battle Cry of Freedom. - The Wolfe Tones' Derek Warfield - Faugh - a - Ballagh
Battle Hymn Of The Republic - Tom Glazer - A Treasury Of Civil War Songs Sung By Tom Glazer
The Battle of Augrham/5 in a Line - John Renbourn Group - A Maid in Bedlam
Battle of Ballylochlan - Fathom - Celtic Rocks [Explicit]
The Battle of Corrymuckloch - Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers - Out All Night
The Battle of Falkirk Muir - Battlefield Band - Opening Moves
The Battle OF Harlaw - Battlefield Band - Opening Moves
The Battle Of Harlaw - Old Blind Dogs - Play Live
The Battle Of Lake Erie - Westside Steve Simmons - Limestone Cowboy
The Battle of Laurel Park - The Barleyshakes - Grateful
The Battle of Morfa Rhuddlan - Anne Lister - Root, Seed, Thorn and Flower
The Battle of Otterburn - June Tabor - Echo of Hooves
The Battle of Sherra - moor - Jean Redpath - The Songs of Robert Burns, Volumes 5 & 6
Battle of Stirling Bridge. - Alastair McDonald - Battles & Ballads of Scotland
Battle Of The Boyne / Will They All Be True Blue / Protestant Boys - The Fighting Men From Crossmaglen - 52 Shades Of Orange
Battle of the Somme - Black Bear Crossing - The Trail
Battle of Waterloo - Jim Malcolm - Live in Glenfarg
The Blue And The Gray (Clare Grundman) - Halifax Concert Band - Halifax Concert Band
Blue Bonnets Pipe March/Drops of Brandy - The Revels - Rose and Thistle: English and Scottish Music
Bold Fenian Men - Shamrog - 21 Irish Rebel Songs
Bonaparte's Defeat (Napoleon Suite) - Karen Ashbrook / Paul Oorts - Celtic Cafe
Bonduca - Britons strike home - Martyn Hill - Purcell: Theatre Music
Bonnie Prince Charlie - The Clancy Brothers With Tommy Makem - The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem In Person At Carnegie Hall
Brian Boru's March/Sporting Paddy/The Traveler - Joe Burke - The Celts Rise Again [Green Linnet]
British Grenadiers - American Fife Ensemble - Birth of Liberty: Music of the American Revolution
Bruce to His Men at Bannockburn - Max Dunbar - Poems and Letters of Robert Burns: On the Bicentenary of His Birth
The Burial of Sir John Moore At Corunna - Randall Cromeans - The War Sessions
Camp Song of the Chicago Irish Brigade - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
Camp Song of the Chicago Irish Brigade - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
Come Walk with Us - The Whiskey Bards - Women, Whiskey and War
Crimea Long Reveille - The Soldiers Return, Grannie Duncan, The Wearing of the Green, Grannie Duncan, Miss Girdle, Erchless Castle, Hey Johnny Cope - Jim Motherwell - The Queen's Piper
Crusaders’ Song: Chevalier, Mult Estes Guaritz, 1146 - Jordi Savall - Jerusalem
Culloden's Harvest - Lalla Rookh - Test of Time
Culloden Day - The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra - Prince of the Mists
Culloden Field - David Andrew Simmons - Culloden Field
Donald McGillavry / O'Neill's Cavalry March - Silly Wizard - So Many Partings
The Dreadful Engagement - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
The Dying Soldier - Buell Kazee - Kentucky Mountain Music, Part 1
The Fallen Cavalier - Beerside Scoundrels - Duel!
The Foggy Dew - Sinéad O'Connor - Celtic Circle, Vol. 2 Disc 1
Follow me up to Carlow - Pig's Ear - Choice Company
French Navy March - Celtic Legend - Celtic Legends
Gallant Hussar - Jon Boden - A Folk Song A Day : October
The Grand Conversation On Napoleon - Dónal Maguire - The Clergy's Lamentation
Grand March in the Battle of Prague/Liverpool Hornpipe/Wellington ... - Waterson:Carthy - Common Tongue
The Grand Old Duke Of York - The Houghton Weavers - In Concert
Green Hills of Tyrol/When the Battle's Over - Rob Barrick - The Standards
Heart of Oak - The X - Seamen'S Institute - Heart of Oak!
Honest Face - Liam Finn + Eliza Jane - Champagne In Seashells EP
I'm Ninety - Five, march for band - Original TV Soundtrack - Over the Hills and Far Away: The Music of Sharpe
The Irish - Americanâ€™s Song - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
The Irish Battalion - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
The Irish Battalion - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
The Irish Sixty - Ninth - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
The Irish Sixty - Ninth - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
Irish Soldier Laddie - The Fighting Men From Crossmaglen - 50 Complete Irish Rebel Songs
It's a long way to Tipperary - Billy Murray - Canciones de tiempos pasados V.1
Jock / Battle Of Garvagh; Tandragee; Earl Of Beaconsfield / Boyne Water - Pride Of Whitehall Flute Band - Orange Music & Songs Of Ulster
Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier, folk song (a.k.a. "Shule Agra", "Buttern - Original TV Soundtrack - Over the Hills and Far Away: The Music of Sharpe
Kelley the Boy from Kilane - Harvey Andrews - Various Artists - Smithsonian Folkways - Irish Rebellion Album
Kellyâ€™s Irish Brigade - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
The King's Own Regulars - Arthur F. Schrader - American Revolutionary War Songs to Cultivate the Sensations of Freedom
La Marseillaise - Eva Busch - Eva Busch und Ihre Lieder
Lilli Burlero - Richard Dyer - Bennet - Richard Dyer - Bennet, Vol. 3
Lord Nelson - Jim Malcolm - Tam O'Shanter
Mac Allistrum's March/Máirseail Alasdroim [Live] - Belfast Harp Orchestra - The Celtic Harp
March of Cambreadth - Gareth Davis - Middle Age(s)
March of the King Laois/Paddy's Jig/O'Keefe's/The Chattering Magpie (Live from an Irish Evening) - The Chieftains - The Wide World Over - A 40 Year Celebration
Marching To Pretoria - Weavers - Best Of The Vanguard Years
Memorial Day 2011 Prom2. - -
Minstrel Boy / O'Donnell Abu - Franklin George - Traditional Music for Banjo, Fiddle & Bagpipes
Mo Ghile Mear (Our Hero) - Sting - Celtic Circle, Vol. 2 Disc 2
No Man's Land - Eric Bogle - Scraps of Paper
O'neill's March (Sitar Mix) - The Wexford Boys - Seems Like Only Yesterday
O'Sullivan's March - The Chieftains - The Chieftains 7
On Boyne's Red Shore (1690) / King William's March - Houl Yer Whisht - Celtic Millenium
On The Board Of The Victory - Boys Of The Lough - 40 Folk Favorites
Over There - United States Military - Partiotic Songs of America
The Presidentâ€™s Ball - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
Private Maguire - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
Quicksteps: Clare's Dragoons - The White Cockade - Rakes of Mallow - Neil A. Duddy - The Donegal Piper
The Rebels - Arthur F. Schrader - American Revolutionary War Songs to Cultivate the Sensations of Freedom
Regimental Quick March - St Patrick's Day - 1st Battalion Irish Guards - Great Irish Marches
The Roses Of Prince Charlie - The Corries - The Compact Collection
Sean McGuire / March Selection - Diverse - Sound Of Ireland
The Soldier's of the Queen - T.L. Sharpe - Regimental Marches Of The British Army, Vol. 1
Soldier's Return/High Road to - Ian Lawther - The Empty Trough
Soldier Soldier - Len Graham, Garry Ó Briain & Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin - When I Was Young - Children's Songs From Ireland
Soldier, Soldier - Colm Keane - World Library of Folk and Primitive Music, Vol. 2: Ireland
Soldiers Of 22 - Eugene McEldowney - James Connolly - The Irish Rebel
Soldiers Three - The Whiskey Bards - Women, Whiskey and War
Son of the Scottish Soldier/The Green Hills of Tyrol - Red Hackle Pipes & Drums - The Bagpipes & Drums of Scotland [Laserlight 34 Track] Disc 2
Song for the Irish Brigade - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
Song for the Irish Brigade - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
Song on Liberty - Sherrill Milnes, Jon Spong - Birth of Liberty: Music of the American Revolution
Sunset, march for band - Original TV Soundtrack - Over the Hills and Far Away: The Music of Sharpe
Sword of Bannockburn. - Alastair McDonald - Battles & Ballads of Scotland
Two Brothers Mastersons - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
Weâ€™ll Fight For Uncle Sam - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
Wearing Of The Green - Kilmaine Saints - The Good, The Plaid And The Ugly
The Wearing of the Grey - Derek Warfield - Bonnie Blue Flag
When Johnny Comes Marching Home - The Union Confederacy - American Songs Of Revolutionary Times And The Civil War Era
When Johnny Comes Marching Home - Various Artists - Authentic Songs Of The American Revolution & The Civil War Era
Wolfe Tone - Terry O'Neill - Irish Rebels - 18 Historical Songs
Women, Whiskey & War - The Whiskey Bards - Women, Whiskey and War
Yankee Doodle - Pete Seeger - American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 1
Ye Jacobites By Name - Don Grieve - Tribute To Robbie Burns
Young America and Ould Ireland - David Kincaid - The Irish - American's Song
8th of January, The Battle of New Orleans. - Derek Warfield & the Young Wolfe Tones - The Night Is Young

Annie Laurie on Same Difference

2011-05-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Remember... all next week, songs of battle and war!

Norman Kerry and Lillian Gish in Annie Laurie (1927)

Annie Laurie

This week's new Same Difference. Listen for all the unexpected song styles, from traditional to jazz to country to doo wop.

Annie Laurie is an old Scottish song based on poem by William Douglas (1672?-1748) of Dumfries and Galloway. The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Scott in 1834/5. The song is also known as Maxwelton Braes.

William Douglas

William Douglas became a soldier in the Royal Scots and fought in Germany and Spain and rose to the rank of captain. He also fought at least two duels. He returned to his estate at Fingland in 1694. Traditionally it is said that Douglas had a romance with Anna/Anne Laurie (16 December 1682, Barjarg Tower, in Keir, near Auldgirth, Scotland — 5 May 1764, Friars' Carse, Dumfries-shire, Scotland). Anna was the youngest daughter of Robert Laurie, who became first baronet of Maxwellton in 1685. The legend says that her father opposed a marriage. This may have been because Anna was very young; she was only in her mid-teens when her father died. It may also have been because of Douglas's aggressive temperament or more likely because of his Jacobite allegiances. It is known for certain that they knew of each because in a later letter by Anna she says in reply to news about Douglas, "I trust that he has forsaken his treasonable opinions, and that he is content."

Douglas recovered from this romance and eloped with a Lanarkshire heiress, Elizabeth Clerk of Glenboig. They married in Edinburgh in 1706. Douglas's political beliefs forced him into exile. He became a mercenary soldier and sold his estate at Fingland in the 1720s, though eventually he received a pardon.

Anna Laurie's later life

In Edinburgh in 29 August 1709 Anna married Alexander Fergusson, 14th Laird of Craigdarroch. (Early editions of Brewer's are in error claiming her husband was James Ferguson, who was in fact her son.) She lived at Craigdarroch for 33 years. Under her directions the present mansion of Craigdarroch was built, and a relic of her taste is still preserved in the formal Georgian gardens at the rear of the house. She was born on 16 December 1682, about 6 o'clock in the morning at Barjarg Tower, near Auldgirth, Scotland. Annie Laurie died on a Saturday, 5 April 1764, and some sources say she was buried at Craigdarroch. Portraits of her exist at Maxwelton and at Mansfield, the seat of the Stuart-Monteiths. The portraits show that she had blue eyes.

Doubts about authorship

There has been some doubt that Douglas composed the poem. The words of the second verse of the song may be based on an old version of John Anderson My Jo, to the tune of which song Annie Laurie was sometimes sung. The words were first recorded in 1823 in Sharpe's "Ballad Book", quite a long time after 1700. The song therefore may have been written by Allan Cunningham, who invented contributions to Sharpe's book. However Douglas is known to have written other verses and he also knew an Anna Laurie of Maxwelton. This seems to indicate he was the originator of some of the first verse at least.

Lady John Scott's additions

In February 1890 Lady John Scott (1810-1900) (née Alicia Ann Spottiswoode) wrote to the editor of the Dumfries Standard, claiming that she had composed the tune and wrote the most of the modern words. She said that around 1834-5 she encountered the words in collection of the Songs of Scotland (1825) by Allan Cunningham in a library. She adapted the music she had composed for another old Scottish poem, Kempye Kaye. She also amended the first verse slightly, the second verse greatly, which she thought was unsuitable, and wrote a new third verse. In the 1850s Lady John published the song with some other songs of hers for the benefit of the widows and orphans of the soldiers killed in the Crimean War. The song became popular and was closely associated with Jenny Lind.

Lady John Scott version
The earliest known version by Lady John was published by James Lindsay of Glasgow and is:

Maxwelton's braes are bonnie,
Where early fa's the dew,
'Twas there that Annie Laurie
Gi'ed me her promise true.
Gi'ed me her promise true -
Which ne'er forgot will be,
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me down and dee.

Her brow is like the snaw-drift,
Her neck is like the swan,
Her face it is the fairest,
That 'er the sun shone on.
That 'er the sun shone on -
And dark blue is her e'e,
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me down and dee.

Like dew on gowans lying,
Is the fa' o' her fairy feet,
And like winds, in simmer sighing,
Her voice is low and sweet.
Her voice is low and sweet -
And she's a' the world to me;
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I'd lay me down and dee.

Notes:

braes (a brae is a sloping bank of a river or sea-shore; a hill-slope)[1]
bonnie means pretty
fa's means falls
gi'ed means gave
dee means die
snaw means snow
e'e means eyes
gowans are daisies
o is of
simmer means summer
a is all
Original

The earliest known version, one that may be closest to what Douglas wrote, follows:

Maxwelton braes are bonnie, where early fa's the dew
Where me and Annie Laurie made up the promise true
Made up the promise true, and ne'er forget will I
And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd lay doun my head and die
She's backit like the peacock, she's breistit like the swan
She's jimp aboot the middle, her waist ye weel may span
Her waist ye weel may span, and she has a rolling eye
And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd lay doun my head and die.

Notes:

She's backit means "She's endowed with a back(side)"

She's breistit means "She's endowed with a breast"
jimp means elegant or slender
ye weel may span means that you could encompass her waist with the span of two hands
a rolling eye is a 'come hither' look

The song "Annie Laurie" also is mentioned in a poem, The Song of the Camp, by Bayard Taylor (1825-1878).

Trivia

Winifred Bonfils (b.1863- d. May, 1936.) Reporter, columnist writing as Winifred Black for Hearst's syndicate and as Annie Laurie for the San Francisco Examiner.

Annie Laurie is sung by the father in Betty Smith's novel, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." He sings it after he and his family moves to his last home and sees a piano of the previous owner of the flat.

Annie Laurie, sung by the Red Army Choir was chosen by the Irish American writer J. P. Donleavy as one of his Desert Island Discs on 4 March 2007. [This recording iis in our playllist.]

The song appears prominently as a plot point in the 1998 Takashi Miike film The Bird People in China.
Swedish band The Radio Dept. cover the song on their 2002 EP of the same name.

The song is played in a flute throughout the Little Lord Fauntleroy (Little Prince Cedie) TV series from Nippon Animation.
The satirical song "Transport of Delight" by Flanders and Swann contains the couplet:
Some people like a Motorbike, some say, 'A Tram for me!'
Or for a Bonny Army Lorry they wad lay them doon and dee.

However the version on their early LP, At the Drop of a Hat, is:
Some talk of a Lagonda, some like a smart MG;
For a bonny Army lorry they'd lay them doon and dee.

From Wikipedia.

In Honor of MacDhui - Scottish Week!

2011-05-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

Nan and MacDhui with the MacDuff tartan (MacDhui is a MacDuff clan.)

MacDhui the Duck, a Cat, is the proud Best in Show and First Prize Most Unusual Markings at the Average Joe Cat Show in Shoreline, Washington today! The show is for house cats and benefits Purrfact Pals No-kill Cat Shelter in Arlington.

In honor of his success we are doing an all-Scottish playlist this week.

Gear up for Memorial Day Week where we will feature songs of soldiers, sailors and war.

Same Difference this week is "Scotland the Brave".

"The Irish Rover" Is This Week's Same Difference

2011-05-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

See if you can guess the theme of our Pan-Celtic Mix this week!

On Same Difference we have an often light-hearted song that never-the-less only has one survivor!

"The Irish Rover" is a traditional Irish song about a magnificent, though improbable, sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, some of whom have made changes to the lyrics.

The origins of the song are uncertain but it is usually attributed to a little known songwriter/arranger named J.M. Crofts.

Crofts is listed as the author in the 1966 publication,Walton's New Treasurey of Irish Songs and Ballads 2.

Some of the lyrics have become corrupted over time. For example, the opening line of one of the verses is often presented as: "We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out". Measles is actually a corruption of mizzens, which refers to the third and smallest mast on a ship. Both measles and mizzens are now commonly used in versions by different performers.

A recording of the Irish Rover featuring the Dubliners and the Pogues reached number 20 in the UK charts in 1987.

The Clancy Brothers version

In the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and six,
We set sail from the coal quay of Cork
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
For the grand City Hall in New York
'We'd an elegant craft, it was rigged 'fore and aft
And how the trade winds drove her
She had twenty-three masts and she 'stood several blasts
And they called her the Irish Rover
There was Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
There was Johnny McGirr who was scared stiff of work
And a chap from Westmeath named Malone
There was Slugger O'Toole who was drunk as a rule
And fighting Bill Tracy from Dover
And your man Mick McCann, from the banks of the Bann
Was the skipper on the Irish Rover
We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of bones
We had three million bales of old nanny goats' tails
We had four million barrels of stones
We had five million hogs and six million dogs
And seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million sides of poor blind horses' hides
In the hold of the Irish Rover
We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out
And our ship lost her way in the fog
And the whole of a crew was reduced down to two
'Twas meself and the captain's old dog
Then the ship struck a rock; oh Lord what a shock
And nearly tumbled over
Turned nine times around - and the poor old dog was drowned
I'm the last of the Irish Rover

The Pogues and The Dubliners version

On the Fourth of July, eighteen hundred and six
We set sail from the sweet Cobh of Cork
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
For the Grand City Hall in New York
'Twas a wonderful craft
She was rigged fore and aft
And oh, how the wild wind drove her
She stood several blasts
She had twenty seven masts
And they called her The Irish Rover
We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of stone
We had three million sides of old blind horses hides
We had four million barrels of bones
We had five million hogs
And six million dogs
Seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million bales of old nanny-goats' tails
In the hold of the Irish Rover
There was awl Mickey Coote
Who played hard on his flute
When the ladies lined up for a set
He would tootle with skill
For each sparkling quadrille
Though the dancers were fluther'd and bet
With his smart witty talk
He was cock of the walk
And he rolled the dames under and over
They all knew at a glance
When he took up his stance
That he sailed in The Irish Rover
There was Barney McGee
From the banks of the Lee
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
There was Johnny McGirr
Who was scared stiff of work
And a man from Westmeath called Malone
There was Slugger O'Toole
Who was drunk as a rule
And Fighting Bill Treacy from Dover
And your man, Mick MacCann
From the banks of the Bann
Was the skipper of the Irish Rover
For a sailor it's always a bother in life
It's so lonesome by night and day
That he longs for the shore
And a charming young whore
Who will melt all his troubles away
Oh, the noise and the rout
Swillin' poitin and stout
For him soon the torment's over
Of the love of a maid
He is never afraid
An old salt from the Irish Rover
We had sailed seven years
When the measles broke out
And the ship lost its way in the fog
And that whale of a crew
Was reduced down to two
Just myself and the Captain's old dog
Then the ship struck a rock
Oh Lord what a shock
The bulkhead was turned right over
Turned nine times around
And the poor old dog was drowned
I'm the last of The Irish Rover
The penultimate verse is often missed out from the song on compilations.

The Tramps version

(Only a slight change in wording and verse order from the original lyrics)

On the fourth of July eighteen hundred and six
We set sail for the sweet home of Cork
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
For the grand City Hall of New York
It was a wonderful craft she was rigged fore and aft
And how the wild wind drove her
She stood several blasts she had twenty seven masts
And we called her The Irish Rover
We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of stone
We had three million sides of old blind horses hides
We had four million barrels of bone
We had five million hogs and six million dogs
And seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million barrels of old nanny goats tails
All on board on The Irish Rover
There was Barney MaGee from the banks of the Lee
There was Hogan from county Tyrone
There was Johnny McGirr who was scared stiff of work
And a chap from Westmeath named Malone
There was Slugger O’Toole who was drunk as a rule
And Fighting Bill Tracy from Dover
There was Dolan from Clare just as strong as a bear
All on board on The Irish Rover
We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out
Our ship lost its way in the fog
Then the whale of the crew was reduced down to two
Just myself and the captain’s old dog
Then the ship struck a rock, oh Lord what a shock
The boat was turned right over
Whirled nine times around then the old dog was drowned
And the last of The Irish Rover
Whirled nine times around then the old dog was drowned
I’m the last of The Irish Rover

Cultural impact

The Irish Rover is one of the most popular Scottish country dances and is set to the music of the song.
The Canadian Irish folk group created in 1963, The Irish Rovers were named after the traditional song "The Irish Rover" by their mother in Ballymena, Ireland. Their first recording of the song was on their 1966 debut album, The First of the Irish Rovers.
Slugger O'Toole - a character referred to in The Irish Rover has been adopted as the name of a major political website in Northern Ireland.
In issue 26 of DC/Vertigo series Preacher when Cassidy describes his drinking buddies in New York City, the names are all taken from the Irish Rover.
The Swedish folksinger Martin Lignell recorded the song under the name M/S Roger in 2004 on his first album 'Levande Krabbor - Irländska på svenska' (Living Crabs - Irish in Swedish).
In the July/August 2006 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, there is a story by Michael Flynn called Sand and Iron where all the character names appear to be taken from the Irish Rover.

Recordings

"The Irish Rover" has been recorded many times by a variety of artists. Versions are listed below by notable artists in descending chronological order.

2011 - Dropkick Murphys on their album Going Out in Style
2009 - Culann's Hounds on their album One for the Road
2009 - Happy Ol´McWeasel on their first single Irish Rover - Single 2009
2007 - Tommy Makem on the posthumous release The Legendary Tommy Makem Collection
2005 - Liam Clancy on his album Yes... Those Were The Days: The Essential Liam Clancy
2001 - The Tossers on their album Communication & Conviction: Last Seven Years
1998 - The Corsairs on their album The RED One
1994 - Orthodox Celts on their self-titled début album
1987 - The Dubliners with The Pogues on The Dubliners' album 25 Years Celebration
1975 - Ronnie Drew on his self-titled début solo album
1966 - The Irish Rovers on their début album, The First of the Irish Rovers

From Wikipedia

She -- Or He -- Moved Through the Fair & Indies

2011-04-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

This week we have a new Same Difference collection featuring the equal gender opportunity song, "She -- or He -- Moved Through the Fair. See article below.

We also wanted to give you some concentrated exposure from indie musicians. We love getting mp3s and CDs from indie artists and giving them some extra air time. We must have a dozen and a half indie soloists and bands, so tak a wee listen before you go.

Say, you knew about indie recording and indie films, right? How about indie publishing? With independent publishing, the readers, no matter how obscure their tastes in reading make the decision as to what gets published, not publisher marketing departments. To learn more see Independent Authors Guild.

She Moved Through the Fair

"She Moved Through the Fair" (or "She Moves Through the Fair") is a traditional Irish folk song, existing in a number of versions and which has been recorded many times.

Origins

The song was first collected in Donegal by poet Padraic Colum and musicologist Herbert Hughes, and published by Boosey & Hawkes in London in a work entitled Irish Country Songs in 1909. The tune is in mixolydian mode. The lyrics were also published in Colum's 1922 book Wild earth: and other poems (though the book doesn't mention their traditional origin).

A longer variant of the song is called "Our Wedding Day". A related song, "Out of the Window", was collected by Sam Henry, from Eddie Butcher of Magilligan, Northern Ireland, around 1930, and published in Henry's Songs of the People. Another song, "I Once Had a True Love", also appears to be related, as it shares some lyrics with "She Moved Through the Fair".

The traditional singer Paddy Tunney learned it in County Fermanagh and recorded it in 1965. Other singers who sang it in the 50s/60s were Dominic Behan and Anne Briggs. It was a popular song among members of the Traveller community in Ireland by that time.

Fairport Convention recorded the song in 1968, adopting the style of the song from the influential travelling singer Margaret Barry, though she herself had learned it from a vinyl recording by Count John McCormack. Also of note are the recordings of the song by Alan Stivell in 1973.

Lyrics

One version of the lyrics is as follows:

My young love said to me,
My mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you
For your lack of kind.
And she laid her hand on me
And this she did say:
It will not be long, love,
Till our wedding day.
As she stepped away from me
And she moved through the fair
And fondly I watched her
Move here and move there.
And then she turned homeward,
With one star awake,
Like the swan in the evening
Moves over the lake.
The people were saying,
No two e'er were wed
But one had a sorrow
That never was said.
And I smiled as she passed
With her goods and her gear,
And that was the last
That I saw of my dear.
Last night she came to me,
My dead love came in.
So softly she came
That her feet made no din.
As she laid her hand on me,
And this she did say:
It will not be long, love,
'Til our wedding day.

Variants

Colum may have altered the traditional words significantly, perhaps cutting a number of verses; the variant of the song called Our Wedding Day has ten verses, to Colum's four. The song is often shortened further by omitting the third verse (above).

Several versions of the lyrics are in current use. For example, in the first line of Colum's version published in Wild earth:

My young love said to me, "My brothers won't mind,
the word 'brothers' is usually changed to 'mother'.

Similarly, the second line:

And my parents won't slight you for your lack of kind. [kind = goods or commodities[5]]
is usually rendered:

And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind.
or even as:

And my father won't slight you for your lack of kine. [kine = cattle]
The original "My dead love" in verse 4 is often rendered as "my dear love", "my own love", or "my young love" (particularly when verse 3, which implies that the woman may have died, is omitted). In Colum's version, this final appearance of the woman is in a dream, whereas other versions imply she is a ghost.

In the variant called Our Wedding Day, the woman goes into the man's bedroom while he is asleep, but she is not dead; she then runs off with another suitor, and the man joins the army.

Alternative versions recounted by Paddy Tunney

The traditional singer Paddy Tunney relates how Colum "wrote" the song after returning from a literary gathering in Donegal with Herbert Hughes and others. Tunney suggests, however, that it would be more accurate to say that Colum simply improved an original traditional song which at that time had splintered into many variations throughout Ireland.

Tunney himself collected one version from an Irish singer called Barney McGarvey. This version was called I Once Had A True Love. The opening four lines are reminiscent of She Moved Through The Fair and the second four lines are unmistakably similar.

The words to the first verse are:

I once had a sweet-heart, I loved her so well
I loved her far better than my tongue could tell
Her parents they slight me for my want of gear
So adieu to you Molly, since your are not here
I dreamed last night that my true love came in
So softly she came that her feet made no din
She stepped up to me and this she did say
It will not be long love, till our wedding day

The remaining two verses, however, are quite different. Nevertheless, this opening verse shows how songs could be changed and adapted as they were passed down in the oral tradition.

Tunney also points to a version of the song which he learnt from his mother which she called, My Young Love Said to Me. The first verse is virtually the same as Colum's but the remaining three verses are quite different and describe how the woman in the song went off with another man. It is as follows:

My young love said to me, my mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind
And she went away from me and this she did say:
It will not be long now till our wedding day.
She went away from me and she moved through the fair
Where hand-slapping dealers' loud shouts rent the air
The sunlight around her did sparkle and play
Saying it will not be long now till our wedding day.
When dew falls on meadow and moths fill the night
When glow of the greeesagh on hearth throws half-light
I'll slip from the casement and we'll run away
And it will not be long love till our wedding day

According to promise at midnight he rose

But all that he found was the downloaded clothes
The sheets they lay empty 'twas plain for to see
And out of the window with another went she

Colum's version is more subtle. It gives no explanation for the young woman's disappearance, which gives the song a sense of mystery and allows the listener the freedom to interpret it in his or her own way.

Recordings

In recent times, following Fairport Convention's version of the song in the sixties, hundreds of artists have recorded this song in its traditional form. Most have kept to some form of the traditional lyrics: however, the versions by Sinéad O'Connor (as used in the soundtrack of the film Michael Collins), Trees and Nana Mouskouri change the gender of the pronouns and so the song became "He Moved Through the Fair". O'Connor and Trees' versions keep the original "She Moved Through the Fair" title on their sleeves, although Mouskouri changes the name to suit the variant. An alternative version of the lyrics was also used in Mary Black's version of the song.

Other notable versions:

Davey Graham recorded a version in 1962.
Anne Briggs sang an unaccompanied three-verse version in 1963.
Odetta recorded the song on her 1963 album, One Grain of Sand.
John Martyn's version was present on his 1967 debut album, London Conversation.
Alfred Deller performed a version of it with Desmond Dupre, for the Folksongs album.
Alan Stivell's 1972 version, sung in English, is also very close to the original song.
Loreena McKennitt featured it on her 1985 album Elemental.
In 1986, Eyeless in Gaza featured an a cappella version on the album Back from the Rains.
All About Eve featured a version on their eponymous 1988 debut album, and often performed it live in their early days. Following an acrimonious departure from the band, guitarist Tim Bricheno would later use a sample of the vocal in the song "Wrong Thing", recorded by his later band, XC-NN.
In 1988 Van Morrison and the Chieftains recorded a version for the album Irish Heartbeat and a live version of it also appeared on Van Morrison's 1990 concert video, Van Morrison: The Concert.
In 1989 Simple Minds recorded a song called "Belfast Child", which made it to No. 1 in the UK Charts. This song uses the traditional tune associated with "She Moved Through the Fair", but with completely different words. The song appears on their album Street Fighting Years.
Marianne Faithfull featured a version on her 1990 album Blazing Away, and has often sung it in concert.
In 1991 it was recorded by Feargal Sharkey.
Máire Brennan recorded a version as a B-side to her 1992 single, "Against the Wind".
[Jam Nation] a recording project commissioned by Peter Gabriel for his 'Real World Records' label. Their rootsy, dubwise version is available on the album "Way Down Below Buffalo Hell" http://realworldrecords.com/catalogue/way-down-below-buffalo-hell/#
Sinéad O'Connor performed it on The Chieftains' collaborative album The Long Black Veil in 1995. She also recorded a solo version which was featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 film Michael Collins.
Irish Boyband Boyzone performed it on the album A Different Beat in 1996.
English musician Mike Oldfield covered the song on his 1996 album, Voyager.
For the Irish musical Lord of the Dance, which began touring in 1996, the musical score composed by Ronan Hardiman includes a version of the song from the female point of view sung by Anne Buckley.
Bert Jansch recorded a version for his 1998 album Toy Balloon.
In 1998, Sarah Brightman recorded a version (as "He Moved Through the Fair") as a B-side to her "Eden" single.
Alan Hacker and Tony Coe recorded an arrangement by Hacker, under the title "One Star Awake", on their 1999 album Sun moon and stars.
Charlie Zahm recorded it on his 1999 album The Celtic Balladeer.
Charlotte Church recorded the song on her 2000 album Charlotte Church.
Sissel and The Chieftains performed the song live at the Ole Blues Music Festival in Bergen, Norway on April 29, 2001, which can be heard at archive.org.
Anthony Kearns recorded it on the 2002 album The Very Best of the Irish Tenors.
Wayne Shorter recorded an instrumental arrangement as "She Moves Through the Fair" on his 2003 album Alegría.
Celtic Woman recorded the song on their 2004 eponymous first album.
Enter the Haggis covered the song on their 2005 album Casualties of Retail.
The song was used by Granada Reports in one of their bulletins to commemorate the life of George Best who died in 2005.
Hayley Westenra recorded a version in her 2005 album Odyssey.
Michael Londra recorded a version in his 2006 album Celt.
German techno group Scooter sampled the song on the track "Ratty's Revenge" from their 2007 album The Ultimate Aural Orgasm.
Cara Dillon recorded the song on her 2009 Hill of Thieves album.
Nyle Wolfe included a version in his 2009 album Home Ground.
Camilla Kerslake included a version in her eponymous debut album.
Culann's Hounds are joined by Sara Gardner on their album One for the Road.
The Borderers - an Australian band also recorded the song and it was used as a movie soundtrack sometime in the 90's.
Rolf Harris recorded a version with Kate Bush in 2009 which has not yet been released.
Jim Causley recorded a Devonshire version on his 2011 album Dumnonia.

Literary Usage

One Star Awake: Return of the Unknown Soldier is an allegorical gothic novel by Steven Cain that takes its title from the song and begins with a brief quotation.

From Wikipedia.

Easter Rising Week - Rebel Songs

2011-04-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

From film "Wind That Shakes the Barley".

On Easter Monday 1916 a group of Irish patriots angered that their young men were being recruited to serve in the British armed forces "so small nations would be free" staged an attempted revolution in Dublin. In just a few days they were destroyed, the ringleaders sentenced to death without a fair trial, executed and their bodies thrown in a lime-filled unmarked grave. The rebels themselves failed, but outrage over how the British and Irish authorities dealt with the uprising began the long, hard won road to independence, at least for the 26 counties that now make up the Republic of Ireland.

In honor of the day we feature songs of revellion and opposition not only in Ireland but in other Celtic heritage lands.

"Same Difference" will spotlight an hour of difference performances of "Wind That Shakes the Barley", an Irish traditional ballad about a rebel.

"The Wind That Shakes the Barley" is an Irish ballad written by Robert Dwyer Joyce (1836–1883), a Limerick-born poet and professor of English literature. The song is written from the perspective of a doomed young Wexford rebel who is about to sacrifice his relationship with his loved one and plunge into the cauldron of violence associated with the 1798 rebellion in Ireland. The references to barley in the song derive from the fact that the rebels often carried barley oats in their pockets as provisions for when on the march. This gave rise to the post-rebellion phenomenon of barley growing and marking the "croppy-holes," mass unmarked graves which slain rebels were thrown into, symbolising the regenerative nature of Irish resistance to British rule.

The song is no. 2994 in the Roud Folk Song Index.

The song's title was borrowed for the Ken Loach's 2006 film of the same name, which features the song in one scene.

Lyrics

I sat within a valley green
I sat me with my true love
My sad heart strove to choose between
The old love and the new love
The old for her, the new that made
Me think on Ireland dearly
While soft the wind blew down the glade
And shook the golden barley

Twas hard the woeful words to frame
To break the ties that bound us
But harder still to bear the shame
Of foreign chains around us
And so I said, "The mountain glen
I'll seek at morning early
And join the bold United Men
While soft winds shake the barley"

While sad I kissed away her tears
My fond arms 'round her flinging
The foeman's shot burst on our ears
From out the wildwood ringing
A bullet pierced my true love's side
In life's young spring so early
And on my breast in blood she died
While soft winds shook the barley

I bore her to some mountain stream
And many's the summer blossom
I placed with branches soft and green
About her gore-stained bosom
I wept and kissed her clay-cold corpse
Then rushed o'er vale and valley
My vengeance on the foe to wreak
While soft winds shook the barley

But blood for blood without remorse
I've taken at Oulart Hollow
And laid my true love's clay-cold corpse
Where I full soon may follow
As 'round her grave I wander drear
Noon, night and morning early
With breaking heart when e'er I hear
The wind that shakes the barley

Cover versions

The song has been covered by many artists including The Chieftains, Loreena McKennitt, The Dubliners, Dolores Keane, Dead Can Dance (sung by Lisa Gerrard), Altan, Solas, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Dick Gaughan, Orthodox Celts, Amanda Palmer, Fire + Ice, The Irish Rovers, Sarah Jezebel Deva, Martin Carthy and Rosie Doonan.

Other uses of the name

Seán Keating chose the title for his eponymously named 1941 painting.[3]
A poem by the same name was published by Katharine Tynan.
This is also the name of a fast Irish reel.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley, novel by James Barke about the Scots poet Robert Burns published in 1946, first of a quintet of novels on the subject.

From Wikipedia.

Star of the County Down

2011-04-15T20:34:00.000-07:00

County Down

"Star of the County Down" is an old Irish ballad set near Banbridge in County Down, in Northern Ireland. The words are by Cathal McGarvey, 1866-1927, from Ramelton, County Donegal. The tune of the song, a[entatonic melody, is similar to that of several other works, including the almost identical English tune "Kingsfold", well known from several popular hymns, such as "Led By the Spirit." The folk tune was the basis for Ralph Vaughan Williams' Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus.

The melody was also used in an old Irish folk song called My Love Nell. The lyrics of My Love Nell tell the story of young man who courts a girl but loses her when she emigrates to America. The only real similarity with Star of the County Down is that Nell too comes from County Down. This may have inspired McGarvey to place the heroine of his new song in Down as well. McGarvey was from Donegal.

The Star of the County Down uses a tight rhyme scheme. Each stanza is a double quatrain, and the first and third lines of each quatrain have an internal rhyme on the second and fourth feet: [aa]b[cc]b. The refrain is a single quatrain with the same rhyming pattern.

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 (or Rosie) 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 imagines wedding the girl.

One popular adaptation (keeping the music, but changing the lyrics) is "The Fighting 69th", which is about the famed Irish Brigade of the American Civil War.

The melody is also used for the carol "The Seven Rejoices of Mary," sung by Loreena McKennitt on A Midwinter Night's Dream and for the eponymous song on The Wind That Shakes The Barley.

A parody of the song was produced by "Trifolkal" called "The Starbucks of County Down".

Lyrics
Near Banbridge town, in the County Down
One morning in July
Down a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín
And she smiled as she passed me by.
Oh she looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut brown hair
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself
To be sure I was really there.

Chorus:
And from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I've seen like the sweet cailín
That I met in the County Down.

As she onward sped I shook my head
And I gazed with a feeling rare
And I said, says I, to a passerby
"Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?"
He smiled at me, and with pride says he,
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown.
She's young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann
She's the star of the County Down."

Chorus

I've travelled a bit, but never was hit
Since my roving career began
But fair and square I surrendered there
To the charms of young Rose McCann.
I'd a heart to let and no tenant yet
Did I meet with in shawl or gown
But in she went and I asked no rent
From the star of the County Down.

Chorus

At the crossroads fair I'll be surely there
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
And I'll try sheep's eyes, and deludhering lies
On the heart of the nut-brown rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Though with rust my plow turns brown
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down.

Chorus

From Wikipedia

Same Difference: Rising of the Moon/Wearing of the Green

2011-04-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

Arrest of Lord Edmund Fitzgerald
(George Cruikshank).

The Irish Rebellion of 1798

You will hear the year 1798 mentioned in the lyrics of "Rising of the Moon", as well as the hint of the defeat the United Irishmen, a nonsectarian association, received at Wexford. Here's some background taken from Wikipedia about these fateful events.

Background

Since 1691 and the end of the Williamite war, Ireland had chiefly been controlled by a Protestant Ascendancy constituting members of the established Church loyal to the British Crown. It governed the majority Irish Catholic population by a form of institutionalised sectarianism codified in the Penal Laws. In the late 18th century, liberal elements among the ruling class were inspired by the example of the American Revolution (1776–1783) and sought to form common cause with the Catholic populace to achieve reform and greater autonomy from Britain. As in England, the majority of Protestants, as well as all Catholics, were barred from voting because they did not pass a property threshold.

When France joined the Americans in support of their Revolutionary War, London called for volunteers to join militias to defend Ireland against the threat of invasion from France. Many thousands joined the Irish Volunteers. In 1782 they used their newly powerful position to force the Crown to grant the landed Ascendancy self-rule and a more independent parliament ("Grattan's Parliament"). The Irish Patriot Party, led by Henry Grattan, pushed for greater enfranchisement. In 1793 parliament passed laws allowing Catholics with some property to vote, but they could neither be elected nor appointed as state officials. Liberal elements of the Ascendancy seeking a greater franchise for the people, and an end to religious discrimination, were further inspired by the French Revolution, which had taken place in a Catholic country.

Society of United Irishmen

The prospect of reform inspired a small group of Protestant liberals in Belfast to found the Society of United Irishmen in 1791. The organisation crossed the religious divide with a membership comprising Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, other Protestant "dissenters" groups, and some from the Protestant Ascendancy. The Society openly put forward policies of further democratic reforms and Catholic emancipation, reforms which the Irish Parliament had little intention of granting. The British government was just as unwilling to enforce such reforms until pressured to do so in 1793. The outbreak of war with France earlier in 1793, following the execution of Louis XVI, forced the Society underground and toward armed insurrection with French aid. The avowed intent of the United Irishmen was to "break the connection with England"; the organisation spread throughout Ireland and had at least 200,000 members by 1797 . It linked up with Catholic agrarian resistance groups, known as the Defenders, who had started raiding houses for arms in early 1793.

Despite their growing strength, the United Irish leadership decided to seek military help from the French revolutionary government and to postpone the rising until French troops landed in Ireland. Theobald Wolfe Tone, leader of the United Irishmen, travelled in exile from the United States to France to press the case for intervention.

Aborted invasion (1796)

Tone's efforts succeeded with the dispatch of the Expédition d'Irlande, and he accompanied a force of 14,000 French veteran troops under General Hoche which arrived off the coast of Ireland at Bantry Bay in December 1796 after eluding the Royal Navy. However, unremitting storms, indecisiveness of leaders and poor seamanship all combined to prevent a landing. The despairing Wolfe Tone remarked; "England has had its luckiest escape since the Armada." The French fleet was forced to return home and the veteran army intended to spearhead the invasion of Ireland split up and was sent to fight in other theatres of the French Revolutionary Wars.

Counter-insurgency and repression

The Establishment responded to widespread disorders by launching a counter-campaign of martial law from 2 March 1797. It used tactics including house burnings, torture of captives, pitchcapping and murder, particularly in Ulster as it was the one area of Ireland where large numbers of Catholics and Protestants (mainly Presbyterians) had effected common cause. In May 1797 the military in Belfast also violently suppressed the newspaper of the United Irishmen, the Northern Star.

In End of the Irish Invasion ;– or– the Destruction of the French Armada (1797), James Gillray caricatured the failure of Hoche's expedition.The British establishment recognised sectarianism as a divisive tool to employ against the Protestant United Irishmen in Ulster and the divide and conquer method of colonial dominion was officially encouraged by the Government. Brigadier-General C.E. Knox wrote to General Lake (who was responsible for Ulster): "I have arranged... to increase the animosity between the Orangemen and the United Irishmen, or liberty men as they call themselves. Upon that animosity depends the safety of the centre counties of the North."

Similarly, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, John FitzGibbon, wrote to the Privy Council in June 1798, "In the North nothing will keep the rebels quiet but the conviction that where treason has broken out the rebellion is merely popish", expressing the hope that the Presbyterian republicans might not rise if they thought that rebellion was supported only by Catholics.

Loyalists across Ireland had organised in support of the Government; many supplied recruits and vital local intelligence through the foundation of the Orange Order in 1795. The Government's founding of Maynooth College in the same year, and the French conquest of Rome earlier in 1798 both helped secure the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church to rebellion; with a few individual exceptions, the Church was firmly on the side of the Crown throughout the entire period of turmoil.

In March 1798 intelligence from informants amongst the United Irish caused the Government to sweep up most of their leadership in raids in Dublin in March 1798. Martial law was imposed over most of the country and its unrelenting brutality put the United Irish organisation under severe pressure to act before it was too late. A rising in Cahir, County Tipperary broke out in response, but was quickly crushed by the High Sherrif, Col. Thomas Judkin-Fitzgerald. Militants led by Samuel Neilson and Lord Edward FitzGerald dominated the rump United Irish leadership and planned to rise without French aid, fixing the date for 23 May.

Outbreak of the rebellion

The initial plan was to take Dublin, with the counties bordering Dublin to rise in support and prevent the arrival of reinforcements followed by the rest of the country who were to tie down other garrisons. The signal to rise was to be spread by the interception of the mail coaches from Dublin. However, last-minute intelligence from informants provided the Government with details of rebel assembly points in Dublin and a huge force of military occupied them barely one hour before rebels were to assemble. Deterred by the military, the gathering groups of rebels quickly dispersed, abandoning the intended rallying points, and dumping their weapons in the surrounding lanes. In addition, the plan to intercept the mail coaches miscarried, with only the Munster-bound coach halted at Johnstown, near Naas, on the first night.

Although the planned nucleus of the rebellion had imploded, the surrounding districts of Dublin rose as planned and were swiftly followed by most of the counties surrounding Dublin. The first clashes of the rebellion took place just after dawn on 24 May. Fighting quickly spread throughout Leinster, with the heaviest fighting taking place in County Kildare where, despite the Government's successfully beating off almost every rebel attack, the rebels gained control of much of the county as military forces in Kildare were ordered to withdraw to Naas for fear of their isolation and destruction as at Prosperous. However, rebel defeats at Carlow and the hill of Tara, County Meath, effectively ended the rebellion in those counties. In County Wicklow, news of the rising spread panic and fear among loyalists; they responded by massacring rebel suspects held in custody at Dunlavin Green and in Carnew. A peer of the realm, Sir Edward Crosbie, was found guilty of leading the rebellion in Carlow and executed for treason.

The rebellion spreads

In Wicklow, large numbers rose but chiefly engaged in a bloody rural guerrilla war with the military and loyalist forces. General Joseph Holt led up to 1,000 men in the Wicklow Hills and forced the British to commit substantial forces to the area until his capitulation in October.

In the north-east, mostly Presbyterian rebels led by Henry Joy McCracken rose in County Antrim on 6 June. They briefly held most of the county, but the rising there collapsed following defeat at Antrim town. In County Down, after initial success at Saintfield, rebels led by Henry Munro were defeated in the longest battle of the rebellion at Ballynahinch.

The rebels had most success in the south-eastern county of Wexford where they seized control of the county, but a series of bloody defeats at the Battle of New Ross, Battle of Arklow, and the Battle of Bunclody prevented the effective spread of the rebellion beyond the county borders. 20,000 troops eventually poured into Wexford and inflicted defeat at the Battle of Vinegar Hill on 21 June. The dispersed rebels spread in two columns through the midlands, Kilkenny, and finally towards Ulster. The last remnants of these forces fought on until their final defeat on 14 July at the battles of Knightstown Bog, County Meath and Ballyboughal, County Dublin.

Atrocities

Half-hanging of suspected United Irishmen by government troops.The intimate nature of the conflict meant that the rebellion at times took on the worst characteristics of a civil war, especially in Leinster. Sectarian resentment was fuelled by the remaining Penal Laws still in force and by the ruthless campaign of repression prior to the rising. Rumours of planned massacres by both sides were common in the days before the rising and led to a widespread climate of fear.

Government

The aftermath of almost every British victory in the rising was marked by the massacre of captured and wounded rebels with some on a large scale such as at Carlow, New Ross, Ballinamuck and Killala. The British were responsible for particularly gruesome massacres at Gibbet Rath, New Ross and Enniscorthy, burning rebels alive in the latter two. For those rebels who were taken alive in the aftermath of battle, being regarded as traitors to the Crown, they were not treated as prisoners of war but were executed, usually by hanging.

In addition countless non-combatant civilians were murdered by the military, who also practised gang rape, particularly in County Wexford. Many individual instances of murder were also unofficially carried out by aggressive local Yeomanry militia units before, during and after the rebellion as their local knowledge led them to attack suspected rebels. "Pardoned" rebels were a particular target.]

Rebel

Apart from small scale atrocities near Saintfield, County Down and at Rathangan in County Kildare almost all rebel atrocities during the rebellion were confined to County Wexford. Executions of loyalist prisoners took place at the Vinegar Hill camp and Wexford town, and a massacre of civilians at Scullabogue. Despite the United Irishmen being an avowedly non-sectarian organisation, the rebel atrocities in Wexford at times took on a sectarian nature especially where rebel discipline broke down, with Protestantism often being equated with loyalism.

French intervention

On 22 August, nearly two months after the main uprisings had been defeated, about 1,000 French soldiers under General Humbert landed in the north-west of the country, at Kilcummin in County Mayo. Joined by up to 5,000 local rebels, they had some initial success, inflicting a humiliating defeat on the British at the Castlebar (also known as the Castlebar races to commemorate the speed of the retreat) and setting up a short-lived "Republic of Connaught". This sparked some supportive risings in Longford and Westmeath which were quickly defeated, and the main force was defeated at the battle of Ballinamuck, in County Longford, on 8 September 1798. The French troops who surrendered were repatriated to France in exchange for British prisoners of war, but hundreds of the captured Irish rebels were executed. This episode of the 1798 Rebellion became a major event in the heritage and collective memory of the West of Ireland and was commonly known in Irish as Bliain na bhFrancach and in English as "The Year of the French.

On 12 October 1798, a larger French force consisting of 3,000 men, and including Wolfe Tone himself, attempted to land in County Donegal near Lough Swilly. They were intercepted by a larger Royal Navy squadron, and finally surrendered after a three hour battle without ever landing in Ireland. Wolfe Tone was tried by court-martial in Dublin and found guilty. He asked for death by firing squad, but when this was refused, Tone cheated the hangman by slitting his own throat in prison on 12 November, and died a week later.

Aftermath

Small fragments of the great rebel armies of the Summer of 1798 survived for a number of years and waged a form of guerrilla or "fugitive" warfare in several counties. In County Wicklow, "General" Joseph Holt fought on until his negotiated surrender in Autumn 1798. It was not until the failure of Robert Emmet's rebellion in 1803 that the last organised rebel forces under Michael Dwyer capitulated. Small pockets of rebel resistance had also survived in Wexford and the last rebel group under James Corocoran was not vanquished until February 1804.

The Act of Union, having been passed in August 1800, came into effect on 1 January 1801 and took away the measure of autonomy granted to Ireland's Protestant Ascendancy. It was passed largely in response to the rebellion and was underpinned by the perception that the rebellion was provoked by the brutish misrule of the Ascendancy as much as the efforts of the United Irishmen.

Religious, if not economic, discrimination against the Catholic majority was gradually abolished after the Act of Union but not before widespread radical mobilisation of the Catholic population under Daniel O'Connell. Discontent at grievances and resentment persisted but resistance to British rule now largely manifested itself along sectarian lines as in the Tithe War of 1831-36. Presbyterian radicalism was effectively tamed or reconciled to British rule by inclusion in a new Protestant Ascendancy, as opposed to a merely Anglican one. The result was that Irish politics was, until the Young Ireland movement in the mid-19th century, steered away from the unifying vision of the United Irishmen, encouraged by Unionists, Dublin Castle, and exploited by politicians such as Daniel O’Connell, towards a sectarian model which has largely dominated Irish politics to the present day.

Legacy

The 1798 rebellion was possibly the most concentrated outbreak of violence in Irish history, and resulted in thousands of deaths over the course of three months. Contemporary estimates put the death toll from 20,000 (Dublin Castle) to as many as 50,000 of which 2,000 were military and 1,000 loyalist civilians.

However, modern research suggests this figure may be too high. Firstly, a list of British soldiers killed, compiled for a fund to aid the families of dead soldiers, listed just 530 names. Secondly, professor Louis Cullen, through examination of depletion of the population in County Wexford between 1798 and 1820, put the fatal casualites in that county at 6,000. Historian Thomas Bartlett has therefore concluded, "a death toll of 10,000 for the entire island would seem to be in order".

Atrocities were committed on both sides, the majority being committed by the government forces, but rebel killings of Protestants in Wexford were given greater emphasis by the victors in the following years, as the loyalist version of events reduced the rebellion to a sectarian Catholic plot to massacre Protestants—a repeat of the Irish Rebellion of 1641.

The post-rebellion repression meant few spoke or wrote of the events from rebel perspectives, and as a result almost all initial accounts of the rebellion were written from the loyalist perspective. In many, the role of Catholicism in the rebellion was greatly exaggerated, but ironically this distortion later suited the aims of the Catholic Church in Ireland, allowing it to claim a leadership role in Irish nationalism during the 19th century. The reality that it actively sided with the British during the rising was ignored and the role of the few Catholic priests who took part in the rising, such as Fr. John Murphy, was overemphasised. The secular Enlightenment ideology of the mostly Protestant United Irish leadership was deliberately obscured. By the centenary of the Rebellion in 1898, conservative Irish nationalists and the Catholic Church would both claim that the United Irishmen had been fighting for "Faith and Fatherland", and this version of events is still, to some extent, the lasting popular memory of the rebellion.

At the bi-centenary in 1998, the non-sectarian and democratic ideals of the Rebellion were emphasised in official commemorations, reflecting the desire for reconciliation at the time of the Good Friday Agreement which was hoped would end "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland.

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1798_rebellion

The Parting Glass

2011-03-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

The Parting Glass was performed
at Shannon O'Neill's wake.

This week's Same Difference is The Pasting Glass.

From Wikipedia:

"The Parting Glass" is an Irish traditional song, often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. It was allegedly the most popular song sung in both Scotland and Ireland before Robert Burns wrote "Auld Lang Syne".

The song should not be confused with the Scottish song of the same name, which is based on Irish folk song, Here's A Health.

The celebrated Irish folk song collector, Colm O Lochlainn, pointed out that The Parting Glass shares its melody with Sweet Cootehill Town. This is another traditional farewell song, this time involving a man leaving Ireland to go to America.

However, the lyrics are quite different to The Parting Glass. One of the strengths of the Parting Glass is that it is never made clear why the person singing has to leave. He may be leaving the area or the country. It may even be that he fears he does not have long to live. The vagueness leaves each listener free to interpret the song in their own way.

Lyrics

Of all the money e'er I had,
I spent it in good company.
And all the harm I've ever done,
Alas! it was to none but me.
And all I've done for want of wit
To mem'ry now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all

Oh, all the comrades e'er I had,
They're sorry for my going away,
And all the sweethearts e'er I had,
They'd wish me one more day to stay,
But since it falls unto my lot,
That I should rise and you should not,
I gently rise and softly call,
Good night and joy be with you all.

If I had money enough to spend,
And leisure time to sit awhile,
There is a fair maid in this town,
That sorely has my heart beguiled.
Her rosy cheeks and ruby lips,
I own she has my heart in thrall,
Then fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all.

History

The song was printed as a broadside in the 1770s, and first appeared in book form in "Scots Songs" by Herd. An early version of the song is sometimes attributed to Sir Alex Boswell. The Irish version is usually considered more suitable for modern listeners. It is also the song that the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem would often sing to finish off their concerts.

The song is doubtless older than its 1770 appearance in broadside, as it was recorded in the Skene Manuscript, a collection of Scottish airs written at various dates between 1615 and 1635. It was known at least as early as 1605, when a portion of the first stanza was written in a farewell letter, as a poem now known as "Armstrong's Goodnight", by one of the Border Reivers executed that year for the murder in 1600 of Sir John Carmichael, Warden of the Scottish West March.

"Armstrong's Goodnight"

This night is my departing night,
For here no longer must I stay;
There's neither friend no foe of mine
But wishes me away.

What I have done through lack of wit,
I never, never can recall;
I hope you're all my friends as yet;
Good night. And joy be with you all.

Notable Recordings

*1959 - The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem Tradition Records Come Fill Your Glass with Us
1964 – Bob Dylan used the melody for "Restless Farewell" from the album The Times They Are A-Changin' with new verses of his own, based on the original lyrics
1979 – Ronnie Drew performed the song on The Dubliners' album Together Again
1981 – Robin Williamson recorded a version for his Songs of Love & Parting album
*1985 – The Pogues released it as a single. It appeared on their 2004 re-release of Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash
1993 – The Voice Squad closed "Good People All" with an a cappella version.
1995 – Ronnie Browne sang the song on the album Scottish Love Songs
1998 – Steeleye Span recorded the song on Horkstow Grange
1998 - Liam O'Maonlai recorded the song in the soundtrack of the movie Waking Ned Devine
2002 – Sinéad O'Connor recorded the song on Sean-Nós Nua
2003 - The Tossers recorded the song as a hidden track on their album Purgatory
*2004 – Emer Kenny on her 2004 album Parting Glass.
2004 – The Cottars featuring John McDermott on their 2004 album On Fire
*2004 – The Wailin' Jennys recorded the song on their debut album 40 Days
2006 – Shaun Davey, soundtrack for film Waking Ned. Titled "Fill To Me The Parting Glass"
2007 – Mark Seymour recorded a version on his album Titanic
*2008 – The Holy Sea released the song on their album A Beginner's Guide to the Sea
2008 – The High Kings released a version of the song in 2008
2008 – The Kreellers released a version of the song in 2008 on their album titled Sixth and Porter
2009 – The Hooks released a version of the song in 2009 on their St. Patrick's Day EP album titled Irish Punk Rock Anthems
*2009 – Cara Dillon released the song on her album Hill of Thieves
2009 – size2shoes recorded it for their pop/folk album titled size2shoes
2009 – The Spooky Men's Chorale close their EP 'De-ep' with a full choir arrangement of the song
2010 – Luke Macfarlane's fictional character Scotty Wandell sings a version of this song during the end of an episode of Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series)
2010 - The Swell Season performed the song on their 2010 North American tour.
2010 – Loreena McKennitt recorded the song for her The Wind That Shakes the Barley album of traditional Celtic songs.

(Starred - on our playlist)

In addition this week's playlist features:

Connemara Stone Company
42nd Royal Highlanders
Waking Ned Divine soundtrack
Frikin
Ceilizmir
Joseph Baldessare
Irish Robers
The Revels
John Mock
The Mickeys
Kelly, Alan & John

The Holidays Are Over

2011-03-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

You heard me.. I said "holidays"! St. Patrick's Day, Jim's birthday, Jack's birthday.. and now the next one is not until April 24, the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising! That means there are only 38 shopping days left! Well, what it actually means is that there will be no more special playlists until that week, dedicated as it is to rebel songs from several cultures.

The Same Difference this week is Lark in the Clear Air, and you will be happy as a lark to hear the variety of tracks on this week, with an infusion of new musical blood sometime Tuesday.

By the way, I have a happy announcement.. my latest book, which is my second novel, is now out as an ebook on Smashwords.. and will soon be out in paperback. Beloved Pilgrim is a crusades novel with a difference -- the knight is a lesvian. For more, check out http://www.shield-wall.com/ .

History of Ireland in Music

2011-03-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

This week's Same Difference is "Foggy Dew".

In honor of St. patrick's Day Radio De Danann will have a special playlist called "The History of Ireland in Music". Though not in order of play, as we are not allowed to publish tracks in order, the list below contains all the tracks we have assembled for the playlist so far.

he music will be on Radio Dé Danann 24/7 the week of 14-20 march. You should note that the list of music is a mix of music from the period but also simply about events and written later.

To get information on the artists and albums, tune in during the week of 14 March and check out the indivvidual listings. We will also be adding links to these tracks on Amazon mp3 Downloads in the next week.

A History of Ireland in Music: A superb article which specifies sosngs for the events in Irish history, and to which I am indebted for the development of this playlist.

Read more about the History of Ireland.

History of Ireland in Music
Radio Dé Danann

ANCIENT IRELAND

Always With You
Hill Of Tara
Spindrift - The Wedding Finn Mccools Reel
Before Historys Tale Began (Album Version)
Asturian Bagpipes
Cu Chullain
Cuchullain's Dream
Giant Finn Maccool

Tara (Hill Of Kings)The Bard & The Warrior Brian Dunning Celtic Legends- Bard & Warrior
The Dagdas Cauldron
The Invaders (Album Version)
The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne
The Tuatha De Danaan
Tir Nan Og

The SAINTS OF IRELAND

The Glendalough Saint
St Brendan's Voyage
St Kevin Of Glendalough

St.Patrick's Breastplate
Standing Stones

The VIKINGS AND BORU

Brian Boru Drum Salute
Brian Boru's March
Broadsword
Epilogue - 'Kincora'
The Battle Of Clontarf (Brian Borus March)
The Fort Of KincoraC
The Vikings - Funeral Finale

THE NORMAN INVADERS

Reels Ormonde Waters Her Long Dark HairMacmurrough And The Normans (Album Version)

Rond de Saint Patrick
The Minstrel Boy
Troubadours And Dances A Lentrada Del Tens Clar 12th Century Dance-Song In Carole Form

UNDER THE TUDORS

Follow Me Up to Carlow
Fantasia a5 No 3
Flight of the Earls
Hugh ODonnell
OSullivans March
Shane ONeill
The Duke Of Leinster His Wife
Banshee
Grace O Malley
Grace OMalley
O Donnel Aboo

O'Neill's March (Sitar Mix)
Roisin Dubh (The Small Black Rose)
Sir Philip Sidneys Lamentacion

CROMWELL AND The JACOBITE REVELLION

Ye Jacobites

Battle Of The Boyne Will They All Be True Blue Protestant Boys
Jock Battle Of Garvagh; Tandragee; Earl Of Beaconsfie
John O’Dwyer of the Glen Chief ONeills Favourite
Shan van Vocht
Kilcash
Jackets Green
Quicksteps Clares Dragoons - The White Cockade - Rakes of Mallow

The UNITED IRISHMAN AND 1798

Believe Me - Thomas Moore
Boolavogue
Henry Joy

Men Of The West
Aims Of The United Irishmen
Flight of the Wild Geese
Kelly the Boy from Calan
Roddy Mccorley
The Rising Of The Moon
The Wild Geese
Vinegar Hill
Wind the Shakes the Barley
Wolfe Tone

The FAMINE AND DIASPORA

Goodbye Mrs Durkin
The Famine Song
The Famine Year (Album Version)
The Irish Volunteer
The Fields of Athenry
The Great Hunger
The Green Fields of America

FENIAN MOVEMENTS

A Nation Once Again
As I Roved Out
Graveside Oration For ODonovan Rossa

Daniel OConnell
God Save Ireland
The Bold Robert Emmet
The West's Awake
Bold Fenian Men
Kevin Barry
Old Fenian Gun
Stellas Birthday

The EASTER RISING

Blood Stained Bandage
Banna Strand
Easter 1916
James Connelly
To My Mother (Padraig Pearse)
Come Out Ye Black And Tans
Easter Rising
Grace
Republican Flag
September 1913
The Foggy Dew
The Proclamation Of The Irish Republic 1916

A NATION ONCE AGAIN: The ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE

The Lonely Woods of Upton
Boys Of The old Brigade
Irish National Anthem
The Man from Mullingar
God Bless England

The TROUBLES

Must Ireland Divided Be
Bobby Sands
Joe McDonnell
Medley DublinNelsons Farewell
Men Behind the Wire
Ould Orange Flute

The FUTURE

Ireland's 32
Four Green Fields
Irish Ways and Irish Laws

And more.

It's Jimmy me Boy's Birthday, So It is!

2011-03-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

Jim, seen here with The Duck, had his birthday this week, and our playlist includes dozens of his favorite songs:

Gentle Maiden, also our Same Difference for this week
Nell Flaherty's Dranke
Whiskey in the Jar
Heart of Oak
Captain Kidd
Ballad of Rory McGuinness
Grangetown Whale
Battle of Waterloo
Sir Gavin Grimbald
and many others

Celebrate along with him-- he's the bloke who says "This is Radio Dé Danann" and that sort of thing -- as you gear up for St. Patrick's Day!

Time to Mix It Up a Bit

2011-02-25T21:25:00.000-08:00

ext week we will run a play list chosen by The Voice of Radio Dé Danann "Jimmy Me Boy" Tedford.. expect to hear several renditions of "The Gentle maiden" both in the play list and during the special Same Difference.

This week we are going to make a small change. Instead of the same 60-80 tracks for the entire week, we will start switching out about half the tracks on Tuesday so if you've heard 'em all by that weekday, you will have about 30 or so new tracks to listen for.

This week's Same Difference is one of my favorites, John Barleycorn, a tragic tale of agriculture performed by artists like John Renbourbe Group and Jethro Tull.

WANTED!

Recommendations for war and soldier songs with a Celtic or British source, tied to specific wars especially.

Slight Schedule Change

2011-02-20T20:32:00.000-08:00

Only change is that from now on the Pan-Celtic mix will change on Friday evenings instead of Saturday, with the exception of the coming week which will change on the Thrusday, February 24, as I will be away all weekend.

Same Difference this week is a really varied one with "Greensleeves" in so many styles you almost won't recognize it.. including Doo Wop! You just can't let this one get by you.

Hope you are gearing up for St. Paddy's Day!

Love, Celtic Style

2011-02-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

Ah love... the universal language. And not the least in Celtic cultures.

This week we feature songs of love from all over the Celtic world. Which song is on Same Difference this week? Why, Lark in the Clear Air of course.

Next week, back to our Pan-Celtic mix, but soon is Jim Tedford's birthday... Seamus O'Tedford, Jimmy Me Boy Tedford, and all the other names for "The Voice of Radio Dé Danann.

Don't forget that special day in mid March when Ireland will be the name of the game, so it will.

We are about up to 850 people who have set the station as a preset.. well over 30 favorite stations as well. This has been some ride!

The Origin of Londonderry Air

2011-02-05T23:33:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia.

The title of the air comes from the name of the county in Northern Ireland. The air was collected by Jane Ross of Limavady. The descendants of blind fiddler Jimmy McCurry assert that he is the musician from whom she transcribed the tune but there is no historical evidence to support this speculation. A similar claim is made that the tune came to the blind itinerant harpist Rory O'Cahan in a dream, and a documentary detailing this version was broadcast on the Maryland Public Television in USA in March 2000.]

Miss Ross submitted the tune to music collector George Petrie, and it was then published by the Society for the Preservation and Publication of the Melodies of Ireland in the 1855 book The Ancient Music of Ireland, which Petrie edited. The tune was listed as an anonymous air, with a note attributing its collection to Jane Ross of Londonderry. This led to the descriptive title "Londonderry Air" being used for the piece. The title "Air from County Derry" or "Derry Air" is sometimes used instead of "Londonderry Air", due to the Derry-Londonderry name dispute.

For the following beautiful air I have to express my very grateful acknowledgement to Miss J. Ross, of New Town, Limavady, in the County of Londonderry--a lady who has made a large collection of the popular unpublished melodies of the county , which she has very kindly placed at my disposal, and which has added very considerably to the stock of tunes which I had previously acquired from that still very Irish county. I say still very Irish, for though it has been planted for more than two centuries by English and Scottish settlers, the old Irish race still forms the great majority of its peasant inhabitants; and there are few, if any counties in which, with less foreign admixture, the ancient melodies of the country have been so extensively preserved. The name of the tune unfortunately was not ascertained by Miss Ross, who sent it to me with the simple remark that it was 'very old', in the correctness of which statement I have no hesitation in expressing my perfect concurrence.

The origin of the tune was for a long time somewhat mysterious, as no other collector of folk tunes encountered it, and all known examples are descended from Miss Ross's submission to Petrie's collection. In a 1934 article, Anne Geddes Gilchrist suggested that the performer Ross heard played the song with extreme rubato, causing Ross to mistake the time signature of the piece for common time (4/4) rather than 3/4. Gilchrist asserted that adjusting the rhythm of the piece as she proposed produced a tune more typical of Irish folk music.

In 1974, Hugh Shields found a long-forgotten traditional song which was very similar to Gilchrist's modified version of the melody. The song, Aislean an Oigfear (in modern Irish Aisling an Óigfhir, "The young man's dream"), had been transcribed by Edward Bunting in 1792 based on a performance by harper Denis Hempson at the Belfast Harp Festival. Bunting published it in 1796.[6] Hempson lived in Magilligan, not far from Ross's home in Limavady. Hempson died in 1807. In 2000, Brian Audley published his authoritative research on the tune's origins. He showed how the distinctive high section of the tune had derived from a refrain in The Young Man's Dream which, over time, crept into the body of the music. He also discovered the original words to the tune as we now know it which were written by Edward Fitzsimmons and published in 1814; his song is 'The Confession of Devorgilla', otherwise known by its first line 'Oh Shrive Me Father'.

This week's "Same Difference" includes some remarkable renditions of this song, including my personal favorite, performed by Harry Belafonte.

Listen during our pan-Celtic mix for "Young Man's Dream", performed by Tommy Sand, and an instrumental by cellist Ilse de Ziah under the Gaelic title, "Aisling An Oig-fhir".

Take a look at Benjamin Biernan's blog, Internatinal Concertina Association for a brief article about and lyrics for about the original song "The Confession of Devorgilla", based on an incident in the 12th century which helped bring about Henry II's invasion of Ireland.

Next week: Celtic love songs for Valentine's Day. Get your requests in now!

Happy Birthday,. Friar Jak!

2011-01-29T20:13:00.000-08:00

Friar Jak

This week is Friar Jak's brithday, so we are playing his favorite types of music, instrumentals, medieval/Renaissance and battle music.

Our Same Difference this week is also for Friar Jak: Greensleeves.

Jak is a wonderful fellow who is invaluable source of advice for historical novelists on weapoins and battle. He is also a dedicated teacher of geometry at a high school on a Naval base and a writer and writing coach.

Lá breith sona dhuit! Happy birthday!

The Bluebells of Scotland on Same Difference This Week

2011-01-22T21:53:00.000-08:00

This week's Same Difference features the song The Bluebells of Scotland. Athough we had a hard time finding enough tracks on Amazon MP3 to fill the hour, we have kept the special play list in honor of Laura Vosika's haunting novel, Blue Bells of Scotland. It is a time travel story where it is the scent of bluebells that brings one trans-temporal identical twin to trade places with another, the first in Bannockburn era Scotland and the other a pampered and selfish 21st century musician. Which do you think will adjust better to his new life?

This week's Pan-Celtic Mix is a real hodgepodge of Celtic cultures and voices, from traditional songs to a punk rendition of The Athol Highlander!

Tune in every week for all the Celtic music with smatterings of Renaissance and old British folk songs that will have your toe tapping and your heart swelling.

And next week we honor a truly generous and talented man, Friar Jak, author and geometry teacher, with a selection of the melodies he loves best.

Don't forget, Valentine's Day is coming up, and get your requests in for your favorite Celtic love songs!

Hard-hearted Barbara Allen

2011-01-17T18:19:00.000-08:00

This week's Same Difference features the traditional song, Barbara Allen.

From Wikipedia

"The Ballad of Barbara Allen", also known as "Barbara Ellen," "Barbara Allan," "Barb'ry Allen," "Barbriallen," etc., is a folk song known in dozens of versions. It has been classified as Child Ballad 84 and Roud 54. The author is unknown, but the song may have originated in England or Scotland^[1]. The earliest known mention of the song is in Samuel Pepys' diary[1] for January 2. 1666 (ed. Robert Latham & William Matthews, Vol. vii, London: [1972], p. 1.) where he refers to the "little Scotch song of 'Barbary Allen'".

Versions

The ballad of Barbara Allen was first printed in England in 1750 ^[2] but had existed in oral versions at least a century before that date. The ballad was first printed in the United States in 1836.
Most versions of "Barbara Allen" can be summarised thus: a young man is dying of unrequited love for Barbara Allen; she is called to his deathbed but all she can say is, 'Young man, I think you're dying.' When he dies, she is stricken with grief and dies soon after. Often, a briar grows from her grave and a rose from his, until they grow together.

Not surprisingly, given that this is a ballad of unknown age and origin, largely passed down orally, the details of the story vary significantly in different printed and recorded versions. The setting is usually in the fictitious Scarlet Town (possibly a pun on the English town of Reading, pronounced "redding"), although London town and Dublin town are also popular. The action usually takes place "in the merry month of May" although some versions place it in the autumn. The young man who dies of a broken heart is usually called Sweet William or some slight variant such as young Willie Grove, sweet Willie Graeme. In other versions the name is Sir John Graeme. The version printed below calls him Jemmye Grove. Some longer versions of the ballad explain Barbara's "cruelty" by saying that she (mistakenly) believed that the young man slighted her first.

Many artists have recorded the song, including Andreas Scholl, Joan Baez, Shirley Collins, Doris Day, The Everly Brothers, Roger Quilter, Texas Gladden, John Travolta, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Maxine Sullivan, Pete Seeger, Tom Rush, Angelo Branduardi (Italian version titled "Piano Piano" in 1983's album Cercando l'oro), John Jacob Niles, Merle Travis, Bob Dylan, Martin Carthy, Colin Meloy, Michael Hurley, Art Garfunkel, Simon & Garfunkel, Burl Ives, The Grateful Dead, Eddy Arnold, Moses "Clear Rock" Platt, Sonne Hagal, Frank Turner, The New Christy Minstrels, Blackmore's Night.

Johnny Cash re-wrote lyrics to this song and performed it live at Austin City Limits in 1987. The song was re-named "The Ballad of Barbara". The main theme of the song is about divorce instead of death. The main character was born and raised in a southern town, and eventually moved his way up north to possibly New York or Washington D.C. After having a lot of girls and drinks, he discovers his true love where they get married under a "lofty steeple". However, when the main character offers to take her to see his folks down south, she refuses and decides to "take the city". The main character divorces her and moves back home "much wiser now and older".

Uses in popular culture

The first verse was sung by Porky Pig, in the character of Friar Tuck, in the 1958 Warner Bros. cartoon Robin Hood Daffy. Much of the song is sung throughout the 1951 film classic Scrooge, starring Alastair Sim. It is also sung in the 1940 movie, Tom Brown's School Days. It is heard again in the 1958 Yul Brynner film, The Buccaneer, and in an episode of the 1989–91 TV series Bordertown. In the 2000 mockumentary Best in Show, Michael McKean's character sings a verse of this song to his dog over the phone, saying it is the dog's favorite song. John Travolta did a short rendition of the song in A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004), included on the soundtrack. The song is sung in various versions in the 2000 film Songcatcher. It is also sung by the character, Flora in Jane Campion's The Piano (1993).

The stage play Dark of the Moon (1942), by Howard Richardson and William Berney, is based on the ballad, as a reference to the influence of English, Irish and Scottish folktales and songs in the Appalachian region. The name of the female lead is Barbara Allen.

"'For the Love of Barbara Allen'" is the title of a short story by Robert E. Howard in which an old dying woman is reunited with the youthful reincarnation of her lost love, killed in the Civil War. The song's lyrics are quoted at the beginning and end of the tale, and the ballad itself is cited as a fixture in the lives of the Scotch-Irish pioneers.

The radio series Suspense did a dramatic interpretation of the ballad on October 20, 1952 entitled "The Death of Barbara Allen" with Anne Baxter in the title role.

The Ballad of Barbara Allen is one of the recurring themes in the comic strip "Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron" which appeared in Daniel Clowes' Eightball (issues 1-10). In dream sequences and in a film within the story a bearded folk singer sings various lines from the song.

The song provided the inspiration for a British radio play called Barbara Allen in which the title role was played by Honeysuckle Weeks and Keith Barron played Sir John Grove, the father of Jemmye Grove. The play was written by David Pownall and initially broadcast on BBC Radio 7 on February 16, 2009.

One version

In Scarlet Town, where I was born,

There was a fair maid dwellin'

Made every youth cry well-a-day

Her name was Barbara Allen.

All in the merry month of May

When green buds they were swellin',

Young Jeremy Grove on his deathbed lay

For love of Barbara Allen.

He sent his man unto her then,

To the town where she was dwellin'.

"You must come to my master dear,

If your name be Barbara Allen,

For death is printed on his face

And o'er his heart is stealin'.

Then haste away to comfort him,

O lovely Barbara Allen."

Though death be printed on his face

And o'er his heart be stealin',

Yet little better shall he be

For bonny Barbara Allen.

So slowly, slowly, she came up

And slowly she came nigh him,

And all she said when there she came,

"Young man, I think you're dyin'."

He turned his face unto her straight

With deadly sorrow sighin'.

"O lovely maid, come pity me;

I'm on my deathbed lyin'."

"If on your deathbed you do lie

What needs the tale you're tellin'?

I cannot keep you from your death.

Farewell," said Barbara Allen.

He turned his face unto the wall

As deadly pangs he fell in.

"Adieu! Adieu! Adieu to you all!

Adieu to Barbara Allen!"

As she was walking o'er the fields

She heard the bell a-knellin'

And every stroke did seem to say,

"Unworthy Barbara Allen."

She turned her body 'round about

And spied the corpse a-comin'.

"Lay down, lay down the corpse," she said,

"That I may look upon him."

With scornful eye she looked down,

Her cheek with laughter swellin',

That all her friends cried out amaine,

"Unworthy Barbara Allen."

When he was dead and laid in grave

Her heart was struck with sorrow.

"O mother, mother, make my bed

For I shall die tomorrow.

Hard-hearted creature, him to slight

Who loved me so dearly,

O that I had been more kind to him,

When he was live and near me!"

She on her deathbed, as she lay,

Begged to be buried by him

And sore repented of the day

That she did e'er deny him.

"Farewell," she said, "ye virgins all,

And shun the fault I fell in.

Henceforth take warning by the fall

Of cruel Barbara Allen."

Next week: The Bluebells of Scotland.

Same Difference Schedule

2011-01-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

Ash grove

Same Difference Featured Song Line-up

Week of January 9
The Ash Grove

Week of January 16
Barbara Allen

Week of January 30
Bluebells of Scotland

Week of February 6
Danny Boy

Week of February 13 - Love Week
Gentle Maiden

Week of February 20
Greensleeves

Week of February 27
John Barleycorn

Week of March 6
Lark in the Clear Air

Week of March 13 - Irish Week
Foggy Dew

Week of March 20
Paarting Glass

Week of March 27
Rising of the Moon/Wearing of the Green

Danny Boy/Londonderry Air and a Special Playlist

2011-01-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

The first week of every calendar year our host, Nan Hawthorne, celebrates her birthday with a playlist of all her favorite tracks. Enjoy everything from Marc Gunn's Wild Kitty, Metalliza's Whiskey in the Jar, and Jethro Tull's Broadsword to Donovan's Guinevere and a song from the Third Crusade.

For Same Difference this week we feature the song known both as Danny Boy and Londonderry Air in the same broad mix of artists and stules.

Happy New Year and Have Fun!

Auld Lang Syne

2010-12-25T17:10:00.000-08:00

Robert Burns

Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song (Roud # 6294). It is well known in many English-speaking (and other) countries and is often sung to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight. By extension, its use has also become common at funerals, graduations, and as a farewell or ending to other occasions.

The song's Scots title may be translated into English literally as "old long since", or more idiomatically, "long long ago", "days gone by" or "old times". Consequently "For auld lang syne", as it appears in the first line of the chorus, is loosely translated as "for (the sake of) old times".

The phrase "Auld Lang Syne" is also used in similar poems by Robert Ayton (1570–1638), Allan Ramsay (1686–1757), and James Watson (1711) as well as older folk songs predating Burns.[4] Matthew Fitt uses the phrase "In the days of auld lang syne" as the equivalent of "Once upon a time..." in his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language.

History

Robert Burns sent a copy of the original song to the Scots Musical Museum with the remark, “The following song, an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man".[5] Some of the lyrics were indeed "collected" rather than composed by the poet; the ballad "Old Long Syne" printed in 1711 by James Watson shows considerable similarity in the first verse and the chorus to Burns' later poem,[4] and is almost certainly derived from the same "old song". It is a fair supposition to attribute the rest of the poem to Burns himself.

There is some doubt as to whether the melody used today is the same one Burns originally intended, but it is widely used in Scotland and in the rest of the world.

Singing the song on Hogmanay or New Year's Eve very quickly became a Scots custom that soon spread to other parts of the British Isles. As Scots (and other Britons) emigrated around the world, they took the song with them.

Canadian band leader Guy Lombardo is often credited with popularising the use of the song at New Year’s celebrations in America, through his annual broadcasts on radio and television, beginning in 1929. The song became his trademark. In addition to his live broadcasts, Lombardo recorded the song more than once. His first recording was in 1939. A later recording on 29 September 1947 was issued as a single by Decca Records as catalog #24260.

However, earlier newspaper articles describe revellers on both sides of the Atlantic singing the song to usher in the New Year:

"Holiday Parties at Lenox" (Massachusetts, USA) (1896) – The company joined hands in the great music room at midnight and sang “Auld Lang Syne” as the last stroke of 12 sounded and the new year came in.
"New Year's Eve in London" (London, England) (1910) – Usual Customs Observed by People of All Classes… The passing of the old year was celebrated in London much as usual. The Scottish residents gathered outside of St. Paul's Church and sang “Auld Lang Syne” as the last stroke of 12 sounded from the great bell.
A manuscript of "Auld Lang Syne" is held in the permanent collection of The Lilly Library at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

Auld Lang Syne is the featured song on Radio Dé Danann thos week.

Our Same Difference playlist, not in order of play.
✓ Auld Lang Syne
Brenda & Ellis
Light Up Our Christmas Tree

✓ Auld Lang Syne
Coinola Midget Authentic Nickelodeon and Orchestrion
Music of Yesteryear

✓ Auld Lang Syne
Los Niños de Navidad
Canta Navidad con los Niños

✓ Auld Lang Syne
Marc Gunn
The Bridge

✓ Auld Lang Syne
Anonymous
Jim MacLeod's Hogmanay Party from Blair Castle

✓ Auld Lang Syne
The Cast
The Winnowing

✓ Auld Lang Syne
North Sea Gas
Dark Island

✓ Auld Lang Syne
Salsa Celtica
El Agua De La Vida

✓ Auld Lang Syne
The Tannahill Weavers
A Thistle & Shamrock

✓ Auld Lang Syne
Gary Hoey
Ho! Ho! Hoey: The Complete Collection

✓ Auld Lang Syne
Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
The Complete Christmas Collection (Digitally Remastered)

✓ Auld Lang Syne (Celtic Traditional)
The London Fox Players
Auld Lang Syne - New Year's Eve Party

✓ Auld Lang Syne 2007
Bing Futch
Dulcimer

✓ Auld Lang Syne
Jingle Cats
Meowy Christmas

✓ Auld Lang Syne
Ronnie Gene Bryant
Auld Lang Syne

✓ Auld Lang Syne (Live At The Fillmore East)
Jimi Hendrix
Live At The Fillmore East

✓ Crowd and Band Play ""Auld Lang Syne"" (Folla e banda che suona "Auld Lang Syne" la vigilia di Capodanno)
Sound Effects No. 13

✓ Auld Lang Syne
The Dan Air Scottish Pipe Band
Best of Scottish Pipes & Drums

Holiday Music Reaches Critical Mass!

2010-12-18T23:28:00.000-08:00

With "Suo Gan" as this week's Same Difference, we are all holiday music all the time now. You will hear a lot of traditional Celtic holiday music as well as a many more familiar carols.

Chech out the videos on Nan Hawthorne's Booking History this week for some lovely renditions of "Suo Gan" in Welsh, "Wexford Carol" and one specifically for Jim's and my wedding anniversary, Jethro Tull's "Ring Out Solstice Bells" - we played it at our wedding 29 years ago.

"Ring Out Solstice Bells" is just one of our favorites this week. Another is "The Boar's Head Carol". I will never forget being in the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, when a procession of men in medieval livery came into the hall singing that carol and holding a real boar's head aloft! I also love "Carol of the Bagpipes" which you can hear this week.

Next week, besides "Auld Lang Syne" we have several New Year's songs from all over the Celtic world.

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" in Celtic Languages

Asturian - Bones Navidaes y Gayoleru añu nuevu!
Breton - Nedeleg laouen ha bloavezh mat.
Cornish - Nadelik Lowen ha Blydhen Nowydh Da
Gallician - Bo Nadal e próspero aninovo.
Irish Gaelic - Nollaig shona duit. Bliain úr faoi shéan is faoi mhaise duit.
Manx - Nollick Ghennal as Blein Vie Noa. (or "meow".)
Scottish Gaelic - Nollaig chridheil agus bliadhna mhath ùr .
Welsh - Nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda

From Translations of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in Different Languages, which has pronunciations for several of these.

2010-12-04T22:28:00.000-08:00

Design from http://www.cafepress.com/+celtic-art+ornaments

This week we start including winter holiday music on Radio Dé Danann... Christmas, yes, but also a Hanukkah song and several Pagan Yule pieces. It's a combination of holiday tunes sung and played by Celtic artists, Celtic holiday tunes like The Wexford Carol, and a smattering of Renaissance melodies and festive jigs, reels and hornpipes.

The design above, by the way, I found on CafePress.com -- not one of our RDD designs, but awfully nice. Click on the link to see more and to order the design on a variety of gift items.

If it is not already there, I will get a link up to our own RDD CafePress.com store for your gift giving pleasure. Don't forget you can click through on song titles to order Celtic holiday albums aas fgifts too!

Same Difference

Listen to quite a range of renditions of Greensleeves this week on Same Difference, from Odetta to hard rock to Renaissance to Do Wop!

In two weeks, for the week of December 18-24 we will feature The Wexford Carol on Same Difference. And what do you think we will play for the week of December 31? Why, Auld Lang Syne, of course!

Countdown To Christmas Music

2010-11-29T16:00:00.000-08:00

The Winter Holidays are upon us... why do we feel like we have to say it that way, will you tell me now?

Starting next week we will pepper our usual eclectic Celtic playlist with holiday theme music, and don't assume it will all be Christmas! We have a few Hanukkah melodies and more than a few Winter Solstice melodies. The next week after we will add more, then the whole dang playlist will be holiday related, just as you wish.

The Same Difference later in December will be some Celtic holiday tune.

For this week's Same Difference it's a repeat of our "Foggy Dew" extravaganza, including my top fave rave, Sinead O'Conor and The Chieftains.

Just think what a wonderful and economical holiday gift it would be to give some Celtic music lover a VIP membership in Live365.com so they can listen to their wee heart's content, so they can, without an ad sourin' the brew every so often.

We are about to have our second anniversary for this station, one of the finest experiences of my life. We are at over 700 people setting the station on their presets.. I cannot possibly thank you all enough!!

Top of the holiday season, to ye!

Nan and everyone at Radio Dé Danann!

Ships and Sailors Week on Radio Dé Danann

2010-11-19T15:44:00.000-08:00

This week we are doing a complete playlist of songs relating to ships, sailors, and the sea. The following is an approximate playlist. We aren't allowed to list the tracks in order, but here they are roughly alphabetical by song title. There are both more and fewer... this is accurate at this writing however.

This is about five hours of music. It will run roughly from Saturday, November 20 in the evening Pacific Time to the same time the following Saturday, November 27.

We also have as this week's Same Difference the Irish song, "The Irish Rover".

Our Sponsor, Pirates of the Narrow Seas series, by M. Kei.

The Songs

Title, Artist, Album

A Sailor's Life, John Tams, The Reckoning
All for Me Grog, The Potato Pirates, Potato Pirates
An Old Song on the Spanish Armada, or Sir Francis Drake, City Waites, The, Penny Merriments: Street Songs Of 17th Century England
At the Edge of the Cornish Sea - Part 1, David Helfand and Friends, At the Edge of the Cornish Sea
Back Home in Derry, Druidsong, Johnny Jump Up
Barrett's Privateers, Stan Rogers, Fogarty's cove
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Marc Gunn, Bridge
Cape Cod Girls, Bounding Main, Lost At Sea
Captain Coull's Parrot, Peatbog Faeries, Putumayo Presents: Celtic Crossroads
Captain Kidd, The Pirates Of St. Piran, Three Sheets To The Wind (Another Night At The Mermaid Inn)
Cornish Smugglers Song, Sue White, Padstow Mayday And Other Cornish Folksongs
Down by the Sea, Patrick Ball, Celtic Harp 2: from a Distant Time
Drunken Sailor, The Whiskey Bards, Women, Whiskey and War
Dublin O'Shea, Celt Check!, Improved Regimental
Eddystone Light - Ian Marshall, Ian Marshall, Folk, Roots and Traditional Music From Cornwall - Songs From the Hill Volume Three
Empress of Ireland, Coole Park,
Faded Cabbage/Bannana Fingers/Jim Tweedie's Sea-Leg, Red Hackle Pipes & Drums, The Bagpipes & Drums of Scotland [Laserlight 34 Track] Disc 2
Fiddlers Green, Celt Check!, Improved Regimental
Frank Gilruth/Wards Hornpipe/Oriental/Trafalgar, Troy MacGillivray, Musical Ties
French Navy March, Celtic Legend, Celtic Legends
Grace O'Malley, Cathie Ryan, Somewhere Along The Road
Grangetown Whale, The Hennesseys, Bluebirds: The Songs Of Cardiff City F.C.
Greenland Whales Fisheries, The Dubliners, Greatest Hits [Metro]
Haul Away Joe, Bruce E. Golightly, Druidsong
Heart of Oak, The X-Seamen'S Institute, Heart of Oak!
HMS Pinafore (or, The Lass that Loved a Sailor), Act I: When I was a lad I served a term (Sir Joseph, Relatives, Sailors), George Baker/Glyndebourne Chorus/Peter Gellhorn/Pro Arte Orchestra/Sir Malcolm Sargent, Gilbert & Sullivan: HMS Pinafore . Trial by Jury
I Am a Selkie, Blackrose, Out On the Ocean
I Courted a Sailor, Kate Rusby, Little Lights
Irish Rover, Celt Check!, Improved Regimental
Jack A Tar, Toucan Pirates, Battle Songs of the Toucan Pirates
Join the Navy+rainy day, Eamon`s Daughter, Dorsh
Kilcash, Judith Weikle, Pirates, Poets and Patriots
Loch Tay Boat Song, Wendy Stewart & Gary West, Hinterlands
Lord Nelson, Jim Malcolm, Tam O'shanter & Other Tales
Lower the Sails, Coole Park,
Main Title (Film Version from 'Captain Blood'), Warner Bros. Orchestra / Erich Wolfgang Korngold, The Warner Brothers Years
Mermaid, Druidsong, Johnny Jump Up
Morrissey and the Russian Sailor, Johnny McDonagh, World Library of Folk and Primitive Music, Vol. 2: Ireland
My Love Is A Tall Ship, Jimmy Crowley, The Water Is Wide
On The Board Of The Victory, Boys Of The Lough, 40 Folk Favorites
On the Viking Station, Blyth Power, On the Viking Station
Our Ship It Is Ready, Pan Morigan, Castles of Gold: Songs and Stories of Irish Immigration
Pirates and Privateers, Rockin' Ron The Friendly Pirate, Give Me An Rrri
Roll Down, Cyril Tawney, The Transports
Royal Navy Man, Lucky Mud, The Tinkers (Our Celtic Roots)
Sailor Boy, Colleen Raney, Linnet
Santianno, The X-Seamen'S Institute, Heart of Oak!
Sea Shanties, The Band Of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, Flag Officer Plymouth, Passing In
Seal Set - Enumclaw, WA, Wicked Tinkers, Banger for Breakfast
Ships Are Sailing, Eileen Ivers, 25 Years of Celtic Music Disc 1
Skye Boat Song, The McCallmans, 40 Folk Favorites
Skye Boat Song, Various Artists, I Love Scottish Bagpipes
Skye Boat Song/My Home/Scotland the Brave/Glasgow Police March Past, Glasgow Police Pipe Band, The Bagpipes & Drums of Scotland [Laserlight 34 Track] Disc 2
Smuggler, The McCallmans, 40 Folk Favorites
Strike the Bell, The X-Seamen'S Institute, Heart of Oak!
The Bonnie Ship the Diamond, Colin Grant-Adams, Untitled - 08-11-10 (1)
The Drummer And The Cook (Sea shanties), Leonard Warren, Lebendige Vergangenheit - Leonard Warren (Vol.2)
The Drunken Sailor/The Bag of Spuds, Liz Carroll, Lost in the Loop
The Irish Rover, The Dubliners, The Ultimate Collection - Spirit of the Irish
The Kitchen Girl/New Riggid Ship, Culchies, Bruscar Bã¡N
The Lofty Tall Ship, Various Artists, Blow The Man Down
The Lonesome Boatman, Irish Rovers, Several Blasts
The Mary Ellen Carter, Stan Rogers, Between the Breaks... Live!
The Mermaid And The Seagull, Ralph McTell, 40 Folk Favorites
The Mining Ship the Red Dwarf, Marc Gunn & The Dubliners' Tabby Cats, Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers
The Pirate King, David Wise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Swashbuckling Sea Songs
The Press Gang, The Pirates Of St. Piran, Three Sheets To The Wind (Another Night At The Mermaid Inn)
The Rambling Sailor, The Pirates Of St. Piran, Three Sheets To The Wind (Another Night At The Mermaid Inn)
The Reluctant Mariner, Pig's Ear, Choice Company
The Salamanca/The Banshee/The Sailor's Bonnet, The Bothy Band, 1975
The Skye Boat Song, Colin Grant-Adams, Untitled - 08-11-10 (1)
The Still and Silent Ocean, Mike Waterson, The Transports
The Three Sea Captains, Set Dance, Trotwood, Kerry Jigs, Reels, Polkas & Other Irish Favorites (Digitally Remastered)
Thousands Are Sailing, The Pogues, If I Should Fall From Grace With God [Expanded] (US Version)
We Sail The Ocean Blue from H.M.S. Pinafore, Orchestra of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan
Welcome Sailor, The Watersons, For Pence & Spicey Ale
White Squall, Stan Rogers, From fresh water

Same Difference: Wild Mountain Thyme

2010-11-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

For the week of November 7, the many moods of Wild Mountain Thyme - children's music, Australian band, reggae, bagpipe, guitar, New Age, Latin, country, classical, and more!

Week of November 14: Lark in the Clear Air

Special Playlist

Week of November 21: Songs of Sailing and Ships, sponsored by Pirates of the Narrow Seas, by M. Kei.

Featuring The Pogues, Heart of Oak, The Irish Rover, The Smuggler's Song, Lord Nelson, On Board of the Victory, much more.

Same Difference: Wild Rover

2010-10-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

We hope our playlist for Halloween has scared you witless!

"Wild Rover" is our Same Difference feature this week. make sure you listen for Marc Gunn's unique version, "Wild Kitty", which we guarantee will have you singing "meow meow meow meow!" during the chorus for every rendition you hear from now on.

We have Wild Rover performed by such different artists as:

Ian Page
The Irish Rovers
Luke Kelly
The Red Rovers
The Pogues
Marc Gunn & the Dubliners Tabby Cats
Bedlam Bards
Druidsong
Wild Mountain Thume
Paul Clayton
Coyote Run
Gwyneth keep
Towneley High School Brass Band
Bob Davenport
Fathom

Stay Tuned later this month for a whole playlist of songs of ships and ssiling!

Ghosts and Banshees and Death, Oh My!

2010-10-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

All this week on Radio Dé Danann - songss of ghosts, banshees, death, night, autumn weather, night, Samhain, you name it!

Same Difference: The Star of the County Down by everyone from The Mickeys to Yo-Yo Ma!

Same Difference for October 2010

2010-10-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

Week of October 3 - Gentle Maiden

Week of October 10 - Star of the County Down

Week of October 17 - Scotland the Brave

Week of October 24 - Barbara Allen

Updates on Radio Dé Danann

2010-09-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

Special Playlist This Week

The Pan-Celtic Mix (regular playlist) for the week of September 25-October 2 features everything but Irish and Scottish music! Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man, hebrides, Orkney, Brittany, Asturias, Gallicia and Cape Breton along with some other Celtic islands give a quite different flabor to the program.

The Marc Gunn Hour

Da to be marc Gunn has more than one podcast of Celtic music, so every Sunday night Eastern at 10 PM tune in to hear one these professionally produced programs, including the Irish & Celtic Music Pidcast, the St. Patrick's Day Podcvast and Pub Songs. Learn more at http://www.marcgunn.com/ .

Same Difference Deatured Song Schedule

Week of September 26 - John Barleycorn (Must Die)
Week of October 3 - Scotland the Bracve
Week of October 10 - Star of County Down
Week of October 17 - Gentle Maiden
Week of October 24 - Barbara Allen

Samhain Is Coming!

Be listening the week of October 24 - 31 for songs of ghosts, witches, devils, the Pagan new year, fairies, and other otherworldly manifestatins in honor of All Hallow's E'en. Samhain.

Contact us at hawthorne@nanhawthorne.com .

Shake Up Your Green matter!

2010-09-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

OK, I know the brain is referred as "grey matter", but this is Radio Dé Danann, isn't it?

Let's chose a few Celtic pieces just screaming to be included on Same Difference, our hour long feast of the same well-loved Celtic songs played by a variety, often wide, of artists in many different styles.

Here are the songs we've done so far: Whiskey in the Jar, The Parting Glass, The Ash Grove, Wind That Shakes the Barley, Rising of the Moon/Wearing of the Green,. Scotland the Brave, The Lark in the Clear Air, The Foggy Dew, Wild Rover.

What Scottish melodies do you especially hold dear?

How about Welsh songs?

Do you even know any Breton, Asturian, Gallician, no less Manx, Orkney Islands, or Hebridean songs? How about other Celtic traditions?

How about strictly instrumental pieces?

Do you yourself have an mp3 of you or your band playing a song you are sure is recorded by many other artists?

Let's hear about them! Just click on the Comments below.

The Wild Rover on Same Difference

2010-09-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

Get ready for The Wild Rover on Same Difference! We have rock versions, comedy versions, folk and pop renditions, and plenty of spirit. Be prepared never to hear "No, nay, never!" again without singing "Meow Meow Meow Meow !"

What other songs would you like to hear performed in many styles by as many artists as possible? Irish songs, of course, but also Scots, Welsh, Cornish, Breton and Iberian.

And if you know of a unique recording of one of the signature Celtic tunes, let us hear about it!

Right here on Radio Dé Danann!

Radio Dé Danann To Air Marc Gunn's Irish & Celtic Music Podcasts

2010-08-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

Radio Dé Danann is proud to announce that sarting this coming Sunday, 29 August, we will begin to air Marc Gunn's weekly "Irish & Celtic Music Podcast", an hour-long program starting at 10 PM Eastern/7 PM Pacific.

For a preview of the current broadcast or to download the podcast itself, visit http://www.celticmusicpodcast.com/.

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is a free downloadable Celtic radio show of independent Irish & Celtic music. Every hour-long episode features a mix of traditional Celtic tunes, Irish drinking songs, Scottish folk songs, bagpipes, music from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Wales, Nova Scotia, Galacia, Australia, the United States, and around the world.

It is brought to you by "Kilted for Her Pleasure", Marc Gunn's latest album of Celtic music.

About Marc Gunn

Marc Gunn is an acoustic folk musician based in New Orleans. His music is rooted in the American Celtic song tradition, and his preference of musical instruments-the autoharp-make him stand out as something unique in the Celtic musical community.

He has been called “the hardest working man in Celtic music” and “The Godfather of Celtic music online” for his steadfast support of indie Celtic music, free Celtic music downloads, and his award-winning Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, one of the most-popular music podcasts on iTunes.

Gunn was the lead singer of the Brobdingnagian Bards, an award-winning musical Celtic comedy duo who performed at Renaissance festivals nationwide. In addition, to the podcast, Gunn publishes a monthly ezine called Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, which features free Celtic MP3s and CD reviews, and he hosts two other podcasts.

Good food, good drink and good company. Embrace independent Celtic music!

Contact me: music [at] celticmusicpodcast.com

Upcoming Same Difference Programs

2010-08-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

Same Difference Schedule

See times this page.

Week of 15 August - The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Week of 22 August - The Gentle maiden
Week of 29 Ausgut - Scotland the Brave
Week of 5 September - The Ash Grove
Week of 12 September - Wild Rover

Your suggrestions for featured songs welcome!

Attention Musicians!

We would love to play your Celtic tracks. You can either send us individual mp3s or CDs. The one important requirement is that all tracks must have complete information, including title, artist, album, duration. Otherwise we have to go through and add all that, and we are generally unwilling to take the time.

Send mp3s to hawthorne@nanhawthorne.com

Send CDs to Nan Hawthorrne
P O Box 12454
Mill Creek WA 98082 USA

We cannot pay unsigned artists, but we will be happy to promote you with weekly airplay.

Radio Dé Danann

Get Your Music Played on Radio Dé Danann!

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Winter

Chicken on a Raft: Ships and Sailors Week

Scotland the Rave

Gearing Up for the Winter Holidays

Back to Normal... So To Speak

Halloween Music Continues...

Happy Halloween!

The Ballads

Ballads: What Makes Them Tick?

Origins

Ballad form

Composition

Classification

Traditional ballads

Broadsides

Literary ballads

See also

The Irish in Australia

Where In the celtic World?

Nan's and Jim's Special Favorites

Jigs Etc. Times Two

Jigs and Reels and Hornpipes, Oh My!

WE DID IT!

Down To the Wire

Your Lucky Star?

Lyrics

The Countdown Begins!

Origins

Lyrics

Variants

Alternative versions recounted by Paddy Tunney

Recordings

Irish Rebellion of 1798

And an Additional Prize!

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John Barleycorn

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Sweetening the Pot

Latest On Sweepstakes - 3 Albums!

More on Sweepstakes

Win Celtic Music CDs By Guessing When We Reach 1000!

For the Fourth of July: The Irish in Americay

All About "The Ash Grove"

Oxenford Lyrics

External links

Nautical Week

Whiskey in the Jar

For Memorial Day: Music of Battles and War

Annie Laurie on Same Difference

In Honor of MacDhui - Scottish Week!

"The Irish Rover" Is This Week's Same Difference

She -- Or He -- Moved Through the Fair & Indies

Easter Rising Week - Rebel Songs

Star of the County Down

Same Difference: Rising of the Moon/Wearing of the Green

The Parting Glass

The Holidays Are Over

History of Ireland in Music

It's Jimmy me Boy's Birthday, So It is!

Time to Mix It Up a Bit

Slight Schedule Change

Love, Celtic Style

The Origin of Londonderry Air

Happy Birthday,. Friar Jak!

The Bluebells of Scotland on Same Difference This Week

Hard-hearted Barbara Allen

Uses in popular culture

One version

Same Difference Schedule

Danny Boy/Londonderry Air and a Special Playlist

Auld Lang Syne

Holiday Music Reaches Critical Mass!

Countdown To Christmas Music

Ships and Sailors Week on Radio Dé Danann

Same Difference: Wild Mountain Thyme

Same Difference: Wild Rover

Ghosts and Banshees and Death, Oh My!

Same Difference for October 2010