Click on the headline to link to a "YouTube' film clip of Dolores Keane performing "Mary Clare Malloy" from the Tom Russell album under review.
Commentary/CD REVIEW
I have mentioned in this space more times than one is reasonably allowed that in my youth in the early 1960's I listened to a local folk music radio program on Sunday nights. That program played, along with highlighting the then current up and coming folk revivalists like Bob Dylan and Dave Van Ronk, much American traditional music including things like the "Child Ballads". In short, music derived from parts of the "British" homeland. What I have not previously mentioned is that directly after that program I used to listen on that same radio station to the "Irish National Hour", a show devoted to all the old more traditional and unknown Irish ballads and songs. And, by the way, attempted to instill a respect for Irish culture, Irish heritage and the Irish struggle against the "bloody" British. (That struggle continues in one form or another today but that is a subject for another time.) Of course, today when every `progressive' radio station (or other technological format) has its obligatory "Keltic Twilight" programs we are inundated with music from the old country and this is no big deal but in those days it was another question.
All of this is by way of reviewing the music of the Irish Diaspora. Our Irish forebears had the `distinct' opportunity of following the British flag wherever it went, under one set of terms or another. And remember in those days the sun never set on that British Empire. So there are plenty of far-flung traditions to talk about. But, first comes the old country. Chocky Ar La (roughly translated- "Our Day Will Come")
20 Famous Irish Ballads, various artists, Outlet Recording Company, 1998
The music traditions made popular by the late Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers and The Dubliners are two of the first places any modern analysis of Irish music. Neither group kept strictly to the parameters of traditional music but certainly both groups had the primal respect for the traditions that is key to any appreciation of the music. Here we have The Dubliners and some groups and individuals influenced by their work doing twenty of the most famous Irish ballads. From “All For Me Grog” and “Take Me To Castlebar” at the most traditional end to songs in honor of the Irish national liberation struggle such as the one to the Irish Citizen’s Army leader and revolutionary socialist James Connolly and Sinn Fein’s founder Arthur McBride this CD is a great primer for those unfamiliar with Irish music beyond the St. Patty’s Day classics.
Special mention should be made here of the song “Patriot Game” by Dominic Behan (brother of the more famous, at least in America, playwright Brendan Behan and another brother who was a leader of one of the myriad of Trotskyist groups in Britain in the 1960’s). “Patriot Game” served as a cross-over, of sorts, during my youth between the generic folk music that I was interested in learning about and the folk music of my Irish heritage. I first heard this song on a Sunday folk music show that I have mentioned above, not the “Irish National Hour”. The sentiments expressed there concerning the fate of an Irish Republican Army rank and file liberation fighter were among the first that helped explain to me not only the roots but the need for political struggle to resolve “the Irish question” well before the uprisings in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The period of the song actual represented trough in the fortunes of the IRA after several failed efforts to ignite the struggle in the North in the 1950’s.
Addition mention should also be made concerning the song “James Connolly” about one of the revolutionary Irish leaders of Easter, 1916 executed (despite being severely wounded) by the British for his role. Naturally the name James Connolly is a fitting one in this space and each Easter time has been the subject of commemoration. I need go no further here except to say, even today when I listen to this song I rage against the stupidities of the bloody British rulers who executed him. And you should too.
Looking For The Roots
The Man From God Knows Where, Tom Russell, Iris Dement, Dave Van Ronk and other artists, Hightone Records, 1998
If a first look at the music of the Irish Diaspora has to begin with a look at the ballads and traditions from the old country then the next look almost logically, at least for one writing in America, is to look here for the dispersal of that music. America, as a nation of immigrants from its inception, was a natural place for those who had to flee the old country to land. In the particular case of my forebears it was in the `famine' ships of the late 1840's, necessitated by the potato blight that led to the starvation of millions (although there was, in fact, plenty of food- for the British).
For the creator of the CD under review, Tom Russell, it was an earlier time for his forebears but the conditions were the same-luck, fate, opportunity, political opposition call it any name but mainly, it was time to leave- or be pushed outof the old country. Russell, in his search for his roots, has created this "concept" CD that reaches deep into the Irish immigrant experience and what became of its progeny. In some sense it is a generic immigrant story, but mainly it is an Irish story that goes the length and breath of America over several generations.
Here is a question first though: What is not to like about a serial tale of the Texas Irish, the Irish liberation struggle and Iris Dement? Well, given my commentaries over the past year reviewing the literary work of Texas author Larry McMurtry, some reminiscences of my own growing up in a poor working class, mainly Irish, neighborhood in the Greater Boston area and my `discovery' of my "Arkie Angel", Iris Dement, who is heavily featured here (especially good are "Acres Of Corn" and "The Old Rugged Cross"), the answer is absolutely nothing. Add in an well-cast appearance as "The Outcast" (representing the wretched of the earth who landed on these shores, for good or evil) of an old folk favorite, Dave Van Ronk, and this sets up as a great CD for those searching for their roots.
Two themes dominate this album. The first is suggested by the title-"The Man From God Knows Where..." That little concept encapsulates the gist of the American experience over the past century and one half as the Irish (and others) assimilated and took their places in society. Nevertheless, as described here, it was a near thing and as some of the songs indicate it was dearly bought either by alienation from the main culture or a lost of sense of the past in the old country. Hence the search. In some senses that title song (broken up into several tracks interspersed throughout the album), "Patrick Russell" (about the first Russell on these shores), "Mary Clare Malloy" (about the landing on the shores) and "When Irish Girls Grow Up" (about the varied possibilities when young women leave home in search of adventure, etc.) represent that aspect of the immigrant experience.
The other theme is that of the "American Primitive Man" who takes this land by a storm, one way or another, starting with old Patrick and who twists and turns it to his liking-or gets turned and twisted by it. That contradiction lies just below the surface of this fine work, and is epitomized by the story of Tom Russell's Texas tall father (who is the inspiration for this whole thing) in "Chickasaw County Jail". But enough. Get this CD and listen (several times) to a slice of our common history.
Tom Russell, The Man From God Knows Where Tabs/Chords
Capo 3rd fret.
Intro: (Am) - (G) - (Am) x 2
(Am)Come gather round me children, a (G) story I will (Am) tell
(Am)I've been around since Jesus met the (G) woman at the (Am) well
(C)I've walked these roads ten (Am) thousand years,(C) I'm a ragtime (Am) millionaire
(Am)I'm the rake and the ramblin saint. I am(G) the man from God knows (Am) where
(Am)Oh, they hung me in Downpatrick, up (G) near St.Patrick's (Am) tomb
(Am)But my ghost rose up in the peat fire smoke (G) toward the rising of the (Am) moon
(C)Now as I drift through your (Am) villages, all the (C) maidens stop and (Am) stare
(Am)"There goes old Tom, the vagabond, he's the (G) man from God knows (Am) where"
(C)So it's rise up all you (Am) ancestors, (C) and dance upon your (G) graves
(C)I've come to hear your (Am) voices, now, (C) so maybe I'll be (Am) saved
(Am)Cursed are we who forget the past, but (G) pray and don't (Am) despair
(Am)My song might haunt your dreams tonight, I'm the (G) man from God knows (Am) where
(Am)I've slept beneath your bridges, near your (G) oil (Am) refineries
(Am)I've gambled on your river boats,(G) Shenandoah; (Am) Kanakee
(C)I'm the homeless lad, I'm an (Am) orphan child, (C) leaves of grass sewn through my (Am) hair
(Am)Yeah, me and old Walt Whitman, we're the (G) men from God knows (Am) where
(Am)I've rode the rods on steam trains with a (G) banjo on my (Am) knee
(Am)While the voice of Stephen Foster, (G) whisperd songs to (Am) me
(C)Of the storefront church and the (Am) chain gang choir; (C) Black sorrow filled the (Am) air
(Am)Then Stephen died on a doss house floor, like a (G) man from God knows (Am) where
(Am)I've heard the sound of Indian drums I've (G) heard the bugles (Am) blow
(Am)Before they re'wrote history, (G) into a Wild West (Am) Show
(C)My kin sailed toward (Am) America, (C) to steal their Indian (Am) ground
(Am)They passed Bill Cody's (G) circus ships, European (Am) bound
(Am)So lock up all your daughters, your (G) whiskey and your (Am) gold
(Am)I have come to claim my bounty, for (G) the lies that I've been (Am) told
And (C) as I look out on this (Am) crowd tonight, I (C) see most of you don't (Am) care
(Am)Come lift your glass, reveal your past, to the (G) man from God knows(Am) where
Commentary/CD REVIEW
I have mentioned in this space more times than one is reasonably allowed that in my youth in the early 1960's I listened to a local folk music radio program on Sunday nights. That program played, along with highlighting the then current up and coming folk revivalists like Bob Dylan and Dave Van Ronk, much American traditional music including things like the "Child Ballads". In short, music derived from parts of the "British" homeland. What I have not previously mentioned is that directly after that program I used to listen on that same radio station to the "Irish National Hour", a show devoted to all the old more traditional and unknown Irish ballads and songs. And, by the way, attempted to instill a respect for Irish culture, Irish heritage and the Irish struggle against the "bloody" British. (That struggle continues in one form or another today but that is a subject for another time.) Of course, today when every `progressive' radio station (or other technological format) has its obligatory "Keltic Twilight" programs we are inundated with music from the old country and this is no big deal but in those days it was another question.
All of this is by way of reviewing the music of the Irish Diaspora. Our Irish forebears had the `distinct' opportunity of following the British flag wherever it went, under one set of terms or another. And remember in those days the sun never set on that British Empire. So there are plenty of far-flung traditions to talk about. But, first comes the old country. Chocky Ar La (roughly translated- "Our Day Will Come")
20 Famous Irish Ballads, various artists, Outlet Recording Company, 1998
The music traditions made popular by the late Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers and The Dubliners are two of the first places any modern analysis of Irish music. Neither group kept strictly to the parameters of traditional music but certainly both groups had the primal respect for the traditions that is key to any appreciation of the music. Here we have The Dubliners and some groups and individuals influenced by their work doing twenty of the most famous Irish ballads. From “All For Me Grog” and “Take Me To Castlebar” at the most traditional end to songs in honor of the Irish national liberation struggle such as the one to the Irish Citizen’s Army leader and revolutionary socialist James Connolly and Sinn Fein’s founder Arthur McBride this CD is a great primer for those unfamiliar with Irish music beyond the St. Patty’s Day classics.
Special mention should be made here of the song “Patriot Game” by Dominic Behan (brother of the more famous, at least in America, playwright Brendan Behan and another brother who was a leader of one of the myriad of Trotskyist groups in Britain in the 1960’s). “Patriot Game” served as a cross-over, of sorts, during my youth between the generic folk music that I was interested in learning about and the folk music of my Irish heritage. I first heard this song on a Sunday folk music show that I have mentioned above, not the “Irish National Hour”. The sentiments expressed there concerning the fate of an Irish Republican Army rank and file liberation fighter were among the first that helped explain to me not only the roots but the need for political struggle to resolve “the Irish question” well before the uprisings in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The period of the song actual represented trough in the fortunes of the IRA after several failed efforts to ignite the struggle in the North in the 1950’s.
Addition mention should also be made concerning the song “James Connolly” about one of the revolutionary Irish leaders of Easter, 1916 executed (despite being severely wounded) by the British for his role. Naturally the name James Connolly is a fitting one in this space and each Easter time has been the subject of commemoration. I need go no further here except to say, even today when I listen to this song I rage against the stupidities of the bloody British rulers who executed him. And you should too.
Looking For The Roots
The Man From God Knows Where, Tom Russell, Iris Dement, Dave Van Ronk and other artists, Hightone Records, 1998
If a first look at the music of the Irish Diaspora has to begin with a look at the ballads and traditions from the old country then the next look almost logically, at least for one writing in America, is to look here for the dispersal of that music. America, as a nation of immigrants from its inception, was a natural place for those who had to flee the old country to land. In the particular case of my forebears it was in the `famine' ships of the late 1840's, necessitated by the potato blight that led to the starvation of millions (although there was, in fact, plenty of food- for the British).
For the creator of the CD under review, Tom Russell, it was an earlier time for his forebears but the conditions were the same-luck, fate, opportunity, political opposition call it any name but mainly, it was time to leave- or be pushed outof the old country. Russell, in his search for his roots, has created this "concept" CD that reaches deep into the Irish immigrant experience and what became of its progeny. In some sense it is a generic immigrant story, but mainly it is an Irish story that goes the length and breath of America over several generations.
Here is a question first though: What is not to like about a serial tale of the Texas Irish, the Irish liberation struggle and Iris Dement? Well, given my commentaries over the past year reviewing the literary work of Texas author Larry McMurtry, some reminiscences of my own growing up in a poor working class, mainly Irish, neighborhood in the Greater Boston area and my `discovery' of my "Arkie Angel", Iris Dement, who is heavily featured here (especially good are "Acres Of Corn" and "The Old Rugged Cross"), the answer is absolutely nothing. Add in an well-cast appearance as "The Outcast" (representing the wretched of the earth who landed on these shores, for good or evil) of an old folk favorite, Dave Van Ronk, and this sets up as a great CD for those searching for their roots.
Two themes dominate this album. The first is suggested by the title-"The Man From God Knows Where..." That little concept encapsulates the gist of the American experience over the past century and one half as the Irish (and others) assimilated and took their places in society. Nevertheless, as described here, it was a near thing and as some of the songs indicate it was dearly bought either by alienation from the main culture or a lost of sense of the past in the old country. Hence the search. In some senses that title song (broken up into several tracks interspersed throughout the album), "Patrick Russell" (about the first Russell on these shores), "Mary Clare Malloy" (about the landing on the shores) and "When Irish Girls Grow Up" (about the varied possibilities when young women leave home in search of adventure, etc.) represent that aspect of the immigrant experience.
The other theme is that of the "American Primitive Man" who takes this land by a storm, one way or another, starting with old Patrick and who twists and turns it to his liking-or gets turned and twisted by it. That contradiction lies just below the surface of this fine work, and is epitomized by the story of Tom Russell's Texas tall father (who is the inspiration for this whole thing) in "Chickasaw County Jail". But enough. Get this CD and listen (several times) to a slice of our common history.
Tom Russell, The Man From God Knows Where Tabs/Chords
Capo 3rd fret.
Intro: (Am) - (G) - (Am) x 2
(Am)Come gather round me children, a (G) story I will (Am) tell
(Am)I've been around since Jesus met the (G) woman at the (Am) well
(C)I've walked these roads ten (Am) thousand years,(C) I'm a ragtime (Am) millionaire
(Am)I'm the rake and the ramblin saint. I am(G) the man from God knows (Am) where
(Am)Oh, they hung me in Downpatrick, up (G) near St.Patrick's (Am) tomb
(Am)But my ghost rose up in the peat fire smoke (G) toward the rising of the (Am) moon
(C)Now as I drift through your (Am) villages, all the (C) maidens stop and (Am) stare
(Am)"There goes old Tom, the vagabond, he's the (G) man from God knows (Am) where"
(C)So it's rise up all you (Am) ancestors, (C) and dance upon your (G) graves
(C)I've come to hear your (Am) voices, now, (C) so maybe I'll be (Am) saved
(Am)Cursed are we who forget the past, but (G) pray and don't (Am) despair
(Am)My song might haunt your dreams tonight, I'm the (G) man from God knows (Am) where
(Am)I've slept beneath your bridges, near your (G) oil (Am) refineries
(Am)I've gambled on your river boats,(G) Shenandoah; (Am) Kanakee
(C)I'm the homeless lad, I'm an (Am) orphan child, (C) leaves of grass sewn through my (Am) hair
(Am)Yeah, me and old Walt Whitman, we're the (G) men from God knows (Am) where
(Am)I've rode the rods on steam trains with a (G) banjo on my (Am) knee
(Am)While the voice of Stephen Foster, (G) whisperd songs to (Am) me
(C)Of the storefront church and the (Am) chain gang choir; (C) Black sorrow filled the (Am) air
(Am)Then Stephen died on a doss house floor, like a (G) man from God knows (Am) where
(Am)I've heard the sound of Indian drums I've (G) heard the bugles (Am) blow
(Am)Before they re'wrote history, (G) into a Wild West (Am) Show
(C)My kin sailed toward (Am) America, (C) to steal their Indian (Am) ground
(Am)They passed Bill Cody's (G) circus ships, European (Am) bound
(Am)So lock up all your daughters, your (G) whiskey and your (Am) gold
(Am)I have come to claim my bounty, for (G) the lies that I've been (Am) told
And (C) as I look out on this (Am) crowd tonight, I (C) see most of you don't (Am) care
(Am)Come lift your glass, reveal your past, to the (G) man from God knows(Am) where
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