Hi Christy. Not sure if this is the correct place to write this. My wife and I will be attending your concert at vicar street on the 5/12/24. This is something we have been looking forward to for a long time. Our lives and our relationship has been intwined with yourself and your music. We were booth raised listening to your music and my wife’s parents wedding song like our own is (The Voyage). We are 25 years together and 15 years married. But 26 years ago when I was chasing my beautiful wife to be your song (Black is the colour) haunted my dreams and I chased my black haird beauty. Lucky for me she actually asked me out in the end and the rest is history. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the memories you have provided us. And to possibly request that you could dedicate either Black is the colour or The Voyage if you chose to play them to my beautiful wife Claire Smyth. Many thanks Marty Smyth.
Christy's reply
I love the idea of these two songs being a beautiful part of your story…
I learned the first one from Hamish Imlach back in 1967….the second from our tragically absent Johnny Duhan recently taken from us…may they both resound in peace
Hi Christy,
Well last night I dusted down me oul copy of
Live at The Point and gave it a spin. Had been
neglecting it in favor of A Terrible Beauty, Magic
Nights, On The Road. The box set too. Think every
house in the country had some kind of a copy back
in the day. Feckin huge it was. Some of the songs
still feature. Some not so much. Great to hear you
tipping the bodhran on The Well Below The Valley O
Does Cabaret ever get a run out anymore ? Hadn’t
listened to The Fairytale in awhile. Great version.
Great intro. I sang a song and he put on the jukebox
RIP Shane. Him and his poetry…
But Ladies and Gentlemen if it’s poetry ye want ?
Look no further than track 3 side E of Magic Nights
The Inchicore Wake – Poetry in motion. Anyways
enjoy the cabaret on Thursday night.
Tabhair Aire
Bourkey
Christy's reply
your mention of “The Inchicore Wake” lights up my day…great to see it referenced…a few years back we attended the Góilín Singer’s Club “Pudding Night”…..one of the resident singers ( Anna Buckley) sang this song which I’d never heard before…. as it resounded I said to Val that has a Pete St John flow to it. I set about finding Pete and eventually made contact. We met up and Pete confirmed that indeed he had written this wonderful song…he spoke to me of all the characters mentioned in the song, explained how they had become famous…Chase-The-Hearse-Whelan, Bigamy O’Keeffe, Black Paddy Meddler…everyone mentioned in the song had intriguing back stories….then Pete took me to see a set of amazing cartoons he had commissioned illustrating each character….I invited Pete to a concert in National Concert Hall…I sang “The Inchicore Wake’ and introduced Pete to the audience…he was given a standing ovation..
.
At the time I was really pissed off with series on RTE TV seeking to name Ireland’s most popular Folk Song…..Pete’s classic “Fields of Athenry’ was not even nominated………
a connection to the song….Val remembers “Mushatt’s Auld balm” being available and “Claffeys’ were the Undertakers that many families used in her childhood years..Mushatt’s Balm still available in the chemist shop on Thomas St Dublin
I simply love this song…
Yes , Cabaret still gets a run out…its amazing to hear the audience lilt
After listening (again) to your latest (thx for that!), by coincidence, arrived on ‘Traveller’. How I love this unique project. It’s probably just too late to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary with another song arranged with masterful synths, beats and pipes?
Christy's reply
I have betimes thought of revisiting that genre…Leo Pearson is still making music…who knows what will happen
Christy, i do love Clonmel races, perhaps you escaped there from the bank 60 years ago?
Anyway it was on today and though i was only there in spirit (hic) i noted that musical horses were to the fore in the results.
Near the vale of Ballyporeen, atwixt the golden vale and the land of Sean Kelly’s bicycle nestles the honey meadow that kicked cromwell where it hurt, anyway i digress……
in race 2 our lady of knock won…without its wellingtons on
in race 4 good old johnny logan’s whatsanotheryear was runner up
in race 6 Duffy’s hodey won and took me to Duff’s Cut
and in race 7 one of the venue’s i have seen you in Kilashee was 3rd.
The other races were scattered with entertaining names (but not musical ones ) like Giant Haystacks (i preferred kendo nagasaki in the ring), undeniable alibi (which would be good for my work), uhavemeinstitches and three card brag.
Bit of a pointless post that started off about lovely Clonmel and the cider…hic.
rory
Christy's reply
60 years ago at that very meeting…myself and Martin Harney had two right good winners at Powerstown Park…..awash with winnings we adjourned to Hotel Minella where we had T Bone Steaks, porter and brandy….we both slunk back into The National Bank the following morning, broke again and severley hung over
BUT we’d had a night to remember
This may be old news to this board, but there are some really wonderful vintage videos on CR’s video vaults on Youtube. Music, interviews, loads of old stuff from Irish TV. Christy and Shane here on the Late Late from ’94
The gloom was brightened today by a few plays of Luka’s gem…’Between the mountain and the moon’…Lovely soundscapes and fab playing throughout .
‘I’m a bogman’ may well be the most familiar song here,but I was really struck by the depth of ‘Hands of a farmer’ – dedicated to Micho Russell. Not knowing much about Micho,I looked him up…to be rewarded by finding –
Hello Christy,
I guess it sounded too much like a Buddhist koan to not have a bash at it…
Much better off with the Davy Spillane and Moving Hearts clip. It gets you out of your head much quicker. That’s a great clip!
Ye cant bait the Barneyisms! Fair play to Jim McCann, from the book an obstacle of confusion!,
One morning on tour he told John Sheahan at breakfast “I didn’t go to bed until about three this morning.” The ever patient John pointed out, “It was nearlysix o‘clock ! You passed my room and woke me up.” Barney’s reply? “You shouldn’t have told me that. Now I’ll be knackered all day”
Christy's reply
I had the pleasure of touring Australia with The Dubliners 40 years ago.Sitting beside Barney on a long haul flight from Perth to Sydney …. an outstanding memory….
Was rootin’ around for something else Christy and came across this, never seen it before and can’t figure out where it is. Unfortunately it cuts off mid tune, it has a real Baggot vibe to it!
Hello Christy,
“the men of the forest they asked it of me
how many strawberries grow round the salt sea
I answered them back with a tear in my eye
how many ships sail in the forest”
Did anyone answer it?
It’s been going round my head.
Different answers for different people, I guess. And it’s words so it does nt matter.
But it keeps coming back to me.
All of them.
Strawberries are made of rain.
Ships are made of wood.
Finishing clearing my Mum and,Dad’s house today.
Many emotions.
The new family moves in next Friday.
Red disc,track 10..’ships in the forest’…magnificent ,rehearsal recording from Ordinary Man era…. Moore and Lunny on top form…thanks for the nudge to it. Such an ace version ,I’m a pillock for not remembering it!
For you,it must happen regularly,when a clip emerges of an old gig…For me,it’s a new puzzle…recently,late one evening,Fred’s daughter sent us a clip from a Nightshift gig…we’re sounding ok,looking like we did c 10 years ago…but,neither of us can identify the venue!I said to Fred that his daughter hadn’t been to many gigs,so we could narrow it down…then the mystery deepened…turns out her husband had been scrolling through random music and we showed up!
To me,it’s music mojo…you play…the music travels and lands where it lands…there’s a kind of magic in there…it may well not happen again to me,but I’m glad it did…
Wow,the red disc is good…
All the best
Dave
Christy's reply
Jasus Dave, I cant even remember whats on the recent album..never mind the Red Disc from decades back.!!!
You were spoke of in conversation tonight as I plan my next trip to Ireland planning it around seeing you at a show some time next spring. My friend Richard Meagher said he knows you from
Prospers village County kildare with someother names mentioned being
Elizabeth Car, Liam Flynn, Brendan Lawlor. I hope to see you in concert on the spring. Hope all is well ✌️
Take care Brendan
Christy's reply
Pat Dowlings Pub,Prosperous,Co.Kildare was a hive of creativity, good music, fun, darts, afters, sessions, romance, dancing, spoons workshops, elbow piping, early bowrawning, I recall so many great characters, Pat himself and his brothers Joe and Tony, Mickey Carroll , The Bagnall Boys, Jack Reddy, Jim Casey, Ned Farrell,, round and round the memory goes so many faces and tunes and songs…Downings at Dawn, bedraggled falling out of the old basement,
“I think I’ll see how much I’ve got
O Jesus Christ I drank the lot
I must have been a drunken sot
….As usual”……( Hamish Imlach)
Face sweaty and spotlight burned,
A song squeezed out like a man constipated,
Spotted on my childhood TV where my attention did not festoon.
Never in my life, except as a cartoon.
Now grown, he spoke through the radio:
Of Bobby,
On Sunday
Who picketed at the closed coal mine,
When Stardust fell
From nuclear rain.
Aimsir Chaite, Aimsir Laithreach, Eire agus an Domhan – some man for one man.
This seanchai accompanied me,
On the Indus flowing through Mecca to the Vikings’ town.
Us two, living holy tales on St. Brigid’s cloak.
The green on the tricolour is His (pbuh), feachaim,
As Gaeilge anois !
Allah bless Christy: his clamped eyes showed optics not easily seen.
For that, let him claim the green tricolour as his Taj,
As viceroy to Him ( pbuh).
Now the eyes should open.
Hi Christy, Thanks for reminding me of a song that I used to manically sing to myself when rambling as a youth. Was it sung by The Dubliners too? You reminded me too of your song, “Missing You.”
“I’ll never go home now because of the shame of a misfit’s reflection in a shop window’s pane.”
Not quite homeless but it feels like it sometimes.
Slainte!
Christy's reply
I goes manic when I steps before the lights
I hears the crowd,I goes manic and I lets go agin…. baldheaded
Hi Christy
Always a great start to a day when there’s a good song reference here…
Last week,Birgit was travelling to Oysterband gigs and there was great chat here…the words you quote in your reply to Francis,feature in a brilliant Oysterband version of ‘I once loved a lass’,featuring,John Jones’ vocals and fab acoustic guitar by Alan Prosser…worth a visit to YouTube…
Apologies if I’ve overlooked it,but have you ever recorded the song?
When I checked out YouTube, ‘Once I had a sweetheart’also showed up. Again, by Oysterband…but,first on my radar by Pentangle…what a top outfit…
Time for a cuppa and some early Ry Cooder…sliding into the day.
Keep warm,all
Dave
Christy's reply
I think it might be TK 10 on the Red disc in the Box Set (1964 – 2004)
but I could be wrong
Hi Christy. Not sure if this is the correct place to write this. My wife and I will be attending your concert at vicar street on the 5/12/24. This is something we have been looking forward to for a long time. Our lives and our relationship has been intwined with yourself and your music. We were booth raised listening to your music and my wife’s parents wedding song like our own is (The Voyage). We are 25 years together and 15 years married. But 26 years ago when I was chasing my beautiful wife to be your song (Black is the colour) haunted my dreams and I chased my black haird beauty. Lucky for me she actually asked me out in the end and the rest is history. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the memories you have provided us. And to possibly request that you could dedicate either Black is the colour or The Voyage if you chose to play them to my beautiful wife Claire Smyth. Many thanks Marty Smyth.
I love the idea of these two songs being a beautiful part of your story…
I learned the first one from Hamish Imlach back in 1967….the second from our tragically absent Johnny Duhan recently taken from us…may they both resound in peace
Hi Christy,
Well last night I dusted down me oul copy of
Live at The Point and gave it a spin. Had been
neglecting it in favor of A Terrible Beauty, Magic
Nights, On The Road. The box set too. Think every
house in the country had some kind of a copy back
in the day. Feckin huge it was. Some of the songs
still feature. Some not so much. Great to hear you
tipping the bodhran on The Well Below The Valley O
Does Cabaret ever get a run out anymore ? Hadn’t
listened to The Fairytale in awhile. Great version.
Great intro. I sang a song and he put on the jukebox
RIP Shane. Him and his poetry…
But Ladies and Gentlemen if it’s poetry ye want ?
Look no further than track 3 side E of Magic Nights
The Inchicore Wake – Poetry in motion. Anyways
enjoy the cabaret on Thursday night.
Tabhair Aire
Bourkey
your mention of “The Inchicore Wake” lights up my day…great to see it referenced…a few years back we attended the Góilín Singer’s Club “Pudding Night”…..one of the resident singers ( Anna Buckley) sang this song which I’d never heard before…. as it resounded I said to Val that has a Pete St John flow to it. I set about finding Pete and eventually made contact. We met up and Pete confirmed that indeed he had written this wonderful song…he spoke to me of all the characters mentioned in the song, explained how they had become famous…Chase-The-Hearse-Whelan, Bigamy O’Keeffe, Black Paddy Meddler…everyone mentioned in the song had intriguing back stories….then Pete took me to see a set of amazing cartoons he had commissioned illustrating each character….I invited Pete to a concert in National Concert Hall…I sang “The Inchicore Wake’ and introduced Pete to the audience…he was given a standing ovation..
.
At the time I was really pissed off with series on RTE TV seeking to name Ireland’s most popular Folk Song…..Pete’s classic “Fields of Athenry’ was not even nominated………
a connection to the song….Val remembers “Mushatt’s Auld balm” being available and “Claffeys’ were the Undertakers that many families used in her childhood years..Mushatt’s Balm still available in the chemist shop on Thomas St Dublin
I simply love this song…
Yes , Cabaret still gets a run out…its amazing to hear the audience lilt
” how-dill-dum-de-diddley-eye
dum-dill-dow-dill-diddley-O
row-dill-dum-de-diddley-eye
diddley-eye-dill-dando”…… ( Copyright Control…Liam Fay)
Hi Christy
Ralph McTell hits 80 today…with great memories of Manchester gigs,I wish him well…
Peggy Seeger touring next year to mark her 90th…such a joy to meet her this year.
Special times with true greats…
Dave
and still gigging
as for Peggy…that girl will be still gigging when she is a 100
two wonderful troubadours
After listening (again) to your latest (thx for that!), by coincidence, arrived on ‘Traveller’. How I love this unique project. It’s probably just too late to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary with another song arranged with masterful synths, beats and pipes?
I have betimes thought of revisiting that genre…Leo Pearson is still making music…who knows what will happen
Christy, i do love Clonmel races, perhaps you escaped there from the bank 60 years ago?
Anyway it was on today and though i was only there in spirit (hic) i noted that musical horses were to the fore in the results.
Near the vale of Ballyporeen, atwixt the golden vale and the land of Sean Kelly’s bicycle nestles the honey meadow that kicked cromwell where it hurt, anyway i digress……
in race 2 our lady of knock won…without its wellingtons on
in race 4 good old johnny logan’s whatsanotheryear was runner up
in race 6 Duffy’s hodey won and took me to Duff’s Cut
and in race 7 one of the venue’s i have seen you in Kilashee was 3rd.
The other races were scattered with entertaining names (but not musical ones ) like Giant Haystacks (i preferred kendo nagasaki in the ring), undeniable alibi (which would be good for my work), uhavemeinstitches and three card brag.
Bit of a pointless post that started off about lovely Clonmel and the cider…hic.
rory
60 years ago at that very meeting…myself and Martin Harney had two right good winners at Powerstown Park…..awash with winnings we adjourned to Hotel Minella where we had T Bone Steaks, porter and brandy….we both slunk back into The National Bank the following morning, broke again and severley hung over
BUT we’d had a night to remember
This may be old news to this board, but there are some really wonderful vintage videos on CR’s video vaults on Youtube. Music, interviews, loads of old stuff from Irish TV. Christy and Shane here on the Late Late from ’94
https://youtu.be/aqlLJXYtRWg?si=ZujMYo-5noDwcgnL
Hello Christy,
Here’s something beautiful for a,Tuesday morning.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1SB9GtywDt/
Rebecca
Cathal Hayden shines
Ps
Shamefully,I forgot to say that there’s some brilliant singing by Sinead O’Connor on Luka’s 2001 album…she’s missed so much – RIP
D
Hi Christy
The gloom was brightened today by a few plays of Luka’s gem…’Between the mountain and the moon’…Lovely soundscapes and fab playing throughout .
‘I’m a bogman’ may well be the most familiar song here,but I was really struck by the depth of ‘Hands of a farmer’ – dedicated to Micho Russell. Not knowing much about Micho,I looked him up…to be rewarded by finding –
http://www.therussellsofdoolin.ie. A wonderful read…now warming up a cold night,YouTube up next…
Dave
Hello Christy,
I guess it sounded too much like a Buddhist koan to not have a bash at it…
Much better off with the Davy Spillane and Moving Hearts clip. It gets you out of your head much quicker. That’s a great clip!
Rebecca
Ye cant bait the Barneyisms! Fair play to Jim McCann, from the book an obstacle of confusion!,
One morning on tour he told John Sheahan at breakfast “I didn’t go to bed until about three this morning.” The ever patient John pointed out, “It was nearlysix o‘clock ! You passed my room and woke me up.” Barney’s reply? “You shouldn’t have told me that. Now I’ll be knackered all day”
I had the pleasure of touring Australia with The Dubliners 40 years ago.Sitting beside Barney on a long haul flight from Perth to Sydney …. an outstanding memory….
Was rootin’ around for something else Christy and came across this, never seen it before and can’t figure out where it is. Unfortunately it cuts off mid tune, it has a real Baggot vibe to it!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iUcES4bu1SA
certainly not The Baggott…
Limerick comes to mind…guessing The Parkway
“One of its legs is both the same”!
More importantly, how do you get down off one?
That was a Barney McKenna quip
Hello Christy,
“the men of the forest they asked it of me
how many strawberries grow round the salt sea
I answered them back with a tear in my eye
how many ships sail in the forest”
Did anyone answer it?
It’s been going round my head.
Different answers for different people, I guess. And it’s words so it does nt matter.
But it keeps coming back to me.
All of them.
Strawberries are made of rain.
Ships are made of wood.
Finishing clearing my Mum and,Dad’s house today.
Many emotions.
The new family moves in next Friday.
Rebecca
methinks rhetorical
“whats the difference between a duck?”
Hi Christy
Red disc,track 10..’ships in the forest’…magnificent ,rehearsal recording from Ordinary Man era…. Moore and Lunny on top form…thanks for the nudge to it. Such an ace version ,I’m a pillock for not remembering it!
For you,it must happen regularly,when a clip emerges of an old gig…For me,it’s a new puzzle…recently,late one evening,Fred’s daughter sent us a clip from a Nightshift gig…we’re sounding ok,looking like we did c 10 years ago…but,neither of us can identify the venue!I said to Fred that his daughter hadn’t been to many gigs,so we could narrow it down…then the mystery deepened…turns out her husband had been scrolling through random music and we showed up!
To me,it’s music mojo…you play…the music travels and lands where it lands…there’s a kind of magic in there…it may well not happen again to me,but I’m glad it did…
Wow,the red disc is good…
All the best
Dave
Jasus Dave, I cant even remember whats on the recent album..never mind the Red Disc from decades back.!!!
You were spoke of in conversation tonight as I plan my next trip to Ireland planning it around seeing you at a show some time next spring. My friend Richard Meagher said he knows you from
Prospers village County kildare with someother names mentioned being
Elizabeth Car, Liam Flynn, Brendan Lawlor. I hope to see you in concert on the spring. Hope all is well ✌️
Take care Brendan
Pat Dowlings Pub,Prosperous,Co.Kildare was a hive of creativity, good music, fun, darts, afters, sessions, romance, dancing, spoons workshops, elbow piping, early bowrawning, I recall so many great characters, Pat himself and his brothers Joe and Tony, Mickey Carroll , The Bagnall Boys, Jack Reddy, Jim Casey, Ned Farrell,, round and round the memory goes so many faces and tunes and songs…Downings at Dawn, bedraggled falling out of the old basement,
“I think I’ll see how much I’ve got
O Jesus Christ I drank the lot
I must have been a drunken sot
….As usual”……( Hamish Imlach)
Christy Moore – an invitation.
Face sweaty and spotlight burned,
A song squeezed out like a man constipated,
Spotted on my childhood TV where my attention did not festoon.
Never in my life, except as a cartoon.
Now grown, he spoke through the radio:
Of Bobby,
On Sunday
Who picketed at the closed coal mine,
When Stardust fell
From nuclear rain.
Aimsir Chaite, Aimsir Laithreach, Eire agus an Domhan – some man for one man.
This seanchai accompanied me,
On the Indus flowing through Mecca to the Vikings’ town.
Us two, living holy tales on St. Brigid’s cloak.
The green on the tricolour is His (pbuh), feachaim,
As Gaeilge anois !
Allah bless Christy: his clamped eyes showed optics not easily seen.
For that, let him claim the green tricolour as his Taj,
As viceroy to Him ( pbuh).
Now the eyes should open.
-Barkat Masood
Hope you enjoy !
’tis all bliss boy
Christopher, Love, Forgiveness and Hugs.
Keep the good vibes going!
will do
Hi Christy, Thanks for reminding me of a song that I used to manically sing to myself when rambling as a youth. Was it sung by The Dubliners too? You reminded me too of your song, “Missing You.”
“I’ll never go home now because of the shame of a misfit’s reflection in a shop window’s pane.”
Not quite homeless but it feels like it sometimes.
Slainte!
I goes manic when I steps before the lights
I hears the crowd,I goes manic and I lets go agin…. baldheaded
Hi Christy
Always a great start to a day when there’s a good song reference here…
Last week,Birgit was travelling to Oysterband gigs and there was great chat here…the words you quote in your reply to Francis,feature in a brilliant Oysterband version of ‘I once loved a lass’,featuring,John Jones’ vocals and fab acoustic guitar by Alan Prosser…worth a visit to YouTube…
Apologies if I’ve overlooked it,but have you ever recorded the song?
When I checked out YouTube, ‘Once I had a sweetheart’also showed up. Again, by Oysterband…but,first on my radar by Pentangle…what a top outfit…
Time for a cuppa and some early Ry Cooder…sliding into the day.
Keep warm,all
Dave
I think it might be TK 10 on the Red disc in the Box Set (1964 – 2004)
but I could be wrong