There is a sound that beats in the heart of every Irish person and whether you are a fan of trash metal or classic opera every single Irish person will tap their foot to the beat of a bit trad and folk music.
You don’t need to smoke a pipe or be 90yrs old to appreciate just how great folk or traditional music can be. So stop for a moment, turn off the iPod, forget about Katy Perry and Usher and listen to something a bit different. No synth, no computer editing, just raw voices and instruments…
So sit back and just give these tracks a try, guaranteed not to disappoint!
The Parting Glass – The Wailin Jennys
Formed in 2002 after the original members of The Wailin Jennys came together to perform at a show in a guitar store, a little shop in Winnipeg, their first show was such a success that the owner of the store scheduled a second gig and remarked that the women should tour together and call themselves ‘Wailin Jennys’. Since then they have been making albums, with four under their belt, various American and European tours, while as a group they’ve found success, Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Heather Masse still maintain their own solo careers.
The Parting Glass was first printed in 1770 and is believed to have been written as far back as 1615, it is a traditional Irish song usually sang at the end of gatherings and parties.
Bean Pháidín – John Beag
We stumbled across this song completely by accident while looking for Irish made cartoons and we’ve been completely taken by it, the cartoon was animated for a TG4 series and you can’t get more Irish than that!
For those of you (that’s including us) who don’t speak fluent Irish, it is the story of a woman who wants nothing more than to be Paddy’s wife. Unfortunately for Paddy only has eyes for one girl and so the song is about the woman wishing nothing but harm and death on the woman so she can have Paddy to herself.
Doesn’t she sound like a lovely catch? At least she’s a woman who knows what she wants we guess!
On Raglan Road – Loreena McKennitt
There are dozens and dozens of versions of this song and every artist has but their own spin and heart on the track. We’ve heard Luke Kelly and we’ve heard Sinead O’Connnor and while deciding which of the two we wanted to use in this jukebox we happened across Loreena McKennitt, the second Canadian act in our jukebox this week.
Born to Scottish and Irish parents Loreena has remarked that she never chose a career in music but rather it chose her as she first began studying veterinarian medicine. When she first started she used to busk on the streets of Toronto.
Down in the River to Pray – Alison Krauss
We’re not sure if this is classed as folk music or trad music but we’ve always had a soft spot for this song…
Scarlet Ribbons – Sinead O’Connor
You didn’t think you weren’t going to get away without at least one track from Sinead! This version of the song was featured in the episode of the Royle Family when Nana passes away. As Yoda as our witness, we cried our eyes out watching that episode partly to Sinead’s cover.
