Tag Archives: Christy Moore

How Does It Feel, Bob?

Barack Obama’s first official visit to Ireland came and went yesterday. It was certainly a success as the US president knocked back a pint of Guinness in the village of Moneygall and got to show off his command of the Irish language in Dublin. Another famous American who has been a regular visitor to these shores in recent years celebrates his 70th birthday today. In the early sixties, Bob’s music had been used to soundtrack the Civil Rights Movement in the US. Dylan’s championing by the movement was not something he encouraged, though he was present at the march in Washington on August 28th, 1963, when Martin Luther King delivered his powerful I Have a Dream speech

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Joxer Goes to Stuttgart

I can think of loads of songs that help me to recall certain people and places, but only one that reminds me of a certain event. Joxer Goes to Stuttgart by Christy Moore is a modern-day folk song about a “day that will be the highlight of many people’s lives.” It’s set in the summer of 1988 and follows a group of Irish football fans as they support Jack Charlton’s Ireland at the European football championships in Germany. In particular, it tells the story of Ireland’s opening match against England in Stuttgart on June 12th. Moore focuses on a fictional group of Dubliners who travel across Europe to be present at Ireland’s first game at a major football tournament. Joxer is the unanimous choice to drive the van and this may be due to his apparent efficiency as he packs jump-leads and a German phrase-book for the trip. Later, he also shows good communication skills as he manages to chat up a German lady who later visits him in Dublin

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So Much Wine

So Much Wine is a song that’s set on Christmas Day and chronicles a tense relationship that appears to be on the brink due to one party’s over-consumption of alcohol. Its lyric was written by Rennie Sparks and the music by her husband Brett and the pair are the driving force behind the alt-country band, The Handsome Family. The duo are based in Chicago and formed nearly twenty years ago with Texan Brett on guitar and keyboards and New Yorker Rennie on bass and banjo. The two share vocals, with Brett’s deep baritone usually to the fore. The influence of country and bluegrass is evident in the band’s style and Rennie’s lyrics often read like short stories. Southern Gothic fiction is another inspiration on their music and the writer that I mostly hear in their songs is that wonderful creator of short stories, Flannery O’Connor. The narrator of So Much Wine would appear to be male and he addresses a person who is most likely a woman as he refers to her affectionately as “Butterfly”, indicating a possible romantic involvement as well. The song begins in the middle of a Christmas Day dispute between the narrator and Butterfly. He has been rendered speechless by a series of actions that have seen her throw her clothes in the snow, burn her hair and stumble over chairs. After she passes out on the floor with bloody teeth he drives out to the highway and watches the stars until the sun comes up. He then returns for his own clothes and finds that she’s still lying on the floor. In the chorus, he attempts to dispense some words of wisdom to her, though his advice will most likely fall on deaf ears:

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Shine On You Crazy Diamond


Christy Moore turns 65 today, traditionally the age of retirement in Ireland. However, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be hanging up his guitar and bodhrán for a while yet. In his early twenties, Christy decided to withdraw from a career in banking to become a folk singer and has become one of Ireland’s most respected and popular musicians over the last four decades. He’s been a solo performer for most of his career, but the man from Kildare was also a founding member of Planxty and Moving Hearts, two influential groups from the early seventies and early eighties respectively. Throughout his solo career, his repertoire has drawn upon a combination of sources: traditional music; songs by established and unknown songwriters; and his own distinctive material. Like most folk singers, he has sung love songs as well as songs about key issues of the day: emigration, unemployment, alcoholism, war and, frequently, marginalised peoples. He has also sang in a lighthearted way about the building of an airport in rural Ireland, alcoholism (again) and the Irish football team’s adventures at the 1988 European Football Championships. Exactly one year ago, his most recent album release, called Listen, knocked The Fame by Lady GaGa off the top of the Irish album charts. From that album, you can listen to his take on a song written by Roger Waters as a tribute to former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett. Happy birthday, Christy!


Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pink Floyd cover) – Christy Moore

Image courtesy of christymoore.com

Poguetry In Motion


I mentioned on Wednesday that I’d be spending Patrick’s Day immersing myself in Irish culture. I had planned to take it easy on St Patrick’s Eve, but shortly after writing the post I got an unexpected text from a good friend of mine. It didn’t take too much for Tom to persuade me to call over to his place for a few drinks and to watch Chelsea take on Inter Milan in the Champions League. Watching English football teams is one of the most popular pastimes amongst Irish males and the tie was nicely balanced at 2-1 to the Italian team. I brought along an 8-pack of Bulmers cider (the Irish one, not the English one). The game was quite close, but Inter scored near the end to ease their passage into the quarter-finals. As the number of cans got fewer and fewer, Thomas put on one of the best Irish films of recent years, In Bruges (it’s in Belgium). The next morning, Tom’s lovely lady Linda made an Irish breakfast for the three of us. Even though Linda was unable to offer any evidence as to the food’s heritage, I had no reason to believe that it wasn’t an Irish one. It was cooked and eaten in Ireland and it even tasted like an Irish breakfast. After that, Tom checked out Cheltenham and we watched the Irish trainers, horses and riders cleaning up. After Linda cleaned up, she dropped me home. My thanks to Thomas and Linda for a lovely Irish day

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Lovely Day For a Guinness

The Pour of the Pint

250 years ago, Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease at £45 a year to rent St James’s Gate brewery in Dublin. Tomorrow, September 24th, has been designated as Arthur’s Day and will feature celebrations all around the world. Unsurprisingly, the biggest party will take place in Dublin as dozens of bands will converge on Ireland’s capital city to raise a toast to Arthur. The day begins at 17:59 with an invite-only concert at St James’s Gate itself featuring Tom Jones, Kasabian and Estelle. Four Dublin venues (Vicar St, the Academy, Tripod and Whelan’s) will put on gigs that will include Richard Hawley, Lisa Hannigan, David Gray and the Undertones. And Live at the Local sees Noah & the Whale, Mick Flannery and dozens of other acts perform at 28 Dublin pubs throughout the night. Sounds like it’s going to be a busy day. For those of you who’d like to celebrate Arthur’s Day early or in the confines of your own home, here are a few drinking songs to accompany the creamy pints of stout

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Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2009: Theatre

The entrance to Long Kesh prison

The entrance to Long Kesh prison

We only made it to one play at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival and what a play it was. Chronicles of Long Kesh at the Assembly Hall told the story of the prison situated outside Belfast that was variously known as Long Kesh, the Maze and the H Blocks. The prison opened as HM Prison Maze in 1971 and housed thousands of paramilitary prisoners before its eventual closure in 2000. This two-hour play could have been heavy going for its midday audience, but it managed to blend a hearty dose of humour and song with the many tragic events that took place within the prison. The first half of the play takes us through the 70s from the burning of the camp in 1974 up to the dirty protests and the first hunger strikes at the end of that decade. The set is bare except for six large wooden boxes that the actors constantly move around to indicate a change of scenery. It is narrated by Freddie, played brilliantly by Billy Clarke, a young Protestant man who decides to become a prison officer more out of financial necessity than personal choice. At the beginning, Freddie is naive and out of his depth, but he settles into his role as an officer despite the pressures that it brings. Freddie introduces us to the rest of the characters and keeps the audience up-to-date with events inside and outside the prison as the play progresses. The rest of the cast is made up of one female and five male actors who each play a number of different roles. At the start it seems that there are too many characters and sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart. However, we are soon able to differentiate them due to the actors use of facial expressions, accents and body posture and movement

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Hey! Teachers! Leave Them Kids Alone

My nephew's matching schoolbag and lunchbox

My nephew's matching lunchbox and schoolbag

Today is the first day of September which means, I guess, the end of summer and the start of the school year for many kids and a few teachers. It’s also the very first day of school for many little boys and girls around the world who’ll be embarking on a wonderful adventure as they start to learn about the alphabet, numbers, painting and how to send text messages on their brand new mobile phones. They’ll also get to meet new friends and spend a few hours a day away from the comforts of home. This can be a traumatic time for kids and parents (and a few teachers) and I’m sure that tears will be shed in homes and classrooms everywhere. Yesterday, my nephew, Seán, put down his first day at school and, by all accounts, it passed without any trouble. In fact, my sister tells me that he’s been looking forward to starting school for a while; he can’t wait to learn how to read so that he can figure out The Beano for himself. I’d like to wish Seán the best of luck at his new school. I hope that he makes many friends and that he’ll have loads of fun along the way. Here are a few songs for first timers like Seán and also for the many schoolteachers who are returning after their summer holidays

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