MarcSONGS Podcast

This song was written by Dominic Behan, brother of Brendan. It tells the story of Fergal O'Hanlon from Ballybay, Co Monaghan, who tried to abolish the border between the Six Counties and the Republic. He was killed during the Brookborough attack at the age of 17. The song has become world famous. Undoubtedly one of the best ballads ever to come out of the Irish struggles. During our first year together, we were introduced to a wide variety of music. One of the first tapes someone lent me was a tape of I.R.B. tunes. Well the very first task we had to figure out was what I.R.B. stood for? Irish Republican Brotherhood. The Irish Republican Brotherhood was formed on Saint Patrick's Day in 1858. It was an underground organization designed to remove the English from Ireland. The song was recorded by numerous artists including Bob Dylan and the Kingston Trio. Our version came from the aforementioned I.R.B. compilation. I think it may have been the Wolfe Tones who sang it, but I'm not sure. In any case, it was the first rebel song we learned, and still one of our most popular. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up my CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

I am a HUGE Firefly fan. Firefly is a Sci Fi Western by Joss Whedon, who gave us Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. I found the show in the summer of 2005 and fell in love. That Fall, I wrote an instrumental piece, but it wasn't until we were in Ireland that I heard about the Sing a Song of Saffron Contest. Write a song about the sexy villainess, Saffron (aka YoSaffBridge). I wrote the song using a recent melody I learned, "May Morning Dew". When I got home, I finished the lyrics, recorded it, sent it into the competition and won "Best Filk Song"! Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up my CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

One of the first songs I ever learned at faire was "Gypsy Rover". I heard another musician at Excalibur Fantasy Faire sing the song and vaguely remembered the chorus. "Ah di do ah di do dai day". That night, I went home and looked up the lyrics on the net. I printed them out and started memorizing. It wasn't until a year later though that I realized I pronounced the "Ah do DOH" different than others. But that's folk music for you. The song is a popular Childe Ballad and when I started thinking of songs to parody for my Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CD. I thought this one would be great one to base on Johnny Cash's song, "A Boy Named Sue". So I wrote "A Cat Named Rover". Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

"I danced in the morning when the world was begun." I loved that song growing up. But it wasn't until I got on MP3.com a few years back that I heard a great version by Muckle Flugga that renewed my interest of the song. However, it was Pam Owens, aka Mother Pockets who posted the song title, "Lord of the Pounce" that made me want to write a parody for Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers. That, ultimately, led to me actually learning the original Irish song. That's when I found out just how well-loved "Lord of the Dance" is as a song. It's amazing to find out that the lyrics were written in the '60s by Sydney Carter. I can only dream to hope that one day I might write a song as beloved. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

Ah... "Wild Rover"! I know some people who hate this song because it seems like one of the most-popular Irish drinking songs ever. The chorus is simple, and there's a nice clapping part in it which adds to that interactivity that goes so well with Irish drinking songs. Personally, I love the song. The only real problem with me is that after I wrote "Wild Kitty"for Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers, I kept screwing up the original lyrics in favor of the cat version. But here it is in it's simplest form without the meowing. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

This Belfast street song has earned all sorts of performances from groups like The Clancy Brothers and The Dubliners, but I first heard it from tbhe Kansas City Irish group, Tullamore. But I soon modified it for my own purpose. And that was a parody called "I'll Tell My Cat". It wasn't until after I wrote that song for Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers that I decided I needed to learn the original. And it is a delightful piece that was a popular children's song too. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

This Irish American song was written by Chauncey Olcott and George Graff, Jr.. Perhaps it's not the most "Irish" of songs but it does capture an important piece of the Irish ex-patriot tradition and despite it's parlor music sound, it's rather pretty too. So I couldn't help but parody it for my Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CD. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

A Scottish bothy ballad. The bothy is the shed where the plowman slept. These plowmen would go to special fairs to find work. They didn't always have the best working conditions. This song tells of the struggles and dreams of a Scottish farm worker in Delgaty located in Aberdeenshire. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

What happens when fishermen die? They go to Fiddler's Green, a paradise for those who lived their lives on the sea. It's a beautiful fantasy by John Connolly. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

Over-fishing in the Greenland sea during the early 19th century had a devastating toll on the whale stocks. A new hunting ground, the South-West Fishery, was discovered in the region of the Davis Straits and it was mostly here that The Diamond fished. In 1830 The Diamond, Eliza Swan and The Resolution along with seventeen other whaling ships were caught in the ice of Melville Bay. The ships were lost and many sailors lost their lives. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

This is an old song dating with tune origins probably dating to the 18th century. The lyrics were first recorded in around 1916 and believed to be out of the Appalacian Mountains, although it is so fully engrained in the folk tradition that many believe it to be out of Scotland as attibuted by the verse "I'll go to the Clyde" which is a river that runs through Glasgow. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

This was one of the first Irish songs I ever learned from some cassette of Irish drinking songs. It's about Tim Finnegan who dies and a wake is held in his honor. It quickly turns into a free-for-all. Even death, it's terrible thing to waste good alcohol. I parodied this song on Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers with a song about a Sphynx cat named Furagone who runs through the same life after death scenario with catnip. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

"Black Velvet Band" is an Irish classic. It has a great story about drinking, women, and getting sent off to Van Dieman's Land as a punshment for a falsely accused crime. Ain't that great? On Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers, I parodied the song. I called it "Black Kitty Paw". It too has a great story about a man whose dog dies, and a cat helps him to refind is love for dogs. It was a nice sweet twist. This is the first single from my new CD. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

A song about the joys of moonshine. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording, pick up our CD 'Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion' at www.catdrinkingsongs.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.

A song from the Easter Uprising of 1916 Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording pick up our CD, 'Going for Brogue: Irish Pub Songs and Sea Shanties with an Accent' at www.marcgunn.com or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.