KEENING

‘Keening’: Irish for ‘Wailing in grief for the dead, often a poetic graveside ritual ‘

… A long, long time ago, I can still remember
How Irish music made me smile
And I knew if Spotify had a chance
An Irish playlist could make us dance
And we’d be happy for a while

My Captor’s I-phone gave the news
Shane MacGowan dead! Just 65, oh man
The lead singer of the Pogues
One of my favorite Irish bands

So bye bye Shepherd’s Pie
Irish singers are dropping like flies
Our Irish lads are drinking whiskey and stout
Trying to drown the sorrow out

Dolores O’ Riordan was first, the Cranberries lead
You may remember their singles Zombie and Linger
Drowning at age 46 by alcohol intoxication
So sad – but so stereotypically Irish of her

Sinead O’ Connor was next
Cause of death: She’d lost hope
Loved from alternative rock through Irish folk
Just don’t expect a sympathy card from the pope

Love any Irish bar band singing Irish tunes
Nothing funner than ‘7 old ladies stuck in the lavatory’
But whenever I’m in Chicago
It’s Matt O’Connor and the Sullivan Brothers for me

Lucky enough to visit the Old Sod, the Mother Land
Every pub with great local live tunes
Plus great pub grub – and everywhere Guinness stout
(Even churches and pharmacies)
My Captor and I had a blast, leaving too soon

So bye bye Shepherd’s Pie
Irish singers are dropping like flies
Our Irish lads are drinking whiskey and stout
Trying to drown the sorrow out

… But Shane’s news made me shiver
With every I-Phone update delivered
Bad news on the internet
Haven’t fully processed yet
I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But her farewell note deeply touched me
“I loved you, You meant the world to me”

You want traditional Irish tunes?
The Chieftains, Dubliners – so many to choose
Rousing tunes get your Irish blood pumping
Even a Protestant can’t refuse

You want modern Irish folk?
Check out the Moore family – Christy Moore and Luka Bloom
Luka’s ‘Acoustic Motorbike’ a personal fav,
His cover of LL Cool J’s ‘I need Love’ a fusion tune

If you want plugged in rock
You’ve come to the right nation
Snow Patrol, U2, Van Morrison,
Flogging Molly playing and fighting like they need psychiatric evaluation

Or a total family favorite The Waterboys
I Wish I was a Fisherman tumbling on the sea
A Bang on the Ear: Nora – That’s my name!
Room to Roam, This is the Sea, Fisherman’s Blues their ‘deserted island’ three

Or Declan Patrick MacManus, Elvis Costello to you
Who produced the Pogue’s ‘Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash’
…Sounding like a fevered college weekend
Not every day you wake and say “Today I’m seeing Elvis Costello”
25 times for me – I’m a setlist sharing lucky fellow

To the Pogues we go,
CDs: ‘If I should fall from grace with God’, ‘Peace and love’, ‘Hell’s Ditch’ awesomeness
Shane MacGowan amazing in live performance
But off stage, his life shambolic – an unfortunate mess
Thus the group disbanding, his new band ‘The Popes’
Who’ll definitely send a sympathy card.
But the original band name Pogue Mahone
Irish for “Kiss My Ass”, Shane’s flippant life disregard

So bye bye Shepherd’s Pie
Irish singers are dropping like flies
Our Irish lads are drinking whiskey and stout
Trying to drown the sorrow out

But if Me Mother were here she’d offer the following prayer:
“O Lord, forgive the soul of our departed loved ones, Cleanse them of their sins, Grant them eternal rest and peace, in the embrace of your loving presence”.

For 200 more posts like this –each with a wish for a fresh pint– go to beersatthenifty.com. Your phone will display every post, and you can waste an hour or two.
Or send me an email to the site, and I’ll add you to my Sunday distribution.
TO ENHANCE YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THIS POST, PAIR IT WITH THE FOLLOWING SONGS:

Hopefully the post reminded you of Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’ – unless a copyright suit breaks out. Don also recorded ‘Vincent’, a beautiful song. Long ago, it began playing when a college friend was caddying for McLean’s mother. Upon hearing it, she said “That’s my son, Donald”.
An additional anecdotal tidbit, way back in the day my brothers would get drunked up and call me to ask the meanings of the lyrics. Collect. (Kids, ask your parents). It still makes me smile to remember those morons giggling as the operator asked “Will you accept the charges?”
My inside voice keening as I recall the memory…

Me Mother would also insist I add ‘Danny Boy’ – maybe the ultimate keening song. No eyes dry when played at family funerals…
Danny Boy Recorded by a LOT of folks. The oddest, Little Richard and Art Linkletter.
Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side.
The summer’s gone, and all the roses falling,
It’s you, it’s you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer’s in the meadow,
Or when the valley’s hushed and white with snow,
It’s I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so!
But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
You’ll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me!