It grieves me to say it, but I’ve probably got as much of an authentic tie to Ireland as a Shamrock Shake. My mother spent some time looking into our genealogy, and you only have to go back a generation or two to land in Ireland, but I think I’m too much of a Scottish/Irish/English/German mutt, myself.
That didn’t stop me from going heavy into my Irish phase in college, though. (Never underestimate the need of a southern American teen to feel like he comes from somewhere not embarrassing). I became obsessed with the Pogues and spent a lot of time driving around Athens screaming over traditional songs or songs meant to sound traditional. I didn’t and still don’t know much about Irish history, but that didn’t stop me from hating Oliver Cromwell and cursing him out at least once a day.
I always liked that the Pogues would devote at least one track of each album just to showing off how many outstanding musicians were in the band; it wasn’t all just about Shane MacGowan’s lyrics. One of my favorites was “Wild Cats of Kilkenny” from Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash. For a nerdy college kid trying to get in touch with his roots, a version of the Doctor Who theme that turned into an Irish reel felt like it was speaking directly to me.
My love of the Pogues eventually turned me onto the harder stuff: actual traditional Irish music. One highlight was a live album from The Chieftains, titled An Irish Evening: Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast.
There’s a track on there called “The Mason’s Apron” that goes into an extended flute solo by Matt Molloy, and it was, and still is, one of the most amazing things I’ve ever heard. Even seeing it in video, it’s kind of hard to believe it’s one person. After the applause, Paddy Moloney sums it up perfectly with “Not bad. Not bad at all. There were two flutes in there somewhere.”
Happy St Patrick’s Day! Might be a perfect day to get my at-least-partly-Irish ass over to a Jewish deli and get some corned beef and cabbage.
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