• Free MP3: “Roddy McCorley” from 17 June

  Kansas City, mp3, Recordings, Shows 30.06.2007 No Comments

  Next up, “Roddy McCorley”, written by Ethna Carbery about 100 years after the event in question. Not long before the 1798 Uprisings, the Presbyterian McCorleys were evicted from their farm, following the death of Roddy’s father. McCorley took part in the 1798 Uprisings in Co. Antrim, then went into hiding. He was betrayed and captured a year later and hanged in Toome, Co. Antrim, on Good Friday, 1799. The British soldiers dissected his body and buried it under the road between Derry and Belfast. Half a century later, his body was recovered and place in a proper, if unmarked, burial site.

  Feel free to stream, download, share, create derivative works all you like. I’ve released this recording under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial, Attribution, Share-Alike License. So, you can mix it, share it, use it in videos, what have you. Just let me know, if you might make money from it.

  Cheers!

  click the play button to stream

  Tags: free+mp3 live+recording bootleg irish+song 1798+uprisings united+irishmen rebel+song roddy+mccorley

  

• Free MP3 #12 from 17 June Westport Flea Market: Bonny Maid of Fyvie-O

  Kansas City, mp3, Recordings 28.06.2007 No Comments

  I’ve uploaded number 12 on the list of hits from Westport Flea Market. “The Bonny Maid of Fyvie-O” evolved from the much older Irish song “Pretty Peggy”. This is, of course, a happy song about death, to which I’m known to gravitate, perform, and embellish.

  Feel free to stream, download, share, use, and modify this recording in any way you wish. It’s Creative Commons licensed, and PODSAFE.

  Bonny Maid of Fyvie-O click the play button to stream

  Tags: irish+song scotland happy death irish+dragoons bonny+maid+of+fyvie-o bonny+maid+of+fife love+song

  

• Affront to Domestic Violence –of Sorts- “Stitch in Time” (Waterson) from 17 June Show

  Heroes, Kansas City, mp3 28.06.2007 No Comments

  Today, I’ve uploaded the MP3 for “Stitch in Time”. This song is ripped from the headlines, and set to music by Mike Waterson, Martin Carthy, and friends. In my experience, it has brought on a number of after-show comments from women who, in one way or another, identify with the heroine. Some have escaped similar situations. One woman had taken matters into her own hands, much like in this song, only she used duct tape. 

  At Westport Flea Market, I met a woman who works at a Kansas City shelter for women. She asked if I had recorded this song. Well, I have now.

  While this song amuses many, at best it’s rarely –but probably it’s never- wise to follow its example.

  Women who suffer from any kind of abuse should know that real help is a phone call away. My friend Lynn, at Reality Exploits, has provided the number for Women’s Support and Community Services, serving Saint Louis city and county in Missouri. Call (314) 531-2003 if you, or someone you know, could use support and help. They provide services and referrals for women dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault, relationship issues, legal issues, and shelter information.

  Nationwide, in the United States, you can call:

  National Domestic Violence Hotline
  1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
  1-800-787-3224 (TDD)

  Other cities, nationwide, and throughout much of the world, have people who can help. Please, if you are hurting, find the people in your community who can help you get back on your feet, and feel safe.

  Note: Computer use can be monitored. Please use a safe computer –at the library, school, etc.- to find resources. You can look in places like the Google Domestic Violence Directory or the Support Network for Battered Women.

  So, this is for my new friend in Kansas City, and the women she works with:

  Stitch in Time click the play button to listen

  Watch my mp3 page for an updated version of Stitch in Time.

  Tags: free+mp3 domestic+violence women’s+shelters live+recording indie+music

  

• Free MP3: “Poor Paddy” from Westport Flea Market 17 June

  Irish Music, Kansas City, mp3 26.06.2007 No Comments

  “Poor Paddy”, number ten in the series of tunes from 17 June, and the story of a man who hates his job a smidge.

  If you can’t make it to the pub, tonight, then kick back in front of the browser, and feel the navvy angst by listening to this free MP3. Download and share with your friends. Just tell them where you got it.

  Poor Paddy “Poor Paddy” Free MP3 click the “play button” to stream.

  Tags: irish+song free+mp3 work+song pub+song live+music irish+music navvies railrood poor+paddy

  

• Whiskey. In. The. Jar. Dateline 17 June 2007

  Kansas City, mp3 25.06.2007 No Comments

  I know. I know. “Whiskey in the Jar”. This is definitely a heavily derided traditional song. To some critics, it’s the poster child for overdone Irish songs. For each of those, however, there are 20 people, who will be very disappointed if they don’t hear the song, when they go out to the pub. It’s the “Freebird!” of Irish pub songs. So, I sneak it in, now and again –right after “Freebird!” [Zippos up high, now!]

  So, grab a wooden spoon to bang on the jar or pot, or just clap your hands along with this fine, well-aged Irish pub favorite. If you like, you can even get the more refined version on my download music page.

  Cheers!

  click the play button to listen

  Tags: irish+song free+mp3 pub+song drinking+song whiskey live+music irish+music ireland whiskey+in+the+jar

  

• Free MP3 “Star of the County Down” – No. 8 from 17 June

  Irish Music, Kansas City, mp3 24.06.2007 No Comments

  “Star of the County Down” is number eight from the recording of my Westport Flea Market show.

  My version is a lightly speedy one, with a hint of fennel. Listen, download, and share with your friends. Under the Creative Commons license, you may also use it in non-commercial works –videos, mixes, etc.- without asking permission or paying anyone.

  Again, if you like it, feel free to buy the higher quality version on my mp3 page.

  Star of the County Down click the play button to listen

  Tags: irish+song free+mp3 love+song live+music irish+music ulster northern+ireland star+of+the+county+down

  

• Free MP3 No. 7 from 17 June 2007

  Kansas City, mp3, Shows 24.06.2007 No Comments

  Jack Haggerty worked as a raftsman, escorting logs down the Platte River in the mid 19th century. He and his friend Dan McGinnis found the local blacksmith’s daughter, Anne Tucker, easy on the eyes. They were, however, not allowed to go near her. There was probably some sort of frontier “restraining order”, that involved guns and ax-handles if not followed.

  See the Jack Haggerty Lyrics for more.

  From “They Knew Paul Bunyan”, by E.C.Beck, 1956:

  “Flat River rises in Six Lakes, has a splendid mill-site at
  Greenville, and empties into the Grand River near Lowell. It is in what was
  a great pine belt of Michigan. A lively incident there is the basis of the
  song. When it was composed, Greenville was a small logging town and Anne
  Tucker’s home was just across the street from her father’s blacksmith shop.
  In the late [18]sixties big, burly, red-haired Dan McGinnis came to town.
  Dan knew Jack Haggerty, a good-looking fellow from Hart and Shelby. Neither
  Dan nor Jack was permitted to keep company with pretty Anne Tucker.
  McGinnis, a clever entertainer as well as a good raftsman, was assigned to
  the camp where George Mercer, Anne’s fiance, had been promoted to woods
  boss. McGinnis was so aroused that he composed this shanty song, using
  Haggerty’s name to conceal his own identity. At first Mercer was so angry
  that he would not permit the song sung in camp, and the Tuckers disliked
  it. In time the family aversion wore away, and Anne herself is said to have
  sung it to her Canadian friends.”

  click the play button to stream

  Check out my page of mp3s for more songs and to purchase higher quality versions.

  Tags: irish+american+song free+mp3 love+song live+music irish+music michigan+logging jack+haggerty

  

• Free MP3 – “Maid Gone to Comber” Live 17 June at Westport Flea Market

  Kansas City, mp3, Recordings, Shows 24.06.2007 No Comments

  Stream or download the MP3 for “Maid Gone to Comber” aka “Next Market Day”. This marks the fifth song from my 17 June show.

  Comber lies 24km/15mi SE of Belfast, in County Down. It sits at the northern end of Strangford Lough, in the heart of current potato growing country. It was also the boyhood home of Thomas Andrews, Jr, the man in charge of the plans for the RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic.

  This song has fared much better than either of Mr. Andrews’ ships, and I’m certain there is no lack of 78s featuring various singers and this tune.

  So, go ahead, listen, download, share, copy, spindle, AND mutilate this recording. Just let everyone know that they are free to do the same, and ring me up, if you plan to make a punt, a dollar, or a peso from it.

  Cheers!

  Maid Gone to Comber click “play button” to listen

  irish+song free+mp3 love+song live+music irish+music comber+co+down next+market+day maid+gone+to+comber

  

• More MP3 Action: “Arthur McBride” Kicks Recruiter Bum 17 June

  mp3, Recordings, Shows 24.06.2007 No Comments

  The Westport Flea Market recording has been very easy to work with. Watch for this show on a CD –or a set of CDs. Don’t wait till then, though. Stream and download the fun now.

  Here’s the MP3 for “Arthur McBride” to listen, download, save, share, mix, and what you wish. As usual, this is under the Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution Share-Alike License. In a nutshell, that means that you can share this recording with anyone you like; use it in derivative works, like videos, samples to rap over, what have you; share freely with your friends; even tweak it for your media or science project. You just need to make any derivative works freely available, as well, and let me know if you plan to make money with it. For school, a party, or just to have fun, though, is all legal, and carries my carte blanche blessing.

  If you love it, please consider buying the better version on my MP3 page.

  Arthur McBride listen

  Tags: irish+song free+mp3 recruiting+song live+music irish+music war european+wars arthur+mcbride

  

• “Step It Out, Mary” MP3 from 17 June 2007

  mp3, Recordings, Shows 23.06.2007 No Comments

  The live recording of “Step It Out, Mary” from my Westport Flea Market performance on 17 June. The song, originally a skipping song heavily appended by Sean McCarthy to finish the story, tells of a girl promised by her father to a rich stranger. Her love for a soldier undiminished by the stranger’s promises of wealth and comfort, she refuses.

  You must stream or download to find out what happens next!

  So, bite your nails, and listen to this fine piece from the recent folk catalogue of Ireland. And be glad that Mr. McCarthy took a few minutes break from his construction work to scratch this onto a concrete sack. You can also buy the better version on my MP3 page.

  Step It Out, Mary listen

  Tags: free+mp3 irish+song skipping+song jump+rope

  

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