St. Patrick's Day

 THE MINSTREL BOY

by Thomas Moore

Hear the Melody

The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone

In the ranks of death you will find him;

His father's sword he hath girded on,

And his wild harp slung behind him;"

Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,

"Tho' all the world betrays thee,

One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,

One faithful harp shall praise thee!"

The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain

Could not bring that proud soul under;

The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again,

For he tore its chords asunder;

And said "No chains shall sully thee,

Thou soul of love and brav'ry!

Thy songs were made for the pure and free,

They shall never sound in slavery!"

 

Comments

[Howler]

Lovely.

I trust on the 12th of July we'll be hearing 'The Old Orange Flute'?

[Patrick Lang]

Howler

Sure. Remind me. We have ancestors on both sides of that, but for now here is George Michells's least favorite song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3oL7KnJ1yA&feature=related

pl

[par4]

Couldn't you find a red-head for the thumbnail?
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem rule today.

[Abu Sinan]

I have some songs about the Orange, but the folks who dig with the other foot wouldnt like them!

Below is part of a poem I love and is often sung as a song:

"All clad in green I thought I seen,
A virtuous Queen that was grave and old,
Saying children dear do not fear,
But come and hear what I will unfold,
This fertile country for seven centuries,
Since Strongbow's entry into our land,
Has been kept under by foes outnumbered,
And robbed and plundered of the Rights of Man.

My cause you chided and so derided,
When all divided alas you know,
And in disorder round Erin's border,
Strife grief and murder has laid you low,
Let each communion detest disunion,
And in love and union join hand in hand,
Believe in Graine and proud Britannia,
No more shall rob you of the Rights of Man."

James Connoloy

[Watcher]

My boys favorite bedtime song. They've both memorized it and refuse to sleep until I've sung it to them. Happy St Patrick's day.

[Nancy K]

Col Lang, a top of the morning to you. I'm 1/8 Irish, my ggm was Mary O'Quinn, but every St Pattys day I wear green, as does my Jewish husband.
We are eating corned beef and cabbage for dinner, drinking Guinness and watching the Quiet American.
I believe in celebrating all holiday's even the made up ones.
One can't have too many parties.

[BillWade, NH]

Got me a 6 pack of George Killian's, Happy St. Pats!!!

[rjj]

Thought that tune was Welsh.

But then so was Patrick.

Appropriate.

[Patrick Lang]

rjj

No. Irish. Patrick was not Welsh. He was a Briton sold into slavery in Ireland and who went to Ireland as missionary after he escaped from the place. He is reputed to have brewed the first barrel of Guinness. pl

[Maureen Lang]

From the soundtrack of John Sayles' "The Secret of Roan Inish":

Selke Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOH8w7oXfOk&feature=related

Wishing a Happy St. Patrick's Day to all posters & commenters at SST.

[Fred Strack]

No wonder Guinness is so good!

[Cieran]

Always one of our favorite days here at Castle Cieran. We enjoy Michael Collins (the movie) while also enjoying Michael Collins (the whiskey). It's good to be Irish.

[Cloned Poster]

If you visit St Patrick's Cathederal in Dublin 2, the place that Cromwell ransacked and made a stable for his horses, you will see all the colours of the Irish tribes that fought in the Crusades and thereafter.

PS: St Patrick did not brew Guinness

[Patrick Lang]

CP

What's your proof that St. Patrick was not the creator of Guinness? pl

[Leanderthal]

Minstrel Boy is the name of a blog by a fine man and genuine patriot, Brian Hart, who lost a son in Iraq. He quotes the lyrics in his masthead.

It's truly worth a visit.
http://minstrelboy.blogspot.com.

[William R. Cumming]

A special day in which those who welcome St. David's Day and St. Andrews day can also be welcoming to St. Patrick. He made the Emerald Isle safe from more than snakes IMO.

[different clue]

Because of my strange schedule (shift from 3 till midnight and hours to un-tense after that), I was not able to get up early enough to go to a restaurant for corned beef and cabbage dinner.

So I will re-chew old memories of corned beef past. And cabbage. With onions and carrots and potatos.

[ISL]

Interestingly, Guinness has its fine creamy texture from nitrogen bubbles which are much smaller and finer. Years of of pub crawls in Galway taught me to appreciate a properly pulled pint.

[jmc5588]

"When laws can keep the blades of grass from growing as they grow
"And when the leaves in summertime their verdure dare not show,
"Then I will change the color that I wear in my caubeen'
"But 'till that time, please God, I'll stick to wearing of the green!"

(Sent fron Hanoi, Vietnam, where yesterday was the 17th and I wore a green T shirt under my working togs...)

[Abu Sinan]

It is interesting to note that St Patrick is buried with St. Bridget and St. Columba, at Downpatrick, County Down, in the grave yard of a Protestant Church.

I have been there and seen the tombs of all three, although it is not unversally agreed that it is actually St Patrick buried there.

[YT]

Col., sir:

Happy St. Patty's. ^_^

Unfortunately the lass distracted my readin' of the poem. I'll have to come back when I'm more sober. She one o' 'em Page 3 gals?

[Green Zone Cafe]

Col.,

I think the reason why Patrick is referred to as Welsh is because the Welsh are the ethnic remnants of the (pre-Anglo-Saxon [German] invasion) Britons.

That is, the Britons were Celts who spoke a Celtic language which evolved into Welsh, Cornish and Manx.

Scottish was introduced through an invasion from Ireland, when the Scots displaced the Picts.

I may be wrong on this, of course.

[Maureen Lang]

We have watched "The Secret of Roan Inish" for many years now on St. Patrick's Day as we hoist a few Black & Tans with our family & neighborhood friends- last night my husband's warehouse foreman, Don McGrath, surprised us all by singing the Selke Song from this wonderful Sayles film.

Beautiful voice he demonstrated, & beautiful lyrics I thought to share here on this day after St. Pat's:

Selke Song-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOH8w7oXfOk&feature=related

s cosuil gura bheath tu,
No do rugadh tu an gcrann.
Ta an sneachta go freasach
Fa a bhialainn ann.
Do shiuil bi deitil,
Is do bhealain samh,
Suid thugaibh mEire chinnle,
Is e an Eire naomh.

Mathairin mhilis,
A duirt Maire bhain,
Ar bharr na dtoinnti,
Is ar bhruach na tra.
Mathair an bharr,
Mo mhathair in ard,
Suid thugaibh mEire chinnle,
Is e an Eire naomh.

Taimse tuirseach,
Agus beidh go neal,
Mo bha ar a bhruinne,
Is mo phadraic ban.
Ar bharr na dtoinnti,
Is ar bhruach na tra,
Suid thugaibh mEire chinnle,
Is e an Eire naomh.

Maybe you were born,
Or you came from the earth
The snow is glistening
There is beauty there.
Your eyes are your vision
But your lips are silent
I gave to them Ireland,
Our holy saintly land.

Sweet Mother,
Our heavenly one
On the crest of the waves,
At the ebb of the tide.
Mother most high
Mother in the highest
I gave to them Ireland,
Our holy saintly land.

I am weary now
And soon it will be
My scent on the branches
And my strength in the bark
On the crest of the waves
At the ebb of the tide
I gave to them Ireland,
Our holy saintly land.

[Cloned Poster]

PL, Guinness was a bad brew that took off.

[flite]

Thank you Col., and all the comments, the poems and remarks.

Both sides of my family came from Ireland in the 1850s, and their stories are captivating. But my surname is a misspelled English one. I have often wondered if the misspelling was because my ancestors did not want an English name? Or was it because the British outlawed education in Ireland, and my ancestors were illiterate?

In my younger years, I did not want to be Irish because of all the family stories of Irish persecution, both here and in the homeland. Later in midlife, I seemed not to care very much. But now I could not be more proud of my heritage! ... All the wonderful, talented, and courageous people of the Emerald Isle and so proud, of all my Irish relatives, famous and not.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig
"Happy St. Patrick's Day!"