RIP Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries.

1916 refers to the Easter Rising in Ireland.

Easter Rising - Wikipedia

 

Boy, it sure doesn't strike me odd ...

 

Five minutes of heaven. That was such a good song.

 

Just wait until Phil Collins kicks it.

 

If you haven't listened to it, the Starlee Kine "This American Life" with Phil Collins is really, really great. I will be sad when he dies having heard this as much as any song he's written.

(It's Act One.)

Break-Up - This American Life

 

Much better song about the 1916 Easter Rebellion:

You lefties will like the socialist lyrics...

Marching down O'Connell Street with the Starry Plough on high
There goes the Citizen Army with their fists raised in the sky
Leading them is a mighty man with a mad rage in his eye
"My name is James Connolly - I didn't come here to die

But to fight for the rights of the working man
And the small farmer too
Protect the proletariat from the bosses and their screws
So hold on to your rifles, boys, and don't give up your dream
Of a Republic for the working class, economic liberty"

Then Jem yelled out "Oh Citizens, this system is a curse
An English boss is a monster, an Irish one even worse
They'll never lock us out again and here's the reason why
My name is James Connolly, I didn't come here to die....."

 

Foggy Dew will always be my favorite song about the Easter Uprising

 

This song, also by Black 47, uses the music from Foggy Dew, but the lyrics are completely different:

 

You rocking out to Black 47 is ... interesting.

 

Have probably seen them 100 times.

They used to play a NYC bar near me every Wednesday & Saturday.

Irish rebels were socialists. What can I tell you.

The anti George Bush and anti Iraq war songs I could do without. But, their first LP is amazing.

 

I only know who they are because JR and I are big fans of Larry Kirwan's show "Celtic Crush" on Sirius/XM. I don't know of any other singer whose speaking voice so exactly matches his singing voice.

 

Fiona and I listen to Celtic Crush every Sunday morning while mom is at work.

Larry is a really interesting guy.

Black 47 built up a big fan base in New York, and in other east coast cities with a large Irish population. They had a couple of record deals, but each time, the label had its own issues, and never promoted the album, though, I'm not sure they would have ever really had mainstream success, based on their sound.

But, they played a lot of gigs. There was an Irish bar, Paddy Reilly's, that featured live Irish music seven nights a week, and they played every Wednesday and Saturday, unless they were on the road. For a while, there was a pretty stable weekly schedule, and all the musicians were excellent. Black 47 eventually moved to Connolly's in midtown, and on just Saturday nights.

Even after moving out of NYC, I'd catch them when I was home, or at an Irish festival. They were regulars at the Memorial Day weekend festival on the South Side.