Sad. Hearing him back in the late 60’s persuaded me to take up the
5-string banjo and whistle.
C.
I wondered about it when it was announced at the Cleveland Irish Heritage Festival last month that Tommy wouldn’t be attending because of illness. My wife and I enjoyed an hour-long set he did at last year’s festival. It’s a good memory to go out with. I also listened to my father’s Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem records. Coincidentally I just bought a CD of songs they recorded in the early 60s. I bought the CD because it included the song “Moses Ritoora Lioora Lyay”. As an 11 year old in 1962 I found that song really hilarious. It’s about a Jewish merchant who opens a shop in Ireland during the period when the English had outlawed any and all use of Gaelige. So Moses writes the name of his shop on a sign in Hebrew. The joke is that a peeler hauls him in to the station because he can’t tell Gaelige from Hebrew. It’s funnier when the CBs and TM sing it.
It’s one of those transitions of life. Thankfully he left many recordings behind for us to enjoy.
Mike
I’m really glad that my daughter got to hear Tommy (and his son) perform at the Chicago Gaelic Park fest a couple of years ago (has it been that long already?) I tried to explain to Anita how important he was to the revival of ITM.
After his set, he was unfailingly gracious to everyone who stopped by to chat, even though I suspect it was exhausting for him. When I introduced him to Anita, he was charming, warm and jovial. I told her that, some day, she would be telling her grandkids about meeting him.
And today, I’m certain that she will.
(It’s) Another Day (to Live and Die)
(Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott, Universal Music Corp/Howdy Skies Music/Famous Music/Sheddie Songs/ASCAP)
(As performed by Karan Casey)This world is made with sweat and toil, pushing muscle and elbow oil
We can’t lie too long in the shade, cause every day must be remade
Some days you fall some days you fly, but in the end we all must die
Our rotting flesh and broken bone will feed the ground that we call homeBut a new sprout grows from a fallen tree, my songs will go on after me
So lift your heart and dry your eye, it’s another day to live and die
…So go on now, don’t you worry 'bout me, you’ve miles to go and a world to see
My life’s been long and full and good, I’ve run this race the best I could
It’s a short time here and long apart,
But the same song rings in both our hearts
So take my guitar when I’m gone, write your own rhymes, then pass it on
Just write your rhymes and pass 'em on.Let a new sprout grow from a fallen tree, this song will go on after me
So lift your heart and dry your eye, it’s another day to live and die
It’s another day to live and die, just another day
A nice story from four years back:
Tommy Makem finds peace in the power of his music
Tommy Makem, loved by millions and regarded by many as the “godfather” of Irish music, is a world-class, globe-hopping ambassador for all that is lasting and beautiful about the cultural heritage of his homeland. Known in dozens of countries as a latter day “Bard of Armagh,” Makem brings to each well-attended performance his banjo, his tin whistle, a magnificent baritone voice and an enormously poetic temperament that has the power to mesmerize his audiences. He is also an inherently funny man – a natural entertainer – with a wide-ranging intellect and an impressive command of Irish cultural history.
i will pray for him and his family.
Very sad news.
–James
Very sad news indeed. I grew up listening to his and the clancy Brother’s music. My dad really liked the fighten music while my mother liked the tunes and ballads. On sundays around New York you could hear him regulalry requested on Fordam’s WFUV station, and still do today. I also think that many people did not realize that Tommy wrote many of the popular tunes that he played, and just presumed that they were old traditional ballads, i.e. “Four green Fields”.
Nice obituary for Tommy in the New York Times Today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/03/arts/03makem.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin
May he be in heaven a half hour before the divil knows he is dead…
Neil
When someone of Tommy’s stature passes, the wind of remembrance revives his soul. Many thanks PJ for the pointer to “The Cobbler” - one of my all time favourites - it takes me back and reminds me why I love this music so much.
Thanks Joanie - there’ll be some songs at the session tomorrow.
coincidentally… i just borrowed a tommy makem CD from the library. that’s sad that as soon as i really started to love his music he died. may he rest in peace… and hopefully he’ll find plenty of people to whistle with in Heaven.
On this video (I’ll tell me ma) it’s interesting to hear how much tonguing Makem’s using in his whistle playing–it’s a style you barely hear these days.
I saw him last year at Gettysburg. I will have to sing a few choruses of Waltzing with Bears which he taught to all of us. He told some great stories, sang some great songs and played a great gen.
Ron
Tommy Makem was buried yesterday in New Hampshire. Here’s a brief story from today’s Boston Globe:
From the liner notes of Tommy’s album “In the Dark Green Woods” (1974)
In the laughter of the crowd he seeks silence.
In the quiet of the hills he offers songs.
To children he brings stories filled with meaning and delight.
His voice is soft, his eyes so proudly strong.
He comes in from the highway with the freshness of spring rain.
Of his age you can’t be certain, you might think that you’ve known him before.
Should you ask his name, he’ll slowly mumble with a funny kind of smile.
And he sings the songs of highways or of soldiers back from war
He knows and understands the strange symphony of man
And he lives his life of song.
lovely and fitting