A little L21 mood music

[razyn]

We have a new channel, WETA-UK, that's doing reruns of BBC series.  And tonight I saw an episode of Ballykissangel for the first time.  A kid plays fiddle in the local ethnic pride festival, and is backed up by the local adults.  It reminded me of something I haven't thought about in a long while, Eddie Rabbitt's "Song of Ireland."  As it turns out, there's a very nice illustrated version of it on YouTube -- that's only had 557 hits, and deserves many more.  So I'm telling you guys about it, and if you like it, share it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsSVVlFCgR4

By way of a footnote, the late Eddie Rabbitt was the son of an Irish fiddler who moved to New Jersey (where Eddie was born).  At the beginning of the recording, that's his dad playing solo fiddle in Eddie's Nashville back yard -- where btw I was a frequent visitor (because a close friend shared a duplex with him).  At the end, the same track is overdubbed, with a bunch of Nashville studio musicians filling in other parts to "back" Thomas Rabbitt, in their impression of an Irish band.  They aren't strictly authentic, but could be a lot worse.  This song speaks simply but deeply to the same motivations that have gotten a lot of us into this field of study and research.  Enjoy.

[eochaidh]

There is nothing like going to Ireland for the first time. I can still feel the flood of emotion as I saw Ireland from the plane and then stepping off onto Irish soil. My whole body relaxed and I felt a sense of being"home" like none I had ever felt before. Everything seemed more "real" and familiar. I had an overwhelming feeling that the United States was a foreign land so very far away. The first tea with my friend's family, the first breakfast, the first tea in Wexford with my family; it enters your soul and you are never the same again. The last time I left Ireland I felt as if I were making a terrible mistake, that I was going against a power much greater than I. I sobbed. I missed it ever since.
 
In my neighborhood we had a Rabbit and a Cunnane family, both from the same Parish in Co. Roscommon. They always said they had to be distantly related, as Rabbit is the translation of Cunnane (coinin).

A beautiful and evocative song. Thank you.

[rms2]

That was nice. I remember Eddie Rabbitt. Too bad he's gone; God rest his soul.

Here's one of my favorites (it's not Eddie Rabbitt, but it's good):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhJp0W0ku2w&feature=related

[rms2]

Here is another great song.

[eochaidh]

Here is another great song.

Great music! God it's great being Irish! There have been times in my life where the only thing that got me thorugh were the words of my father, "No matter what happens to you in this world, you'll always be Irish and no one can take that away from you."

Well, that... and the five 49er Super Bowl Victories  :)