It's a great day for cultural stereotyping! Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, we turn over the Blue Chair to Irish music. Most of it is of a more or less contemporary nature, with musical acts drawn predominantly from the rock and pop world. However, it may surprise you to know that the show includes neither U2 nor Van Morrison! It wasn’t a deliberate attempt to exclude these two favorites on my part—I just couldn’t seem to work them into the playlist.

 

So what will you find here? Well, there’s a little bit of Irish rap, but it’s NOT by House of Pain. We have two members of the Pogues but neither of them is playing with that well-known band. Declan Patrick McManus (better known by his stage name, Elvis Costello) offers a contemporary anthem to Irish American Immigration. An Irish rock band puts the words of W.B. Yeats to music. And just to show you how up to date The Blue Chair can be, we present this year’s Oscar© winning Best Song!

 

Because Irish music can have a tendency towards the maudlin, we also offer a couple of tearjerkers. “Danny Boy” makes an almost obligatory appearance with my absolute favorite version of the song. And we present what I offer as perhaps the saddest song ever written. That’s a bold statement, but I’m prepared to stand by it. If this musical tale of the Irish Diaspora doesn’t have you at least close to tears, you may not be human!

 

Yeah, the greeting card image of St. Patty’s Day may be all grinning leprechauns and green shamrocks, but if you’re Irish, you know as with most important occasions, it’s really about crying in your beer!

 

Jim Chadwick

March 8, 2008