Most miserable trad song ever.

Roger_007 · 25-01-2021 11:37pm

Even when Irish people are happy(ish) they still sing miserably sad songs like The Fields of Athenry.
They worst ‘trad’ song of all imo is The Streets of New York as recorded by the Wolfe Tones, (or maybe it was the Provisional Wolfe Tones).

Let’s face it, Irish people prefer miserable songs, (and miserable books and miserable films as well).

An Ri rua · 25-01-2021 11:42pm

Northernlily wrote: »

Not really a trad song but Grace is a miserable auld tune. Lad gets married and then is dragged out to be shot.

He got off light. Wife specialised in howling at wakes.

gozunda · 25-01-2021 11:43pm

Was at a friends house who has one of those Alexa Echo devices

Friend was explaining how Alexa would play just about any genre of music.

So for the laugh I asked Alexa to play some happy trad music

Alexa replied " I don't know any happy trad music"

True story...

Capt'n Midnight · 26-01-2021 1:18am

The Croppy Boy.

JupiterKid · 26-01-2021 2:10am

Well, given our history of centuries of colonial oppression, wars, “the” famine (in reality there were many but the 1845-49 one was the most documented), grinding poverty, misery, hunger, disease....etc etc.

...it’s sorta not surprising that all our traditional music lyrics are sad, sorrowful ones. The Ireland of today doesn’t really lend itself to such lyrics, except for homelessness which, apart from Covid-19 is the biggest challenge we face.

I have to admit that I was never the biggest fan of trad music - sure, a live session down the pub with a good band and the drink flowing (in my drinking days) can be great fun, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it. My eldest sister plays the bodran and accordion with an expat Irish trad group in Canada.

My late mother knew quite a few trad ballads - and sang a few of them beautifully - Carrickfergus and The Spinning Wheel come to mind.:o

Strumms · 26-01-2021 2:14am

Christy Moore playing... Ride On..

[Deleted User] · 26-01-2021 2:34am

I think there’s a bit of misery in all of us but Grace is a gem of a song, about patriotism and love for fellow countrymen and the love of a young bride for her hero of a husband.

It’s hardly the fault of anyone on the isle that their end was miserable, a despicable death by firing squad at the order of a foreign oppressor for a young man answering a nations call.

How times have changed and how easy it is to dismiss the sadness of generations past and the music their and YOUR history inspired. Look past the misery of your own pointless existences lads, if that’s all you see in some of the other songs you’re knocking there.

ShatterAlan · 26-01-2021 3:00am

mariaalice wrote: »

Had a bit of a discussion about this a the weekend.

I will give me my view but throw it open first.

“The great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad,
For all their wars are merry, and all their songs are sad.”

― G.K. Chesterton,

All trad music is either miserable, a random structureless din or a celebration of alcoholism.

One depressing one that springs to mind for me is "School days over" by Luke Kelly. I can just imagine a kid having to get out of his warm bed before dawn and go to work down a flithy, dark, dangerous coal mine. Talk about leaving school only for that to be your bright and happy future.

chopperbyrne · 26-01-2021 9:25am

Springhill Mining Disaster has to be up there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wQYdmqK6Tk

mariaalice · 26-01-2021 9:38am

JayZeus wrote: »

I think there’s a bit of misery in all of us but Grace is a gem of a song, about patriotism and love for fellow countrymen and the love of a young bride for her hero of a husband.

It’s hardly the fault of anyone on the isle that their end was miserable, a despicable death by firing squad at the order of a foreign oppressor for a young man answering a nations call.

How times have changed and how easy it is to dismiss the sadness of generations past and the music their and YOUR history inspired. Look past the misery of your own pointless existences lads, if that’s all you see in some of the other songs you’re knocking there.

We are not knocking them one of my sisters married into a family of singers and trad musicians and we use to have great sessions. This is after hours.

Anyway just thought of this.

The sun is burning a cheery song about nuclear annihilation.

ohnonotgmail · 26-01-2021 9:46am

Why are people conflating folk songs with trad? Just because The Dubliners sang it doesn't make it a trad song. Luke kelly was heavily influenced by Ewan MacColl (father of Kirsty) and songs like "The Spinghill Mine Disaster" and "Lifeboat Mona" come from the folk tradition not trad.

mariaalice · 26-01-2021 9:49am

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Why are people conflating folk songs with trad? Just because The Dubliners sang it doesn't make it a trad song. Luke kelly was heavily influenced by Ewan MacColl (father of Kirsty) and songs like "The Spinghill Mine Disaster" and "Lifeboat Mona" come from the folk tradition not trad.

All alright, let's expand it and say in the trad ballad folk tradition.

Bass Reeves · 26-01-2021 9:56am

Cerveza wrote: »

A lot of the stuff out of Sharon’s box don’t be great.

Sharon's box was never great the tune was always a bit dry

weldoninhio · 26-01-2021 10:01am

They Never Came Home by Christy Moore.

https://youtu.be/wcizhnIU2lI

thehairygrape · 26-01-2021 10:03am

gozunda wrote: »

Was at a friends house who has one of those Alexa Echo devices

Friend was explaining how Alexa would play just about any genre of music.

So for the laugh I asked Alexa to play some happy trad music

Alexa replied " I don't know any happy trad music"

True story...

😄😄. If that’s not true it deserves to be.

Feisar · 26-01-2021 10:03am

More dark than sad

WrenBoy · 26-01-2021 10:18am

Feisar wrote: »

/thread

Close the thread, give this man the $10,000

MIRMIR82 · 26-01-2021 10:37am

Well, i for one love all the misery of trad.

And Irish folk music is excellent!

WrenBoy · 26-01-2021 10:51am

Gun_Slinger · 26-01-2021 10:53am

The Unquiet Grave - Luke Kelly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyqBA_Qr3qs

On a lighter note - Traditional Irish Folk Song - Denis Leary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbeLu_3Wf_k

IAMAMORON · 26-01-2021 11:03am

Folk and Trad is innately miserable - that's the phucking point.

Given it was composed by poor godforsaken freezing cold dirty faced peasants living in a one roomed hovel with a fire in the middle of it whose brother was sent to Van Diemens Land, Scrubs or Kilmainham Gaol to serve time for robbing a cup a corn to feed the poooower starving young ins .... who could only laugh or cry when the cold hard oppressor turned their evil back to let the childeren run free in the summa meadows...

Anyone who wrote proper romantic love songs or celebratory anthems were chastised as weirdos I reckon? No pain no gain.

whisky_galore · 26-01-2021 11:06am

They come over here and they take all our land
They chop of our heads and they boil them in oil
Our children are leaving and we have no heads
We drink and we sing and we drink and we die
We have no heads, we have no heads
They come over here and they chop off our legs
They cut off our hands and put nails in our eyes
O'Grady is dead and O'Hanrahan's gone
We drink and we die and continue to drink
O'Hanrahan, no O'Hanrahan
They buried O'Neill down in Country Shillhame
The poor children crying a fe dee din de
Hin fle di din fle di din fle de din de
In hey bibble bibble hey bibble bibble hey fle bibble de
O'Hanrahan, no O'Hanrahan
We drink and we sing and we drink and we sing, hey!
We drink and we drive and we puke and we drink, hey!
We drink and we fight and we bleed and we cry, hey!
We puke and we smoke and we drink and we die, hey!

Tombo2001 · 26-01-2021 11:42am

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Why are people conflating folk songs with trad? Just because The Dubliners sang it doesn't make it a trad song. Luke kelly was heavily influenced by Ewan MacColl (father of Kirsty) and songs like "The Spinghill Mine Disaster" and "Lifeboat Mona" come from the folk tradition not trad.

Bang on there. Not the same thing.

Folks is sung all over the world. Trad is unique to here.

Gregor Samsa · 26-01-2021 12:28pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Why are people conflating folk songs with trad?

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Bang on there. Not the same thing.

I once had a metalhead spend 45 minutes trying to explain to me that Blackened Doom, Blackened Death-Doom and Death-Doom were all completely different genres. Talk about misery (both the music and having to listen to the argument in the first place).

I guess these distinctions matter if you're running a niche record shop or spend your days updating Wikipedia pages in your underpants, but out in the real world, or even a light-hearted thread in After Hours, it's hardly on any consequence.

wexandproud · 26-01-2021 12:38pm

Northernlily wrote: »

Not really a trad song but Grace is a miserable auld tune. Lad gets married and then is dragged out to be shot.

you should hear rod stewart doing it . I like the song and indeed rod stewart , but f..k me he really destroys it

Feisar · 26-01-2021 1:01pm

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Bang on there. Not the same thing.

Folks is sung all over the world. Trad is unique to here.

I googled Irish trad and what I would consider folk came up. Trad to me anyway is the Silver Spear type stuff. An awful dirge about having no spuds is folk I thought?

cannotlogin · 26-01-2021 9:31pm

Feisar wrote: »

/thread

I was doing fine until "he called for you at the end".....but that really got me.

As miserable as a long of them are, there's something brilliant about them too. They evoke so much emotion that modern music could never convey.