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Julie Gold's "From a Distance"

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Russell Herman

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Dec 22, 1991, 9:05:26 AM12/22/91
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RE...@NS.CC.LEHIGH.EDU (Richard E. Gaughran) writes:

>And for what it's worth, let me declare that julie gold's FROM A
>DISTANCE, done by anybody, is one of the most overrated, ambiguous, and
>sappy songs of recent memory.

Hear, hear. It's surprising Weird Al Yancovic hasn't picked up on this one
yet. It's ripe for something like

... see his zits
... smell her breath
etc.
--
Russell Herman
r...@ontmoh.uucp ...uunet!lsuc!ontmoh!rwh r...@ctut01.cts.gov.on.ca

Andy Davies

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Dec 20, 1991, 5:26:47 AM12/20/91
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Of course there's alway the Simon Nichol version - from the "Before My Time"
album. This was the first I heard (at a Fairport concert) and must be
the worst of the lot. I don't have said album, and having heard the above,
plus the excrutiating Rosemarys Sister, am rather glad.

Andy.

J. Dean Brock

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Dec 20, 1991, 11:58:39 AM12/20/91
to

I suspect there is someone out there with better memory than me than
can explain the whys, whens, and/or whys of Julie Gold's writing
"From a Distance." But as I recall from an NPR interview with
Julie Gold I heard while driving home from work a couple of years ago....

Julie Gold had just gotten a new piano. And as sort of a celebration
she decided to write a song on it. So, that afternoon she sat on the
piano and wrote "From a Distance." In the interview, she seemed
amazed at how quickly she wrote the song. She then showed (and/or
played) the song for Christine Levin who decided the song required
a greater range than she had. [Julie Gold admits she sqeaks on the
higher notes.] And, Christine Levin showed the song to Nanci Griffith.

Terry S. Collins

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Dec 21, 1991, 8:13:39 AM12/21/91
to

It amazes me that all the blood thirsty lemmings that were so patriotic
about the war had the nerve to use an anti-war tune for a battle cry!

I believe that in the UK, the charts had versions by Cliff Richards, Bette
Midler and Nanci Griffith simultaniously.

Richard E. Gaughran

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Dec 20, 1991, 1:41:06 PM12/20/91
to
And for what it's worth, let me declare that julie gold's FROM A
DISTANCE, done by anybody, is one of the most overrated, ambiguous, and
sappy songs of recent memory. Yeah right: from a distance everything
is fine. So what are you saying? That we should do nothing, that
it'll all work out in the long run? Such fatalism will never end war
or hunger or want of any kind. Bah humbug.

Dennis Davis

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Dec 20, 1991, 6:44:05 AM12/20/91
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In article <1766...@col.hp.com> ju...@col.hp.com (Judy Miller) writes:
>
>Judy Collins sings it on Fires of Eden, I believe. Or was it her previous
>Live album?
>
>Judy

Julie Gold's "From A Distance" is definitely on Judy Collin's 1990
CD "Fires of Eden" which is on the CBS label with number 4673732.
Judy was doing material from this CD before it came out. She sang
"Dreaming" and "The Blizzard" at a Summer 89 concert with the
London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Hall. Unfortunately I
wasn't there but I managed to get the radio broadcast on tape.

Either the sound engineers were extremely good or the acoustics at
the Barbican Hall are truly excellent. However I think you will
have to go a long way to beat the acoustics at the new Birmingham
Symphony Hall. I saw the Modern Jazz Quartet in concert there and
it was absolute magic. Oh dear, dare I mention the MJQ in this
Newsgroup ?
--
Dennis Davis, BUCS, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom
D.H....@bath.ac.uk ...!uunet!mcsun!ukc!gdr!D.H.Davis

David H. West

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Dec 22, 1991, 11:20:48 PM12/22/91
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In article <1991Dec21....@usenet.ins.cwru.edu>
am...@cleveland.Freenet.E du (Terry S. Collins) writes:
>It amazes me that all the blood thirsty lemmings that were so patriotic
>about the war had the nerve to use an anti-war tune for a battle cry!

Jay Ungar, composer of "Ashokan Farewell", which was used as the theme
for the Civil War TV series, said that that Army called him up and
wanted to use it in a recruiting commercial, but that he withheld
permission. Shaking his head bemusedly, he said "some people just
don't seem to get the idea" [that the series tried to convey].

--
-David West d...@iti.org
"Animals, which move, have limbs and muscles; the earth has no limbs
and muscles, hence it does not move." -Scipio Chiaramonti, Professor
of Philosophy and Mathematics at the University of Pisa; 1633.

Robert Thurlow

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Dec 20, 1991, 12:35:28 AM12/20/91
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In <5162...@hpcupt3.cup.hp.com> pber...@hpcupt3.cup.hp.com (Peggy Bertsch) writes:

>Normally, a writer will not "sell all rights" to a song...however, the
>rights will be administered, usually by the publisher (not all writers
>retain their own publishing rights), who will determine whether to "let"
>an artist record a song if they request it.

... Except you can only _really_ decide who performs it first. You
can close the door on every artist who doesn't meet your requirements
until a recording is released, but after it's been recorded once, the
only thing that can stop Guns'n'Roses from covering your ballad while
gargling is that if you refuse, they have to pay full statutory royalty
rates ... :-)

Rob T
--
Rob Thurlow, thu...@convex.com
Recent poll results show that more Canadians believe that Elvis Presley
is alive than would vote for the current Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney.

Phil Scott

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Dec 23, 1991, 9:05:18 PM12/23/91
to

Well, I like the song, and I don't think it's saying any such thing.
It seems to me to be saying that the problems on this planet are *ours*
to solve: anyone who expects their God to do the job is mistaken. It's
a beautiful planet we've got here, and it's us that's got to learn to
live on it. The line about "God is watching us" implies to me that She
is not about to intervene.
Incidentally, I like the Nanci Griffith version.

Just my opinion. And a happy Festive Season to you all.

Cheers, Phil Scott
--
Phil Scott (psc...@cs.ntu.edu.au) Phone: +61 89 466519 Fax: +61 89 270612
Dept. Computer Science, NTU, PO Box 40146, Casuarina, NT, 0811, Australia

Jon Berger

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Dec 26, 1991, 2:19:22 PM12/26/91
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In article <1991Dec21....@usenet.ins.cwru.edu>, am...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Terry S. Collins) writes:
>
>It amazes me that all the blood thirsty lemmings that were so patriotic
>about the war had the nerve to use an anti-war tune for a battle cry!

This reminds me of something I've been curious about for years. Judy
Collins recorded "The Patriot Game" in the mid-60's, and I've always
wondered if she by any chance completely misunderstood the words. Most of
her repertoire that had any sort of political content at all was anti-war,
as befitted a folk singer of that era who wanted to sell any albums, but
"Patriot Game" is one of the most pro-war songs I know of -- well,
pro-killing-people, anyway. It does, however, contain the line "The love
of one's country is a terrible thing," which, out of context, might be
taken as an anti-war, or at any rate anti-blind-patriotism, sentiment.
Maybe Collins got that far (two lines into the song), decided it was a
pretty anti-war song, and didn't think much about the rest of the lyric?
Inquiring minds want to know.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jon Berger jo...@ingres.com {mtxinu,sun,amdahl,pyramid}!ingres!jonb
"If you push something hard enough, it will fall over."
-- Fudd's Law of Opposition

Don Coolidge

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Dec 27, 1991, 3:15:56 PM12/27/91
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In article <1991Dec26....@pony.Ingres.COM>, jo...@Ingres.COM (Jon Berger) writes:
|>
|> This reminds me of something I've been curious about for years. Judy
|> Collins recorded "The Patriot Game" in the mid-60's, and I've always
|> wondered if she by any chance completely misunderstood the words. Most of
|> her repertoire that had any sort of political content at all was anti-war,
|> as befitted a folk singer of that era who wanted to sell any albums, but
|> "Patriot Game" is one of the most pro-war songs I know of -- well,
|> pro-killing-people, anyway. It does, however, contain the line "The love
|> of one's country is a terrible thing," which, out of context, might be
|> taken as an anti-war, or at any rate anti-blind-patriotism, sentiment.
|> Maybe Collins got that far (two lines into the song), decided it was a
|> pretty anti-war song, and didn't think much about the rest of the lyric?
|> Inquiring minds want to know.

Urk!!! "The Patriot Game" is one of the most bitterly ironic, scathing
anti-war and anti-violence songs I know of! It starts with the premise
you mentioned ("...the love of one's country is a terrible thing...")
and follows through the inevitable consequences of that love. Take
another listen through it, but hearing it with that perspective...

(It's sort of like some of the anti-war movies in the 60s and 70s,
like "How I Won The War" with John Lennon, which featured _lots_ of
death, gore, and destruction...)

- Don Coolidge
cool...@speaker.wpd.sgi.com

Dani Zweig

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Dec 27, 1991, 4:08:57 PM12/27/91
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jo...@Ingres.COM (Jon Berger):

>Judy Collins recorded "The Patriot Game" in the mid-60's, and I've always
>wondered if she by any chance completely misunderstood the words. Most of
>her repertoire that had any sort of political content at all was anti-war,
>as befitted a folk singer of that era who wanted to sell any albums, but
>"Patriot Game" is one of the most pro-war songs I know of --

She's right and you're wrong. It's a song of bitter disillusionment.

Don Coolidge

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Dec 27, 1991, 6:26:28 PM12/27/91
to
In article <u4k...@twilight.wpd.sgi.com>, cool...@speaker.wpd.sgi.com (Don Coolidge) writes:
|>
|> Urk!!! "The Patriot Game" is one of the most bitterly ironic, scathing
|> anti-war and anti-violence songs I know of! It starts with the premise
|> you mentioned ("...the love of one's country is a terrible thing...")
|> and follows through the inevitable consequences of that love. Take
^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^

|> another listen through it, but hearing it with that perspective...

Here I am, posting a follow-up to my own posting...I received some
email commenting on it, which my stumblethumbs deleted instead of
replying to, so I have to respond here...:^)

The respondant (I'm sorry I lost your name and email address with the
mail itself) pointed to the last few lines of the song, where the
narrator is ready to take up arms him/herself against those who sold
out to the patriot game. He felt that those lines changed the
anti-violence message of the song to one in favor of retaliation.

I have to disagree. I am and was aware of those lines, and it seems
quite clear to me that the act they describe is another of the
"inevitable consequences" that follow placing love of one's [country
race gender political_party philosophy] ahead of love of humankind.
They show that, as in Northern Ireland, those who place a greater
value on revenge than on peace are doomed to endlessly repeat revenge's
deadly circle. As such, those lines are the capstone of the anti-war
and anti-violence message in the song.

Far better would be to do as the narrator of Stan Rogers' "The House Of
Orange" did, and find it in his heart to forgive the English for having
taken Ulster in the first place, so long ago.

- Don Coolidge
cool...@speaker.wpd.sgi.com

Jon Berger

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Dec 30, 1991, 1:11:49 PM12/30/91
to

Since this respondent apparently prefers making ex cathedra pronouncements
to engaging in a discussion, I'll just flatly declare that I consider the
unspoken assumption ("all songs of bitter disillusionment are anti-war")
to be, at least, debatable.

Joe Felsenstein

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Dec 30, 1991, 1:13:06 AM12/30/91
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>jo...@Ingres.COM (Jon Berger):
>>Judy Collins recorded "The Patriot Game" in the mid-60's, and I've always
>>wondered if she by any chance completely misunderstood the words. Most of
>>her repertoire that had any sort of political content at all was anti-war,
>>as befitted a folk singer of that era who wanted to sell any albums, but
>>"Patriot Game" is one of the most pro-war songs I know of --

> da...@netcom.COM (Dani Zweig)


>She's right and you're wrong. It's a song of bitter disillusionment.

My recollection is that the original (not the version Judy Collins sang)
contained the verse (this is from memory):

And now that I'm dying, my body all holes
I think of those leaders who bargained and sold
And e'en De Valera is chiefly to blame
For shirking his part in the patriot game

If this is in the original (by Dominic Behan?) then the image is that of
a dying IRA militant who feels betrayed by his leadership. (Eamon De Valera
was head of the IRA, but when he returned from exile to become President of
Ireland this was regarded by the IRA hard core as a sellout). I DO NOT
WISH TO DEBATE IRISH HISTORY OR POLITICS, just to point out that the
viewpoint of the song is that the leaders are selling out the struggle.
It seems implicit that the dying rebel still believes in the struggle,
though there is some room for interpretation there.

Judy Collins did not use this verse, as she wanted to make it into an
anti-war statement. With the verse removed the song changes.

Can someone more familiar with songs of Irish rebellion verify or
contradict my recollection of this verse, its meaning, and the song's
origins? Was a verse something like that in the original, for example?

-----
Joe Felsenstein, Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
Internet: j...@genetics.washington.edu (IP No. 128.95.12.41)
Bitnet/EARN: felsenst@uwavm

David H. West

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Dec 30, 1991, 11:02:26 PM12/30/91
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In article <1991Dec30....@milton.u.washington.edu> j...@genetics.washington.edu (Joe Felsenstein) writes:
>>>"Patriot Game" is one of the most pro-war songs I know of --
>
>> da...@netcom.COM (Dani Zweig)
>>She's right and you're wrong. It's a song of bitter disillusionment.
>
>My recollection is that the original (not the version Judy Collins sang)
>contained the verse (this is from memory):

My memory of it is only minimally different:

> And now that I'm dying, my body all holes

as I lie here


> I think of those leaders who bargained and sold

traitors


> And e'en De Valera is chiefly to blame

yet greatly


> For shirking his part in the patriot game

>If this is in the original (by Dominic Behan?) then the image is that of
>a dying IRA militant who feels betrayed by his leadership. (Eamon De Valera
>was head of the IRA, but when he returned from exile to become President of
>Ireland this was regarded by the IRA hard core as a sellout).

Close enough (for a 2-sentence version; whole books have been written
to try to untangle the details).

--
-David West d...@iti.org
We can no longer believe in our politicians' tired, old lies.
We must demand their replacement with newer, more vigorous lies.

Lynn H. Holden

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Dec 31, 1991, 11:49:19 AM12/31/91
to
On 30-Dec-91 in Re: The Patriot Game (was: ..
user Joe Felsenstein@evolutio writes:

>If this is in the original (by Dominic Behan?) then the image is that of
>a dying IRA militant who feels betrayed by his leadership. (Eamon De Valera
>was head of the IRA, but when he returned from exile to become President of
>Ireland this was regarded by the IRA hard core as a sellout). I DO NOT
>WISH TO DEBATE IRISH HISTORY OR POLITICS, just to point out that the
>viewpoint of the song is that the leaders are selling out the struggle.
>It seems implicit that the dying rebel still believes in the struggle,
>though there is some room for interpretation there.

If anyone DOES want to debate Irish history or politics, they've been doing
so for about the past two months on soc.culture.celtic.

:-)

Becka

Daniel Rosenblum

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Jan 2, 1992, 6:24:57 PM1/2/92
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In <1991Dec31.0...@iti.org> d...@iti.org (David H. West) writes:

>In article <1991Dec30....@milton.u.washington.edu> j...@genetics.washington.edu (Joe Felsenstein) writes:
>>>>"Patriot Game" is one of the most pro-war songs I know of --
>>
>>> da...@netcom.COM (Dani Zweig)
>>>She's right and you're wrong. It's a song of bitter disillusionment.
>>
>>My recollection is that the original (not the version Judy Collins sang)

>>contained the verse [blasting Eamon De Valera -- text deleted].

I'm pretty sure it was by Dominic Behan, as the message went on to
mention. Just to put the song into some historical context, in
195x (x > 5), some IRA guys based in the 26 counties crossed the
border and did some military action in the north, the exact nature
of which I don't recall. This reestablished the by-then-moribund
principle of using physical means to achieve the (Irish) Republican
goal of unification. My understanding is that Dominic Behan wrote
the song to celebrate the event. My sources are at home, though,
and I'm at the office now, so I can't quote my documentation.

Note that that was long before the late '60's split of the IRA into
Officials and Provisionals, the latter being what we now think of
as the IRA, and it is not at all clear that that action should be
regarded as representative of the sort of policy that the present
(Provisional) IRA engages in. I mention that just in case anyone
feels compelled to dislike the song because it might be conceived of
as supporting current IRA activity. Btw, I wonder what Tommy Sands
thinks of ``The Patriot Game'' -- no one can accuse him of being
politically conservative, yet he is certainly no supporter of IRA
tactics.
--
Daniel M. Rosenblum, Assistant Professor, Quantitative Studies Area,
Graduate School of Management, Rutgers University (Newark Campus)
ROSE...@DRACO.RUTGERS.EDU ROSE...@ZODIAC.BITnet
d...@andromeda.rutgers.edu ...!rutgers!andromeda.rutgers.edu!dmr

Joe Felsenstein

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Jan 3, 1992, 12:29:10 AM1/3/92
to
Thanks to David West for his recollection of the Patriot Game lyrics, which
he remembered as
>
> And now as I lie here, my body all holes
> I think of those traitors who bargained and sold
> And yet De Valera is greatly to blame

> For shirking his part in the patriot game

If this is more correct than my recollections, and I tend to think so,
then it is even more clear that it is not a song of a disillusioned
dying militant, but that the references to "traitors" and "De Valera"
are not to leaders of his/her group. The attitude is more clearly
one of continued commitment to that cause.

Thanks for the further elaborations by two other posters of why
De Valera comes into it, and what events and era the song refers
to, but that is not really the point. The point is the attitude of the
original song.

By the way, my statement that Judy Collins omitted this verse was probably
wrong: I now recall that she instead changed "traitors", "yet De Valera", and
"shirking" to other words that implied that the dying soldier felt
disillusioned by his leaders. I forget what the modification was.

Did misunderstand the original? I suspect not: I think she quite
deliberately changed it to address a different situation (Vietnam) and
come to a different conclusion. That is not necessarily a dishonest thing
to do.

'Nuf said.

-----
Joe Felsenstein, Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
Internet: j...@genetics.washington.edu (IP No. 128.95.12.41)
Bitnet/EARN: felsenst@uwavm

(Please ignore return address at evolution.u which is generated
erroneously, automatically, and after I post, by our software).

Robert Derrick

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Jan 3, 1992, 1:00:54 PM1/3/92
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s...@lokkur.dexter.mi.us (s...@lokkur.dexter.mi.us) writes:
: Thanks to David West for his recollection of the Patriot Game lyrics, which

: he remembered as
: >
: > And now as I lie here, my body all holes
: > I think of those traitors who bargained and sold

I remember these two lines as

: > And yet De Valera is greatly to blame


: > For shirking his part in the patriot game

I wish that my rifle had given the same
To those quislings who sold out the patriot game

Does anyone else recollect this version (probably from the Clancy's)?

dr. bob

David H. West

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Jan 3, 1992, 5:10:49 PM1/3/92
to
In article <1992Jan3.1...@hemlock.cray.com> ro...@cray.com (Robert Derrick) writes:
>: > And yet De Valera is greatly to blame
>: > For shirking his part in the patriot game
>
> I wish that my rifle had given the same
> To those quislings who sold out the patriot game
>
>Does anyone else recollect this version (probably from the Clancy's)?

That is the final couplet of the version printed in _Soodlum's
Irish Ballad Book_ (Oak Publications, 1982). Soodlum's prints an
acknowledgment to Essex Music, Ltd. as publishers of Dominic Behan's
version, but I don't know whether they copied it exactly.

It may be relevant to recall that around 1982, De Valera had just spent
many years as the revered President of the Irish Republic, which may
have been an incentive to not vilify him by name in a version of the
song compiled in Dublin and intended for a general audience. I don't
have the Clancys' version at hand, but they are notable for avoiding
excessive political explicitness (listen to the Wolfe Tones for that).

The version I gave was what I remember as being sung in British Isles
folk clubs in the mid-1960s (i.e. before the renewal of the "Troubles"
in 1969 caused pro-IRA songs to decline in popularity in non-Irish
circles).

Jason Laumeister [CONTRACTOR]

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Jan 6, 1992, 2:15:26 PM1/6/92
to
In article <1991Dec26....@pony.Ingres.COM> jo...@Ingres.COM (Jon Berger) writes:
>This reminds me of something I've been curious about for years. Judy
>Collins recorded "The Patriot Game" in the mid-60's, and I've always
>wondered if she by any chance completely misunderstood the words. Most of
>"Patriot Game" is one of the most pro-war songs I know of -- well,
>pro-killing-people, anyway. It does, however, contain the line "The love

I always felt that the song was by a man who regretted the course his life had
taken. i get the same feeling from many cival war songs -- of the "after
the war is over" type.
also, remember that an anti brit attitude was right along side an anti war
attitude 25 years back
mike shames

Daniel Rosenblum

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Jan 6, 1992, 2:14:04 PM1/6/92
to
In <1992Jan3.2...@iti.org> d...@iti.org (David H. West) writes:

>In article <1992Jan3.1...@hemlock.cray.com>
> ro...@cray.com (Robert Derrick) writes:
>>
>> I wish that my rifle had given the same
>> To those quislings who sold out the patriot game
>>
>>Does anyone else recollect this version (probably from the Clancy's)?

[mention of where that version appears]

> . . . . I don't


>have the Clancys' version at hand, but they are notable for avoiding
>excessive political explicitness (listen to the Wolfe Tones for that).

That is the way the Clancys sing it. Sorry, I don't have the
reference to which record, but I know it's on one of their old
Columbia LPs sung that way.

By the way, on the question of the song's origins, I remember
(I think) where I learned that it was written in honor of the
late 1950's IRA actions. If I'm remembering right, the song
appears in Nathan Joseph & Eric Winter's late 1960's songbook,
New English Broadsides (Oak Publications). The comment along
with the song describes what the song commemorates.

Preston Park

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Jan 25, 1992, 9:58:44 PM1/25/92
to
In article <Jan.6.14.14....@andromeda.rutgers.edu>, d...@andromeda.rutgers.edu (Daniel Rosenblum) writes:
> In <1992Jan3.2...@iti.org> d...@iti.org (David H. West) writes:
>
>>In article <1992Jan3.1...@hemlock.cray.com>
>> ro...@cray.com (Robert Derrick) writes:
>>>
>>> I wish that my rifle had given the same
>>> To those quislings who sold out the patriot game
>>>
>>>Does anyone else recollect this version (probably from the Clancy's)?
>
> [mention of where that version appears]
>
> By the way, on the question of the song's origins, I remember
> (I think) where I learned that it was written in honor of the
> late 1950's IRA actions. If I'm remembering right, the song
> appears in Nathan Joseph & Eric Winter's late 1960's songbook,
> New English Broadsides (Oak Publications). The comment along
> with the song describes what the song commemorates.


This is an old thread, but no one replied to this post (at least in this
stream) so I will. My Kingston Trio CD has the above two lines about the rifle
in it, and gives Dominic Behan as the writer. They recorded it in '63. In
case anyone cares.

Brian OReilly

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Jan 26, 1992, 1:30:44 AM1/26/92
to
In article <1992Jan25.2...@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> 2frj...@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Preston Park) writes:
>In article <Jan.6.14.14....@andromeda.rutgers.edu>, d...@andromeda.rutgers.edu (Daniel Rosenblum) writes:
>> In <1992Jan3.2...@iti.org> d...@iti.org (David H. West) writes:
>>
>>>In article <1992Jan3.1...@hemlock.cray.com>
>>> ro...@cray.com (Robert Derrick) writes:
>>>>
>>>> I wish that my rifle had given the same
>>>> To those quislings who sold out the patriot game
>>>>
>>>>Does anyone else recollect this version (probably from the Clancy's)?
>>
>> By the way, on the question of the song's origins, I remember
>> (I think) where I learned that it was written in honor of the
>> late 1950's IRA actions. If I'm remembering right, the song
>> appears in Nathan Joseph & Eric Winter's late 1960's songbook,
>> New English Broadsides (Oak Publications). The comment along
>> with the song describes what the song commemorates.

Disclaimer: This song deals with an intensely political/emotional issue and
echoes sentiments which some of you may agrre with and others
may not. soc.culture.celtic has been infested with a continuing
and generally pointless discussion of Irish politics/IRA etc.
I would request that there be no flaming here, especially of me.
I am attempting to describe the song as I have heard it sung and
talked about at home. The opinions here are mine, the observations
are from direct experience. You will be unable to change either one.

Author: I'm not sure but Dominic Behan sounds right

Anti-War? : I don't believe so, this song would go in the category of
'rebel-songs' as we sing them in Ireland. True some of the
sentiments are Anti-war but the quislings are the politicans
who in one way or another turn a blind eye to the north, using
patriotism as a convenient vote-getter and resulting in tragedies
such as the one described here (cf. below).

Subject: The subject of the song is a raid conducted by the IRA (there was
no Provisional IRA then) in 1956 on a border town in Ireland. The
song concerns one of two fatalaties which occurred during/after the
raid. The leader of the IRA group (about platoon strengthg) was a
man from Limerick by the name of Sean South. He has been immortalised
in another song ie.

Sean South of Garryowen

It was on a dreary new year's eve, As the shades of night came down,
A lorry load of volunteers approached a border town,
There were men from Dublin and from Cork, Fermanagh and Tyrone,
But their leader was a Limerick man,
Sean South of Garryowen.

The attack was a failure and South and one of his men ( Fergal O'Hanlon) were
wounded. During the retreat (on foot) pursuit by B-Specials ( basically a protestant paramilitary force finally disbanded in the late '70's) necessitated
leaving the two wounded behind in a Byre. Survivors claim that the two were not
badly wounded ( at least not near death) and that they heard the shots as they
were killed by the security forces. Make of this what you will. Anyway the
Sean South song also mentions the hero of the song 'The Patriot Game';

No more he'll hear the seagulls cry on the wandering Shannon's tide,
For he fell beneath a Northern sky O'Hanlon by his side
etc.


The song the patriot game is quite recent, I don't believe that I can recall
all the words, I will try to do so here.

The Patriot Game by D. Behan(?)

Come list all young lovers, come list while I sing,
For the love of one's country, is a terrible thing,
It banishes dear life, with the speed of a flame,
And makes us all part of the patriot game.

My name is O'Hanlon my age is nineteen,
I was born in Monaghan, 'twas there I was weaned,
I learned all my short life cruel England to blame,
And so became part of the Patriot game.


Oh well! I am drawing a blank on the rest. Long time since I have heard this
sung ( and yes people really sing these songs still). Any good book of Irish
songs/rebel songs etc. should have the lyrics and melody.


Ancillary information: The IRA's border campaign of the 1950's was not a
sucess. It was the last major action (series of)
that the 'old IRA' was to perform in Ireland. When
the seventies rolled around the organisation split
and the provisional wing (Provos) stayed with the
methods of violence. The official IRA is today known
as the Workers Party a left-wing minority group in
Irish politics.

Dominic Behan is indeed Brendan Behan's brother. He
has written many songs of the ilk of those above. One
that comes to mind is 'Come out you Balck and Tans'.

Garryowen, the birthplace of Sean South is also the
home of a famous Rugby club of the same name. A high
kick in Rugby used to put one's own players onside is
named for this club which perfected the technique.


Tom Clancy's novel 'Patriot Games' does take it's name
but little else from this song.

Hope this is sufficient information.

P.S. If you want Anti-War songs then liten to Liam Clancy sing
'Waltzing Matilda'. This was the best sung version I knew until
I heard the Pogues sing it. Whichever it is a truly great anti-war song.

--
-------------------/The Muon is a harsh mistress\----------------------------
Evolution is all \ Brian O'Reilly / "Most people have nation-
that separates us > Northwestern University < -alities, Jews and Irish
from the animals./ ir...@casbah.acns.nwu.edu \ have psychoses." (B. Behan)

Preston Park

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Jan 26, 1992, 7:02:07 PM1/26/92
to
In article <1992Jan26.0...@casbah.acns.nwu.edu>, ir...@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Brian OReilly) writes:
> Hope this is sufficient information.

It's certainly more good information than the average post I read.

>
> P.S. If you want Anti-War songs then listen to Liam Clancy sing

> 'Waltzing Matilda'. This was the best sung version I knew until
> I heard the Pogues sing it. Whichever it is a truly great anti-war song.

Oh, my! And all these years I thought that was a song about stealing sheep. I
guess that shows what I know.

Amanda Walker

unread,
Jan 27, 1992, 1:24:53 AM1/27/92
to
2frj...@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Preston Park) writes:
> Oh, my! And all these years I thought that was a song about stealing sheep. I
> guess that shows what I know.

Brian may have been referring to Eric Bogle's "And The Band Played
Waltzing Mathilda" (which is indeed an anti-war song, referring to
the Battle of Gallipoli).

Amanda Walker ama...@visix.com
Visix Software Inc. ...!uunet!visix!amanda
--
American Non Sequitur Society: We don't make sense, but we do like pizza.

Brian OReilly

unread,
Jan 27, 1992, 7:44:42 PM1/27/92
to

And the big prize goes to dah-dah-dah-dah-dah

AMANDA!!

Yes ! I forgot the 'other' Waltzing Matilda, which I believe is no longer the
OZ national anthem (replaced by something more 'classy' (ugh)), which is a
pity.

So Yes! I meant Eric Bogle's song, which is truly great and everyone should
hear it sung well at least once.

See if it was the American Sequitur Society (do not abbreviate) then I would
probably owe someone a pizza...


...or a sheep

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