Hi all,

Well, this was fun..and different. Would you call this Irish Punk or Celtic Blues? The genre mashup was very appealing to me.

When I read a lyric that sings off the page in the very first reading I feel almost duty bound to do something with it, cuz my inner artist is basically laying it all out for me, saying "here's how.." and that's always very inviting.

In channeling Shane McGowan of The Pogues, I soon realized that he himself was channeling Popeye all these years, and the ultimate irony for me was that, in trying to sound like an Irish punk, I end up sounding a little like an aging American sailor! Ha! sssshhhhh..this will be our little secret..

Being a collab I allowed myself more room to explore and experiment and do things I wouldn't normally do and basically make sure I was having fun along the way, and yes, this was as fun as (I hope) it sounds, and I hope y'all enjoy it. Thanks for listening to me ramble!

All critiques and comments are welcome.

Big thanks to John V for such an inspiring and fun lyric to work with!!

EDIT: And oh my..I forgot to thank John Swift, my old friend, whose initial guitar recording from almost thirty years ago started this whole process! Please forgive me John. Sometimes I think I block tragedy from my mind without knowing I am doing so. I hope that wherever you are, you are okay with what we've added to your wonderful guitar work.

Mike

https://soundcloud.com/michael-zaneski/galways-sons

or

https://michaelzaneski.bandcamp.com/track/galways-sons

*************************************************************

Galway's Sons

Walking Latin Quarter lanes to Eyre Square
I'm off to hoist a dram or two with Finnegan there
We'll drink a toast to Galvia who blessed the River Corrib
And then we'll walk the Harbour by the North Atlantic shore

Singing all for one we are Galway's sons
And to hell with everybody else who cannot be in the band
Singing all for one we are Galway's sons
And to hell with everybody else who cannot be in the band

The buskers out on Shop Street are tapping toes in time
They're showing everybody The City of the Tribes
The cannons captured from the Russians they don't work no more
But they show the world the boys from Galway fight a damn fine war

Singing all for one we are Galway's sons
And to hell with everybody else who cannot be in the band
Singing all for one we are Galway's sons
And to hell with everybody else who cannot be in the band

Singing all for one we are Galway's sons
And to hell with everybody else who cannot be in the band
Singing all for one we are Galway's sons
And to hell with everybody else who cannot be in the band

**********************************************************

Lyrics by John Voorpostel/Music by Michael Zaneski and John Swift and traditional Irish melody
(C) 2016 All Rights Reserved

Impressive work on all fronts, guys. John you must be so pleased with Mike's musicality and adherence to Irish tradition. I really enjoyed this. Ahhh... Galway! Did you know Columbus' Navigator was from Galway?

Super lyric and spectacular music. ----Dave

It won't let me listen...says connecton failed..I reported it to soundcloud...

tks glyn

Well it all started with the instrumental Michael posted Dave, and it begged for a lyric. So in this case the music drove the lyric and in fact made it a very easy write.

We in Canada are actually blessed to have a rich "Celtic" tradition, so I knew there was a devil may care attitude I was shooting for. Wikipedia did the rest

But then Michael took hold of it and ran with it and he produced this little gem.

Michael, I have seen and heard your work for awhile now, and you are a true craftsman and artist. Thank you for putting this together and I am glad you had fun doing it.

All that great demo work you do as your day job definitely shows through here

Hi guys,


This is.....F R E S H and F U N, thanks for the entertainment !


Calvin


Big Foot Jerky - http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/calvinstewart

Very interesting in it's content and arrangement. I can tell Michael had fun doing it.


Vic

Fun tune, great story, love the chorus

Congrats to both John for a few minutes of just tremendous fun. Always dug the Pogues (Fairytale of N.Y. Is a fave of mine). Honestly though I hear a bit more of Dropkick Murphy in this tune and could see this rocked up even more. Loads of fun. Loved the vocal Michael.

Dave

Top 'o the mornin to ya both! What a fun way to wake up. A toe tapper to be sure. Congrats on a great collab.

Ricki

That's what I call different! Cool. Very cool. I'm impressed.

All the best
Robert

Really cool Mike & John! Vocal does it justice!

Best, John

Hi Dave,

Columbus' navigator was from Galway! That's pretty cool. Makes me want to re-watch 1492.

Thanks for listening and I'm thrilled you enjoyed it, and your support over the years means so much to me.

Mike

Hi Glyn,

I noticed you read my PM with the link that I sent Sunday night, so I hope you were able to listen through Bandcamp.

Cheers,

Mike

Hi Calvin,

Thanks! I'm glad the fun vibe is there. It makes me very happy knowing you enjoyed it.

Later..
Mike

Hi Vic,

Every time I hear "very interesting" I imagine Arte Johnson in a pith helmet, slowly raising his head over a bush! I'm definitely dating myself with that remark!

But thanks, I'm glad you caught the fun vibe.

Mike

Thanks John.

And big thanks to John Swift, who laid down the rootsy Irish guitar part some thirty years ago. It was a glaring omission on my part not to mention him in my intro and give him co-credit as a writer/performer. I only wish he was still around to hear this. Forgive me, Swifty, some times it takes me a couple days to get things right--to make things right.

Thanks Mike for sending me the link...I love it...from the beginning to the end....hated that it ended....

glyn

i'm not used to hearing these songs but i like it!Great job you two.Mike

I remember him in Rowan and Martin's show. "Very interesting ...but stupid". Funny man.

Vic

Thank you all for listening in. Glad you agree this is a good song. I know words are important, but Michael made it all come alive...so thanks again Michael. It's been a treat and a privilege to see how you did that.

And yeah, Rowan and Martin's Laugh In was one of the best shows going back then...I'd bet my bippy on it!

And Arte's Dirty Old man

Would you like to call me honey? (Ruth Buzzi smacks him with her purse)
Would you like to call me sweetheart? (Once again a horrified Ruth Buzzi smacks him)
Would you like to call me an ambulance?

Great fun with lots and lots of short, stupid stuff. Like that tricycle rider, constantly falling over.

AND, it gave us Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin, still going strong. Anyone watch Grace and Frankie?

Thanks Louis!

It was indeed a lot of fun working with a lyric with a bit of attitude. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Mike

Hi Dave,

Thanks!

I don't know Dropkick Murphy, but with a name like that, I've gotta go check 'em out!

I saw the Pogues when I lived in New Orleans in 1988 or '89. The Sugarcubes with a very young Bjork was the opening act, and they upstaged the Pogues a bit. Shane was flat and maybe a wee bit drunk. Their records hold up well, though.

Mike

Hi Ricki,

Bottom of the evening to ya! (Bizarro World Irish?) It's late out here in Cali and saying "top o' the morning" backatcha just didn't feel right.

Anyway, thanks! I'm glad you caught the fun and were tapping your toes.

Mike

Thanks Robert!

John's lyric pretty much "told me" how to sing it, and then I just needed to orchestrate "around" the pre-existing instrumental piece, and I immediately fell in with some bluesy guitars that seemed to shift the overall tone of the piece to something with a bit more grime--and that matches the lyric well I think.

I appreciate your listening and I'm happy knowing you enjoyed it!

Thanks again.

Mike

Thanks, John! It was so much fun singing.

Mike

Hi Glyn!

I'm so happy you loved it!

I've been enjoying your radio show. So much fun!

Mike

Thanks Mike. My two favorite male artists happen to be Irish, Neil Hannon and Duke Special--both great songwriters and performers--but their music doesn't sound especially Irish.

Ireland never had their own Fairport Convention--a really great band that takes their country's folk music and electrifies it and makes it rock. Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span did that for England.

But for Ireland there are great trad musicians/bands and great pop musicians, but I can't think of any, other than The Pogues, that found a way to bridge the two worlds. There's probably hundreds, but they're just bubbling under my radar. I think I will make finding a few my next Internet hunting project..

Thanks again!
Mike

I thought this would be cool. Turns out I underestimated you.

Great vocal!

Scott

Damn it man is there no limit?
Love the way you filled it out from start to finish, masterfully.
On top of the musical performances, your crazy Irish vocal really sold it.

At the break around 1:17 I was expecting some crazy fiddle or bag pipes but hey, you really brought it home.

Well done, AGAAAAIN.

Yeah Scott and Nelson, Michael is definitely a master of the craft. The way he produced the song out of the original music and lyric is a great example of bringing a song to life.

And it is all in the "little pieces" that make the whole work....his attention to detail. For example, the way he phrases "band" makes the entire line swagger like it's supposed to.

You can tell he makes music for a living. Anyone out there thinking of doing a demo of their lyric only needs to listen to a few of the things Michael has done here to put him on on their serious consideration list.

I know I'm a fan like the both of you are.

Ha!

Thanks Scott.

I am now worried that John Swift's initial music is in fact British trad folk, since I remember him loving Marty Carthy and Bert Jansch too (as well as trad Irish folk)..but have scanned their entire album discographies found nothing coming close.

In which case it would just add an ironic layer to everything, which I don't think would necessarily be a bad thing. I just wish there was a melodic data base of some kind!

Mike

Hi Nelson,

All the fiddles--Irish, Cajun, Country, Bulgarian..they are the hardest things to emulate with virtual instruments. In fact there is only one piss poor "fiddle" emulation out there--though there are tons of great sounding virtual violins and string orchestras and what have you, a couple of which I bought the rights to use and "own."

I toyed with the idea of a fiddle break there (and all the potential tweaking involved), but like the acoustic bass played in the high register as well, which was in the initial piece that I built "Galway's Sons" around, called "Finnegan's Jig." And yeah, it's kind of cool cuz for a few moments it's just the acoustic bass and a foot lightly stomping. I rarely create such a dramatic change in dynamics, in a breakdown, but this time it seemed fitting.

Thanks again, Nelson. Love your work too.

Mike

Hi guys,

So glad to hear this! Let’s all do some Irish dancin’, now shall we? John, it’s an amazing fit of lyrics to music...this is a fine write. Mike, your vocal is so much fun to listen to...telling this story with authenticity. And “hey”s too! And the wonderful music is full of energy and makes you feel good!

I enjoyed it....great job!

Kristi

Thanks for checking this out Kristi.

Glad you enjoyed it. It's definitely been an inspiring and fun ride for me from the first time I heard the music, to writing the lyric and finding it actually fit the music, through the building of the song, and to the reaction it has gotten.

And Michael was so easy to work with. Not that I had anything to do with it...just that what he promised, he did, when he promised it, and how. He's the consummate professional.

This is good, different to the usual country oriented music we hear on the MP3.Good! Well produced/written and sung.
John you seem to be very prolific at the present time.
My kind of song, best of luck with it
Travis

Hi Kristi,

Thanks! When I see a talking head on TV, or someone from the tummy up to the head..for some reason I often imagine they're doing a really good Irish dance, obscured by the camera's POV. This often makes me laugh at the oddest things--I've gotten some looks I tell ya.

Thanks Travis! It was an exciting challenge, one made accessible through Johns fine lyric.

Thanks again to John V for all the kind words

..and to my late friend John Swift who recorded four or five trad guitar pieces on a sunny day some time in the eighties, one of which started the long and strange journey that became this song. I'm humbled by how these things work.

Mike

Was doing my annual file cleanup where I transfer all my lyrics from one file into indivdual files, and thought back to this one that Michael brought to life. Had to hear it again. In my google search this post popped up so I thoght I'd bump this for new ears to enjoy.

Happy New Year all