It’s funny how sometimes a simple Tweet can send my mind spinning in directions I wasn’t expecting. This morning, it was this one:
Gleanntáin Ghlas Ghaoth Dobhair came to mind immediately. It’s an Irish song written by Proinsias Ó Maonaigh about someone leaving Donegal, Ireland and heading to America, not necessarily a welcome choice at the time. I’ve never heard his own version of it, but my personal favorite rendition was done by his daughter Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh’s band Altan on their 25th Anniversary Celebration album in 2010. I was even lucky enough to see them in Chicago on the tour supporting the album when they stopped by the Abbey Pub (minus the RTE Concert Orchestra that played on the album, of course). So glad I got the opportunity to see them perform this one in person.
For me it’s one of those songs that everything else in the world stops for a few minutes while it’s playing. A song that doesn’t just play, but soar through the air with wings spread wide. There are really only a handful of songs that do this for me (perhaps I’ll write about all those others too someday). There are just some songs that when you hear them they take you out of your body or frame of mind and send you somewhere else entirely. Something–a melody, a bass line, a lyric, whatever it might be–just reaches out and grabs you. The sound enters your ears, runs through your brain and then goes right for the chest, lifting your body or spirit off the ground before letting you back down when it’s done with you.
This song grabs me and takes me to Ireland. Makes me want to close my eyes and imagine I’m floating above sprawling green fields separated by low stone walls. I’m back riding my bicycle on the west coast of County Clare with the Aran Islands off the shore to my left and the Atlantic behind them. I’m flying above the waves crashing at the base of the Cliffs of Moher or Dun Aengus. I’m stepping out of a Doolin pub at night and looking up to a billion stars overhead. If I had to place a pin on a map to signify my Happy Place, this would be it.
I was first introduced to the tune through The Corrs. When I went to Ireland the first time 1999 the band had just released their MTV Unplugged album and it was playing quite a bit around town. During that concert they play a song entitled Lough Erin Shore which is an instrumental interpretation of Gleanntáin Ghlas Ghaoth Dobhair. This was when my mid-20s crush on the Corr sisters hit its peak. Sadly, they did not play Lough Erin Shore when I saw them play at the Vic in 2001, but it was still worth the ticket to see the ladies live.
When I saw Altan at the Abbey Pub in 2010, it was the first time I’d heard the original song with the Irish lyrics. The tune was familiar, but I had no idea the song had lyrics or what they meant at the time. It didn’t matter-the voice is just another instrument in an amazing song and it still gave me that same feeling of wanting to be back in Ireland (most of the time pubs in Chicago with a pint in hand was the closest I’d get). It wasn’t until recently that I knew what the words translated to when I watched a video on YouTube, a sort of “Storytellers” like clip with Mairéad talking about it. Watch it for yourself:
Didn’t think I could like the song even more, but there you have it. I was actually a bit apprehensive about learning what the words meant, as it is a bit of a sad song – as many Irish tunes tend to be. But I can’t be sad when I hear this song, save for the times that I’m not in Ireland listening to it.
I don’t remember her telling the background story about the song when I saw them play, but she probably did. That’s another thing I love about seeing Irish performers play, they often have amazing stories in between the songs that are just as if not more entertaining.
Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to have a shot and a pint and daydream about returning to Ireland some day.
