Irish Music @ MindSay

Well, I woke up at 8:30 this morning to the lovely sounds of Irish music blaring from downstairs. When Sarah finally woke up we all got ready and headed off to the Green Derby. In the car Sarah asked who was coming, but I said it would be better off if she had asked who wasn't coming. A lot of people joined us, mostly realitives. We sure had our hands full with Christopher though!

 

Afterwards, Melissa took Christopher and Kaity home and the rest of us went off to Patrick's. It wasn't crowded at first, but as more time went by it got to be really crowded. I've only been in Patrick's a few times before, and never during the day time. Then all these Irish stepdancers came in. I really wish I could stepdance. Sadly, I have no coordination and no time. It sucks. We had a nice little corner all to ourselves so we could see really well at first, but then more and more people started to come in and watch the dancers. Soon we could hardly see anything! It was still cool tho. I'm kinda surprised Sarah wasn't forced to step dance, but I bet she's glad. ^_^

 

We met my mom at 3 and then we headed off to Horigan's. It was really crowded and noisy in there. Our waiter got kinda mad at us because we only ordered 1 burger, but we thought it was funny. There was a box of Irish stuff that we could take and we stole so much crap! Especially the flashy things. *_* They were so cool! (I still have my on ^^) There were these rolls of stickers that said things on them like "Kiss me, I like beer", "Will jig for beer" and "Your pint-size friend". We stole two of them! Lol! The Ladies from Hell were there, and some singer guy. I love Irish music. It's so catchy.

 

Her eyes, they shone like the diamonds

(1,2)

You'd think she was queen of the land

(And she was!)

And her hair hung over her shoulder

Tied up in a black velvet band

 

Or, my favorite and credo for life: "Moonshine"

 

I'm a rambler and a gambler and a long way from home

If you don't like me then leave me alone

I'll eat when I'm hungry and I'll drink when I'm dry

And if moonshine don't kill me, I'll live til I die

 

Anyways, we all played tricks on each other, like sticking a poster on one guy's back and holding a sign that said "I'm Available" above Sarah's head! One of my mom's friends took it for later. It was so much fun! Even if you couldn't move more than two feet, I loved it!

 

Then we went to the even more crowded and even noiser Heibernians. We all had dinner there but it got really crazy and I was getting tired, so now I'm home again listening to Irish music and writing about it all!

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!

I smile, recognizing the first bars of a song I haven't heard for a few months. A simple gesture, this slight movement of facial muscles, the slight creasing of the tissues in my cheeks, that instantly travels to somehow reside in my eyes. No one else in the room with me, but in that moment, the atmosphere has subtly changed. There are new possibilities in this place, and my quarters are no longer a cavelike lair, but a tiny performance chamber.

The mood of the song subtly changes, and I rise from my chair to cross and face my shadow on my door. My window is behind me, shaded, and I move slowly at first in the half-light of my room. I am alone, but the term means nothing in this place. It isn't a question of whether people are here with me or not. It's a question of what my next move will be.

I whirl suddenly, leaping to reach a high kick, responding to the transition in music. I ride and dance to the rhythms, leaping lightly, landing strong. I never dance like this with the girls - that's a praise to being alive and being social, with some allusion to our untapped sexuality. This dance is for me and my heritage. Let the world watch, let me dance alone, let them all join as we dance.

This heritage is not limited to my Irish roots. It's an Irish tune, and has the rhythms and curious little flirts of joy and energy woven throughout that are particular to the music of my ancestors, but in truth, I don't know nearly as much about my Irish heritage and history as I'd like. This heritage is older still than Ireland. Past the first music of the different cultures, it was the drums that we as people made first. The original beat still rides in our bodies, from our breathing to our heartbeats. The rhythms we strike in our lovemaking, the beats we settle into when we run, the spaces between the percussion that illustrate our communication. We sang before we struck the drums, but it is the drums that carry us.

I slow, gracefully gathering my space back to me, letting my arms fall once more. I wait, in the silence between songs. I'm in the center of an empty stage - the next move is mine. I'm on a hilltop, the wind is my music, and I dance with the storm. I'm surrounded by my fellows, sharing one spirit.

The bodhran, the drum of my spirit, fades to be replaced by a patter, the music now carried by the whirling, dancing strings. I laugh without sound, and fall quickly into the new pattern set before me, stepping as the music calls, turning quickly to compensate for the small space. The unheard-laugh weaves itself into my dancing to swirl around me, a new note to the music.

Dancing is not a difficult matter, so long as you are a living creature with emotions. You simply let the music into yourself, and it blends with your natural personality and spirit, and you flow. The fear of dancing among other people is nothing more than a fear of letting your natural self show. Forget the other people - we dance to celebrate, not to impress. We dance to celebrate this gift of life. These passions we're given, the tumultuous experience of change, the ability to learn, and more than this, the ability to feel.

I dance. There is no question to me that I am alive.

Prom's in three weeks and my dress still isn't made. Good thing Mom and I are working on it this weekend... Carrie's grandma needs it like A.S.A.P. so she can to the silver embroidery. It'll be black with silver swirls, and the acryllics I'm getting are going to be the same. Rachel, Carrie, and I are all going to New Dimensions together in the morning to get out hair and nails done. It'll be fun.

Lately, mostly thanks to Courtney (;)), I've been obsessed with Irish music. I burnt a CD of drinking songs. They're awesome; I'm in total love with the Clancy Brothers. My favorite song's got to be Finnegan's Wake... 'tis funny. When I played Courtin' in the Kitchen, the Moonshiner, and Johnny McEldoo, Mom was like, "You know, my dad used to sing that. Holy reminiscence." :P I love the CD.

I also have bagpipe music, Irish jig music, and fiddle and tin whistle songs. Megan let me borrow her Loreena McKennett CD and I ADORE IT! *runs to rip music onto computer*

Oh, and I'm not going to Albertfest. :( For one thing, Mom's all unsure about it. Phht. The second thing is I made a committment to band and I do want to go to Long Island. So that's where I'll be on the 4th... Long Island, New York. Should be fun, though. :) I'll definately have more drinking songs by then. EEE!

I'm a rambler I'm a gambler
I'm a long ways from home.
And if you don't like me well leave me alone.
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry,
And if moonshine don't kill me I'll live till I die.

I've been a moonshiner for many a year,
I spent all me money on whiskey and beer.
I'll go to some hollow and I set up me still
and I'll make you a gallon for a ten shillin' bill.

I'm a rambler I'm a gambler
I'm a long ways from home.
And if you don't like me well leave me alone.
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry,
And if moonshine don't kill me I'll live till I die.

I'll go to some hollow in this country,
Ten gallons of wash I can go on a spree.
No women to follow; the world is all mine,
I love none so well as I love the moonshine.

I'm a rambler I'm a gambler
I'm a long ways from home.
And if you don't like me well leave me alone.
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry,
And if moonshine don't kill me I'll live till I die.

Now Moonshine dear Moonshine oh how I love thee,
Ya killed me ol' father but ar' ya try me.
So bless all moonshiners and bless all moonshine,
It's breath smells as sweet as the dew on the vine.

I'm a rambler I'm a gambler
I'm a long ways from home.
And if you don't like me well leave me alone.
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry,
And if moonshine don't kill me I'll live till I die.

Random song quote: "Lots of fun at Finnegan's wake!"

~Shadowmaster~