I imagine when most people think of Ireland, pubs and traditional Irish music come to mind pretty quickly. After six weeks traveling the country, I can confirm that just about every pub has music and it’s all good to really fantastic. Irish musicians are amazingly talented – often playing three or more different instruments and singind. As a girl still struggling to learn the basic cords on the guitar I’ve had for three years, I was blown away and let’s be honest, more than a bit jealous.
But despite the outstanding talent, I’ve learned that I can really max out on traditional Irish music or as they call it “Trad”. A few nights of that and you’ll be on suicide watch! I mean really, do any Irish songs have happy or even neutral endings? The answer is no – definitely, no. Everyone dies, alone, brokenhearted, flat-broke, betrayed by their best friend and far from the country they love. The kicker is the musicians deliver these suicide serenades with smiles – it borders on sadistic. After a few nights of sad Irish songs, I knew I had to find some happy music. (Yes, it does exist, it just isn’t Irish.)
So I learned how to spot the “non-Trad” sessions pretty quickly. It’s likely still a pub, but there are definitely clues to look out for. The more of these you notice the better chance you have of happier tunes still played by great musicians …
- The sign outside the pub just says “Live Music”
- It’s usually only one or two guys with a guitars
- You’ll actually recognize the songs, because they only do covers
- The crowd will be younger
- People will be dancing
- People will be smiling
But the song selections are really unexpected. And the absolute crowd favorites that are played over and over and over are downright shocking.
My first encounter with this was in Portrush, Northern Ireland. I popped (yes, I use Irish words now, but only the good ones) into a small pub for a pint before calling it a day. The quiet pub was quickly crowded and significantly louder when a group of Scotsmen on a golf trip entered. They were hilarious, giving each other a hard time for everything from their choice of drinks to the previous night’s hook-ups to the lousy golf game a few played that day. And they were quick to make sure I had all the backstories so I could laugh along with them.
It didn’t take long to enjoy the comradery and adjust to their sheer large presence in a tiny bar. The Scots certainly overpower the Irish for volume and size.
But the Irish and Scots were all quick to move aside and make way for the music, when the guitar player started to set up in his corner. He played a few solid tunes and the crowd was happily singing and dancing along. But when he broke into *Sweet Caroline* the entire bar including the dozen Scotsmen went crazy. Seriously, crazy. Jumping, dancing and scream-singing along. I mean hey, Neil Diamond has his place in music history, but WOW these six-foot-plus, grown men put a pack of tween-age girls at a One Direction concert to shame.
And then came *Country Road*. Again, chaos, jumping and spilt drinks ensued. Let me tell you, John Denver is alive and well in the hearts of the Irish that’s for sure.
At the end of the night, I managed to make it out with all my toes and with my head still connected to my neck despite the ever-popular headlock-dancing hug (something I would also come to learn was not isolated to this pub and celebration).
My next lesson came in Dingle where I once again spotted the non-trad music signs successfully. This time it was a guitar duo. Once again, *Sweet Caroline* was played with the same very enthusiastic crowd reaction. But the next song played had a pack of Irish women out of their little Irish pub seats and shaking it within two cords. It was the fastest I’d seen anything move in about three weeks.
So what song could incite such enthusiasm? Well, *Wagon Wheel* … oooof course! You know the one ... "So rock me momma like a wagon wheel. Rock me momma any way you feel. Hey-ay-ay momma rock me." (I can sing every word for you now, trust me.) I’m truly thinking about reaching out to Darius Rucker to make sure he is aware of the phenomenon his song is in Ireland … I mean he really needs to witness the near-dance-riot and absolute joy it inspires.
And this song is so loved that playing it just once in a set simply isn’t enough. You’re going to hear it at least twice guaranteed. And if there is a hen (bachelorette to us Americans) party going on, buckle up and get ready for the wagon wheel to rock you at least three times. (More to come on hen and stag parties.)
And the best part of it all is that these three songs are part of EVERY set you’ll hear. Don’t believe me? Just ask Christina, Helen and Jenner. They all thought I was exaggerating until they witnessed the glory – repeatedly. And these songs incite the same crowd madness every time, no matter the town, time of day or level of Guinness consumption. The Irish simply love these songs and I get it (at least a little). They are pretty happy tunes after all, and they don’t make you want to end it all.
Now please don’t think I don’t like traditional Irish music, I definitely do. But I need it in reasonable doses with some good, often decades-old, American country and pop songs to liven things up. Although perhaps these three wouldn't have been my top selects.
Oh well, when in Ireland ... rock that wagon wheel on a country road, sweet Caroline.
All smart-ass blogging aside, I’ll close with this note of genuine gratitude. I used to go and hear live music all the time – old bands I’d loved, new bands I’d discovered, friends' bands, big concerts, small venues, you name it and I was in. But somehow I let that drift away over the years. Rather than many times a month, live music became part of my life only a few times a year. I’ve missed it. It makes me happy. Thanks for the reminder, Ireland. It’s one of many priorities that I won’t forget again.