What do they sing in Irish pub trad nights?

Green Dragon · Guru

What do they sing in Irish pub trad nights?

Michele Erdvig · Host

Green Dragon,

Whatever they want! Sorry, I just couldn't resist. Some songs I generally hear:

Dirty Old Town

Irish Rover

Kerry Dancers

Molly Malone

It's a Long Way to Tipperary

Well that's a start. Anyone else?

Michele

Mark D · Senior Member

Green Dragon,

These are general pub tunes...Here are just a few of my favorites.

Like Michelle said, it normally goes in a circle, and the person picks the tune..It may be a song, or just a jig etc. I would not worry about memorizing lyrics..You can "fake it" and have a great time..One word of warning. Sometimes if a person is singing a powerful tune like "Killkelly" or " Back Home in Derry" they will ask for complete silence out of respect for the song's meaning. Just follow the lead. You will have an absolute blast !

Cheers !
Mark D

Mary of Dungloe,

Killkelly

Carrick Fergus

Nancy Whiskey

Nancy Spain

Currah of Kildare

Red is the Rose

Whiskey in the Jar

Drunken Sailor

I Tell Me Ma

Back Home in Derry

Black Velvet Band

Star of the County Down

Big Strong Man

Town I Loved So Well

Finnegan's Wake

One Sunday Morning

From Clare to Here

Wild Colonial Boy

Galway Races

Mark D · Senior Member

Geez this got me singing....and singing, and singing !

A few more. They may be considered "Rebel" tunes. So they may or may not be in pubs.

Fields of Athenry ( One of my alltime favorites to sing !)

Four Green Fields

Come All You Black and Tans

Foggy Dew.

I will never forget singing "Fields of Athenry" and the crowd started shouting rebel responses back at me..I guess it is not uncommon, but it scared the heck out of me !

Cheers !
Mark D.

Green Dragon · Guru

Well, since I recognize about 90% of the songs (not necessarily know all the WORDS, but know the songs, at least!) I think I'll be fine :)

Thank you all for the song lists! Those are some of my favorites, too... especially Four Green Fields (my dad sung that to me), Back Home in Derry, and Finnegan's Wake.

wojazz3 · Guru

In Doolin, I generally heard trad and not as much singing with the exception of some aires, frequently sung in Irish. The Sick Note is an amusing one that comes up from time to time about a man who has a bit of a struggle with a load of bricks.

I read somewhere that Killkelly (Ireland) was voted the "most dreary" tune every written. It really is quite nice and will probably inspire you to book a trip to visit family and friends right away.

If you're looking for lyrics, and sometimes the tunes, here is one place to look:

http://sniff.numachi.com/~rickheit/dtrad/

The website seems to be down now, but it has LOTS of stuff in it.

Bill