ooooooooooooo, John Nolan! (LOL)

I think you'll find there are some who will say that alot of tunes used for Irish, Scottish, and even American songs have their start/origin with an English tune...

How many remember Guy Mitchell's hit "Roving Kind" (She had a dark and a rovin' eye, and her hair hung down in ring-a-lets...)? That song is based (words and music) on an English song from the 1800's called "The Pirate Ship" (also called "The Fireship" if I remember correctly from the songbook I came across).

And hmmmm, "My Country Tis of Thee" is definitely not American in origin....

As with flowers, cross-pollinating can lead to many beautiful new specimens. I agree, too, that to destroy identity of any sort is totally wrong. And for those into history or anthropology or musicology or simply the love of music, knowing origins of wonderful songs and melodies is of great interest and importance. Perhaps that way people can gain new appreciations for cultures they never gave two hoots about....

Guess it is the early childhood educator in me coming through....multicultural education and integrating subjects (ie history and music).

SingsIrish Songs