Looking forward to hearing Donal sing tonight; some of the comments on this thread are fine as far as they go, but he really is one of the most intelligent interpreters of song working within the tradition. He puts the story in the song right at the forefront whether he's singing the old ballad of John Barbary, or Brian O'Rourke's modern comic song The Banks of the Rhine, and he finds a tune and a rhythm that delivers the story with maximum impact. One of my favourite songs of his is the jazz-inflected version of Little Bridget Flynn which discovers a layer of pathos so often hidden by the more familiar "Paddywhackery" renditions.

Perhaps I should ask him to sing his wonderful song about "Mr Doyle and Gorgeous Raymond" tonight. :-)

By the way, Auldtimer, while there may be fewer and fewer Mudcatters who appreciate a real singer, we are not less able to distinguish between our adjectives and adverbs!

Matthew