Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: Bobert
Date: 27 Jan 12 - 07:34 PM

Very nice, Big Guy...

B~

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: ollaimh
Date: 27 Jan 12 - 06:05 PM

that guest was me--i didn't realize i wasn't signed in. but some might recognize my themes and style anyway.

sufice it to say that there are themes to history. the major one in the anglo world has been the rise of the dehumanizing philosophy of laissez faire capitalism and its modern version of neo conservatism. an ideology that has created more human suffering than any in human history

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Jan 12 - 05:36 PM

great video and great song. many don't know the gorta mor was just as devestating in much of the gaelic areas of scotland. at least the scotts had better contacts in canada and had a better chance of landing alive.

one of the saddest episodes in history is the tale of the quarantine islands on the canadian coast. hundreds of thousands died on those quarintine islands--never seeing anything of canadfa but disease camps. the biggest was in the st lawrence river at grosse isle. there are aproximately two hundred thousand gaels burried there. the mouths of the mirimichi and the st john rivers in new brunswick had smaller quarintine islands. about thirty thousand are burried in the mouth of the mirimichi and more near the mnouth of the st john river. there were several other quarintine camps.

i read a recent history of the famine by a british historian from liverpool. she concluded that the potato blight of the mid eighteenth century was just as bad but then parliament stopped export of food from ireland. however in the nineteenth century at least a million and a half starved who were citizens of the richest empire on earth, and who lived within a few hundred miles of the capital. another couple of million were forced to emmigrate of whom half died in transit or in quarintine camps. this ranks as one of the most egregious ethnic cleansings and genocides in history by the standards of the united nations anti genocide and anti ethnoic cleansing declarations.

an historical crime almost as great as the destruction of the natives of the americas. gee which empire was instrumental in both cases. i am presently reading "a little matter of genocide " by ward churchhill, an aim activist and university professor. he sees the link between the ideology that destroyed ireland (and parts of scottland) going on to destroy the natyives of north america.

or as gore vidal said years ago "the british practiced genocide in oireland then took the show on the road, ariving on the coast of california all dressed up for empire and no one left to kill.... so they invaded the philipines"

if you ignore the trends of history the trend makers will jump up and bite you again and again and again.

i like to avoid controversial topics

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 27 Jan 12 - 12:35 AM

I think there was great superstition that talking about it could somehow bring it back. I know I wouldn't eat potatoes as a child and that probably is why. mg

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 27 Jan 12 - 12:27 AM

Mary, it is truly a damn shame that so much oral history remains untold, to die with those who lived through it!

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 26 Jan 12 - 05:11 PM

What is so amazing is that we never speak of this really..not to family..I never ask people so do you know what happened to your family then. It is just not socially acceptable I think..but I think we really need to. As do others with their family tragedies. mg

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 26 Jan 12 - 04:44 PM

The dispora of the Gaels driven by hunger and the landlord's greed swept both Ireland and Scotland. On far shores we rose again but remain true in faith to our forebearers!
Slainte Mhath a'Mhic! Is Math Sin!

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: Big Mick
Date: 26 Jan 12 - 01:13 PM

Thanks, my friends. I do love the song. Years ago, at my very first Getaway at Prince William in Virginia, I did an immigration/coffin ship/famine song written by Brendan Nolan. I regard Brendan as another of the very big inspirations to my music, and he wrote a stunner of a song entitled "Far From Their Homes". Ed Trickett was at that Getaway, and he asked me where I had gotten the song that I sang. I told him it was from Brendan Nolan. He grabbed someone's Martin, told me to follow him, and took me outside and played Along The Famine Road for me. He asked me what I thought of it. I told him it was wonderful, and he said something to the effect of, "Good, I have been looking for the right singer to give it to". I was honored and recorded it 18 months later. That is the recording in the video.

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: maeve
Date: 26 Jan 12 - 12:51 PM

There are lovely, poignant images in this song, Mick. Thank you.

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: GUEST,999
Date: 26 Jan 12 - 12:43 PM

Solid song and solid presentation. Just listened to it, Mick. Love it.

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: freda underhill
Date: 26 Jan 12 - 02:44 AM

Fantastic - very moving song, great images. My great, great grandparents travelled to Australia to escape the famine. Beautifully sung, Mick.

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: rumanci
Date: 26 Jan 12 - 01:59 AM

dang! Jed's said it all.
A real treasure. Thankyou.
rum

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: JedMarum
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:51 PM

Beauty!

Moving song, lovingly sung and performed.

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: Dave Swan
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:04 PM

Just great, pal. Nice work. D

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: KT
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:03 PM

Mick, you know I love that song! And how cool that your daughter wanted to share you with her class! Please see my PM.

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: Janie
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:36 PM

Lovely, Mick.

More please. May we have some more?

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:24 PM

Link works, now. Beautifully done, Mick. Always been one of my favourites of yours.

kat

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:10 PM

Sorry..don't mean to distract from your original message, but until the link comes up...there is an Australian project called the Bonnet project I think and there was a song about it I also think..made bonnets for the Irish girls taken from workhouses to Australia.

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:09 PM

The link took me to how to unlock your blackberry. I am sure i WILL need to someday but not today.

Well, if you want to hear a very sad one listen to Shane Magowan..or Ronnie Drew singing Shane's song about the sand dunes. It is on youtube.

Subject: RE: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:07 PM

I have just decided to put out a CD somehow with other descendents of the famine..and only them/us. Would you be interested?

There seem to be so few songs. THis is not one I am familiar with but I will listen to it.

I also am looking for someone of Irish or French Canadian descent to put a tune to a very sad and dismal song I wrote about Grosse Isle.

So if others are also interested, can be Irish, New Zealand, Australian, wherever your ancestors stayed or landed, let me know.

I think I will record the Pride of Dunquin at Rainycamp and I have a few others..one based on the book Paddy's Lament called the last jig..

Anyway, now I will listen to that sad song.

Subject: Along the Famine Road video - Mick Lane
From: Big Mick
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 09:55 PM

Just thought you all might enjoy a Youtube video I did of the song "Along the Famine Road". I put it together for my daughter Ciara, who is currently studying for a semester in Tully Cross, Co. Galway, in Ireland. She remembered this old recording and asked me to sing it over Skype to her class, which I did. They then asked me to record it and send it so they could use it in a project. I just took the old recording from our first CD "Over The Waterfall" and added some images.

As an aside, I think I am going to re-record this one. I was never satisfied with the mix or the mastering, and it is such a wonderful song that it needs to be done proper. But for now, and for your consideration, here it is:

Along the Famine Road

All the best,

Mick