Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?

Subject: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,Seanie26
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 11:50 AM

Hello folks!! I'm trying to find the name/singer to a song...... its irish and speaks of Newfoundland.... however the only lyrics that comes to mind and should ring a bell with someone are: 'Deres and Dose and Dese and Dats!'..... Can anyone out there help me with this one?!?! Thanks in advance!

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GEST
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 01:18 PM

All I could find with any similarity to your request was the song I Is A Newfie by the Arrogant Worms. It's chock full of words like dat's, dis, dem, de, and a even a dat dere, but I don't see an Irish connection since the Arrogant Worms are from Canada. You can try the search engine at GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador if you like. :)

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 02:18 PM

Newfoundland - "the most Irish place outside of Ireland".

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 07:52 PM

No it's not - it just pretends to be to help with tourism. Newfoundlanders of Irish origin are a minority. The majority have west country English origins. Honest!

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,Nick
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 08:05 PM

All I can think of is "Mares eat oats, and Does eat oats, and little lambs eat Ivy, a kid'l eat Ivy too, wouldnt you?"
I think that's Rudy Vale, but a bit before my time.
Whack Fall the Day
nick

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 08:05 PM

Numbers aren't the only factor in that kind of thing. I think that the claim I quoted is more about the culture than about ethnic origins.

Here's a breakdown of how Newfoundlanders answered the census in 2001, with those who put down Irish making up a pretty substantial minority.

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: Peace
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 08:08 PM

Mairzy Doats

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,Nick
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 08:15 PM

Peace.. WOW, nice quick response! Just took my little dog out for a poo and BOOM, blue clicky! Well Done!
Whack Fall The Day
Nick

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,Nick
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 08:22 PM

That being said no help for original poster from me.
WFTD
Nick

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: Peace
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 08:24 PM

LOL

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 09:32 PM

And Fort MacMurray is the biggest city in Newfoundland. Or something like that ...

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 03:53 AM

Hi McGrath - fair point, but a lot of it is St John's and the area around it called 'The Irish Loop' (for tourist purposes of course.) Elsewhere, i.e. where the other 75% of the population live, it's not so in your face Irishness. The west of England origins are promoted in places like Twillingate etc.

One of the great things about Newfoundland is that it never got involved in the Catholic v Protestant conflicts - the three denominations (Catholics, Anglicans and Non-Conformists) managing to devise a way of living together in harmony.

Terry

PS - I'd suggest Boston as a non Irish Irish place!

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 09:08 AM

Not disputing the English West Country elements at all, but from all the Newfoundland Music I've heard the Irish influence comes across as more noticeable.

From all I've heard, Boston is full of people with Irish roots, but it's not very like Ireland, more especially rural Ireland of course; whereas Newfoundland is pretty reminiscent in a a fair number of ways.

It's been claimed that the Irish tricolour may have been inspired by the old Newfoundland flag.

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 10:44 AM

Again, good point, especially about the tricolour. The Green, white and pink tricolour was unofficial - the 'proper' flag was the Union Jack. Your are, of course, right about the recorded music, although people like Anita Best and Pamela Morgan have fought a gallant rearguard action against it!

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 10:55 AM

You're both right, I think (I don't claim to be a great authority on Nfld, and I believe Terry M. mentioned elsewhere having done some pertinent academic research). Although the majority of Nflders are not of Irish extraction, a large proportion are, as McGrath points out, and, more significantly, 1) many have lived in tight, somewhat isolated, almost entirely-Irish communities, so have to some degree probably retained a more characteristically Irish culture than have many of the more "assimilated" descendants of the Irish diaspora, and, 2) Irish culture tends to be, for reasons I'm sure I needn't go into, more "out there" - more visible, colourful, "available", and, let's face it, in some respects more appealing - than the other cultures in question, and so, is often influential beyond what the population figures alone might suggest.

Now the problem, for some of us old fuddy-duddies, emerges from the activities of tourist boards and other promoters of commercialized cultural products (including "folk" musicians). In the course of marketing, they pragmatically play up whatever angle is likely to sell; this invariably seems to involve simplifying cultural dynamics into the form of appealing myths and romantic yarns passed off as history. With enough of that, the natives start believing it themselves. I have no doubt you could easily find, for instance, a young Newfoundlander of pure West-Country/Salvation-Army heritage who believes that for countless generations his people have been enjoying modal Irish tunes played on fiddle and bouzouki in the classic Planxty arrangements ...

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 11:04 AM

Couldn't have put it better meself, Meself!

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 12:06 PM

In the same way as you'd find young people back in Ireland who'd believe that to be the case, in places where there's about as much or as little basis.

Still, if it gets people playing good music, that's the main thing.

And with the Cod gone, its no wonder if Newfoundland feels it needs to land a few tourists as replacement. Maybe they should look into the possibvility of playing up the West Country connection. with some Morris Dancing and West Gallery Music and suchlike. Maybe a Hobby Horse or two and some Mummers...

We've got a Harlow link with Newfoundland - a campus of St John's in the town where students come to do study and do placements as teacher and the like. I had one to supervise when I was a social worker, and got introduced to Screech.

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 12:13 PM

Mumming's big in Newfoundland!

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 12:19 PM

It certainly seems so from these pictures.

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 12:46 PM

I'm listening to an item from a Nfld comedian on CBC right now. Quote: "We're all proud of our Irish forefathers - even those of us who are English" ...

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 12:47 PM

Just got his name: Johnny Harris.

Subject: RE: Song name/ singer to Irish/Newf tune?
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 12:48 PM

Can't argue with that, Meself!