Famed Bard Tommy Makem Dies

[SoxFan]

Source: New Hampshire Union Leader

Dover – Acclaimed Irish singer, songwriter and storyteller Tommy Makem has died of cancer, ending a worldwide entertainment career that spanned more than five decades. He was 74.

"It is with great sadness that I have to report Tommy Makem passed away tonight after a long bout with lung cancer," said a message posted on his website Wednesday night.

Makem was best known around the world while performing with the band The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem in the late 1950s and 1960s.



Read more: http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Famed+bard+Tommy+Makem+dies&articleId=65719823-f1d7-41b4-b80c-fe7b4fa30182

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To those of us who grew up in an Irish-American household, Tommy Makem was a giant. I had the honor of meeting him some years ago, and he was every bit as friendly and approachable as you could imagine.

Go raibh maith agat, Tommy!

[TwilightGardener]

1. No relation to Howie?

(sorry--in bad taste--RIP, Irish guy).

[roguevalley]

18. He was wonderful. A world wide authority on mythology and

songs. He learned from his mam, who was famous for her knowledge and he was wonderful in concert. I must have seen him and the Clancys a dozen times here and there. What a terrible, terrible loss.

[Warpy]

2. Very, very sad for all us Harps out here

I saw him in a pub in New England once, he was wonderful.

[lpbk2713]

3. This is getting to be a bad week for celebs.

RIP

[LisaM]

4. Oh, this is sad news. We grew up with the Clancys and Tommy Makem

In fact, I recently was visiting in New York and stopped at the White Horse tavern, where they played in their early days.

I think that only Liam Clancy is left now, of the original four.

[roguevalley]

19. Liam was Bob Dylan's favorite singer. He said he had the best

tenor he ever heard. He used to hang around with the Clancys and Tommy. WHat a shame this is.

[SoxFan]

26. The next generation picked up the torch

Tommy's sons, Rory, Conor, and Shane, followed their Da into the music world, and perform regularly at Irish festivals in the northeast. They are often joined by the Spain Brothers, a pair of New Hampshire musicians whose musical style was influenced by the Clancy Brothers.


And don't forget Aoife Clancy, daughter of Bobby Clancy. She has recorded several solo albums in addition to her work with Cherish The Ladies.

[MaineDem]

5. The day the music died...

Le buíochas, Tommy. You were quite an inspiration to me.

You will be missed.

[mcscajun]

6. Ah, Tommy. RIP, you proud son of Eire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzcoUnFJssg

Tim Finnegan lived in watling street,
A gentle Irishman -- mighty odd
He'd a beautiful brogue so rich and sweet,
To rise in the world he carried a hod,
See he'd sort of a tipplin way:
With love for the liquor poor Tim was born,
To help him on with his work each day,
He'd a drop of the craythur' every morn'

Chorus:

Whack fol-de-dah
Now dance to your partner,
Welt the floor,
Your trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth
They told ye lots of fun at Finnegan's wake

One morning Tim got rather full,
His head felt heavy,
Which made him shake,
Fell from a ladder and he broke his skull,
They carried him home,
His corpse to wake,
Rolled him up in a nice clean sheet,
And laid him out upon the bed,
A gallon of whiskey at his feet,
And a bottle of porter at his head

Chorus

His friends assembled at the wake
And Mrs. Finnegan called for lunch
First she brought in tea and cake
Then pipes, tobacco and whiskey punch
Biddy O'Brien began to cry,
"Such a nice clean corpse did you ever see?"
Tim mavourneen, why'd you die"
"Ach, hold yer gob!"
Said Patty McGee

Chorus

Then o'connor took up the job
"arrah!" biddy says she "ye're wrong i'm sure,"
Biddy then gave her a belt on the gob
And left her sprawling on the floor,
There the war did soon engage
Woman to woman and man to manTT
Shillelagh law was all the rage,
An a row and a ruction soon began

Chorus

Then Mickey Maloney raised his head
When a bottle of whickey flew at him,
It missed him falling on the bed,
The liquor scattered over Tim,
Tim revives,
See how he rises,
Timothy rising from the bed
Then Whirl your whisky around like blazes Thanum o'n Dhoul,
Do ye think i'm dead!

Chorus

[Posteritatis]

7. The world needs more people who can accurately describe themselves as bards. (nt)

[chieftain]

8. It was Makem and the Clancy's that introduced me to

Irish folk music rather than the Tin Pan Alley Irish American standards that my Mom and the Nuns loved. The music impelled me to study my heritage and that journey led to an understanding and appreciation of Irish history and culture that was far broader and richer than the imagery created by Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald.
So rest in peace Tommy. I love your music and am grateful for giving me the spark to explore the Celtic world.
The following is a verse from "If I Get An Encore" by the great Christy Moore

" When I first heard Tommy Makem and the Clancys, my future it was sealed
I was bitten by the ballad bug and since the wound has never healed
When I got my first guitar my fingers bled until I learned a chord or two
I pulled on my aran sweater, wrote my Ma a goodbye letter
and started throwing shapes in O'Donaghues"


Thanks for everything.

[Hekate]

9. Ah, no. We grew up with The Clancy Bros. & Tommy Makem.

We were Irish-Americans in Hawaii and SoCal, pale people with no personal ethnic community to surround us. We eventually memorized nearly the entire playlist.

We sang Finnegan's Wake and Look at the Coffin (Isn't it Grand, Boys) at the memorial service for Dad 12 years ago and Mom last fall. We cried and laughed, and raised a glass.

The music will never die. :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

Hekate

[postulater]

10. Milwaukee Irishfest will never be the same

[Poppa]

11. Tommy will be missed

Tommy's version of "Johnny I Hardly Knew You" is one of the best anti-war songs ever recorded. He will be missed.

[LisaM]

15. That is a very powerful version

Sigh.

[Spiffarino]

12. Goodbye, Tommy. Thanks for the great music.

I love celtic music and, naturally, have tons of Tommy Makem's recordings. He did much to spread the joy and beauty of Irish music around the world and he'll be sorely missed.

Lung cancer is an awful diagnosis, especially when it's extensive. I just hope the doctors were able to keep his pain managed and that he didn't suffer too badly.

[Baltimore]

13. Tommy Makem

I'm not Irish, but John Kennedy and the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem made me a fervent admirer of the Irish for life. Considering all the sectarian uproar, I liked the fact that Tommy Makem was a Protestant. They were just a bunch of guys who liked to get together and sing--to hell with religion!

[SoxFan]

28. Tommy's religion

According to the obit in the local paper, Tommy was Catholic. His funeral Mass is being held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Dover, NH.

[demigoddess]

14. I love Tommy Makem he had such a lovely voice.

Condolences to his family

[Maeve]

16. His legacy will continue long into the future

Not only for the performances we have of his, but the songs he wrote and his own sons carrying on the tradition (they are supposed to be at the Dublin Festival this weekend)--and Tommy was carrying on the tradition from his mother and those who went before her. All who looked to him for inspiration or sing his songs are a part of that legacy.

Gratitude and blessings follow you, Tommy Makem.

[DarbyUSMC]

17. Farewell Tommy. You leave a hole in our hearts.

(An O'Brien before I was wed.)

[Doc Martin]

20. "My fourth green field will bloom once again said she" God be good to him

Four Green Fields

What did I have, said the fine old woman
What did I have, this proud old woman did say
I had four green fields, each one was a jewel
But strangers came and tried to take them from me
I had fine strong sons, who fought to save my jewels
They fought and they died, and that was my grief said she

Long time ago, said the fine old woman
Long time ago, this proud old woman did say
There was war and death, plundering and pillage
My children starved, by mountain, valley and sea
And their wailing cries, they shook the very heavens
My four green fields ran red with their blood, said she

What have I now, said the fine old woman
What have I now, this proud old woman did say
I have four green fields, one of them's in bondage
In stranger's hands, that tried to take it from me
But my sons had sons, as brave as were their fathers
My fourth green field will bloom once again said she

[Rambis]

21. Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem - Brennan On The Moor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUzsFaEd4MU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYSnGnCYFxg

[Pyrzqxgl]

22. I first saw Tommy Makem at the Newport Folk Festival in 1959.

learned "Dick Darby The Cobbler" from him which I still sing from time to time, He'll be missed.

[featherman]

23. Tommy's beautiful tenor in the Brother's rendition of "Butcher Boy"

still send chills up and down my spine and brings tears to my eyes. He will be missed.

[DinahMoeHum]

24. A "Jug of Punch" for the head and feet of Mr. Makem's coffin is in order. . .

:toast::toast::toast:

I saw Tommy Makem numerous times at Clearwater's Hudson River Revival through the years
and at Walkabout Clearwater concerts during the winter. Still a shock to hear this news.

http://www.irish-song-lyrics.com/Jug_Of_Punch.shtml

"Jug of Punch"

(snip)
And when I'm dead and in my grave
No costly tombstone will I crave
Just lay me down in my native peat
With a jug of punch at my head and feet.
(snip)

:toast::toast::toast:

[keroro gunsou]

25. aw crap!

not a tommy makem song, but...

"and when i'm dead and in my grave
i hope for me a prayer ye'll say
and as you're passin' by the hole
throw in a jar of porter....

and when i reach the golden gates
i hope i'll not have long to wait
i'll call saint peter aside and say....
brought ye up a jar o' porter."

[Hekate]

27. Just one more kick. "The singer lasts a season long, but the song it lasts forever"

Thank you Tommy for all the music.

Hekate

:kick:

[LeftishBrit]

29. RIP Tommy Makem

As a traditional folk fan, I always admired him enormously. A great loss!