The Coal Quay Market Song

We saw Cathy Ryan and Cherish the Ladies more than a decade ago at the Southwest Irish Festival in Dallas. I even got to perform there once. I think they were desperate. This song is a fun little number that my daughter Meghan learned by heart. We'd sometimes break out in this song while we were riding in the car somewhere. I'd join her on the chorus. My little girl will never know how much those little moment meant to the old man.

I've always thought that life should be like a musical and we should just randomly break out in song at the slightest provocation. I suspect that's what heaven will be like.

Tom

Molly Malone

This old folk song shows up a lot in the folk singer community, especially among Irish folk singers. But sometimes pop singers pull up an old folk tune and red-headed comedian Danny Kaye used to sing songs like Molly Malone in his movies and radio appearances. He had that lovely Irish tenor voice that set these songs perfectly.

I especially like poignant sweet melodies like this one. I think it probably inspired The Beatles song, Obla Di, Obla Da which also features a barrow wheeling daughter of fish-mongers. Danny Kaye movies are some of my favorites, but I love listening to him sing too. There's another Danny Kaye melody by his wife Sylvia Fine called Darlin Meggie.  I had to go to the Library of Congress to get that video. Enjoy these two beautiful songs.



Tom King

All God's Critters...

This one has to be one of the most joyous gospel songs ever. Irish groups in particular have embraced this happy song, written by New Hampshire Yankee folksinger, Bill Staines. I introduced this to my Sabbath School classes and it quickly became a favorite. We added animal sounds at the end of some lines and it turned quickly into one of those songs where the deacons came and peeked in the back door to see what sort of wild music was going on in there with the young people.

Two of my favorite Irish folksingers, Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem perform this version and you can see how much fun and joy the song gives them. It's an infectious kind of joy.  Here is: "All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir":

My daughter and some of the kids from my old Primary and Youth Sabbath School classes recently recorded this song for me with a whole lot of laughter and fun. She sent me the recording. It's now sits proudly on my MP3 playlist of both Christian and eclectic music. This is a song any guitar-playing song service praise band leader needs to know.  Click here for the lyrics and chords.

Tom King