I told you about last night, how Tim and I were having fun finding the answer to Jimmy’s mystery tune. After looking for the answer using Google, Bing, Yahoo, Myspace, Daily Motion and even Amazon, we found the answer. The singer of this version of When I Was in My Prime is Liz Simmons of Annalivia.
I mentioned the band in one of my posts. However, it’s Jimmy’s idea that made us listen closely and even take notice of their latest CD Barrier Falls. Their music has that Americana feel with traces of Bluegrass and Irish music. The band’s name may also refer to the following:
*103.2 Dublin City FM (Previously: Anna Livia FM and Dublin City Anna Livia FM) is an Independent Local Radio station in Dublin, Ireland
*A bronze monument formerly located on O’Connell Street in Dublin, also a name of a bridge. Check out the details of Barrier Falls here.
Among the band’s chief influences are: Capercaillie, Yes,Alison Krauss and Union Station, Emmylou Harris,De Dannan, Dervish, Clannad,Pentangle, Andy Irvine and Paul Brady, The Bothy Band,Fairport Convention, Altan, Dolores Keane, Karan Casey, Deanta,The Corrs,XTC and Steeleye Span.
My friend Jimmy sent a selected few in his email list an mp3 sample file of the song When I Was in My Prime . Tim and I were rocking our brains as to who the artist is. Her voice is in the league of Alison Krauss and Cara Dillon…yet there is something about her timbre that is different.
Anyway I am in the game and according to Jimmy, I have until Friday midnight his time. I am sure he gave the same due date to the others. Because of this notice, my fingers got busy . I am posting the two versions of this song . It’s a traditional track and the earliest version was by Pentangle and then the other known version was by Celtic choir Anuna.
When I Was in My Prime When I was in my prime, I flourished like a vine. Along there came a false young man, come stole the heart of mine. Come stole the heart of mine The gardener standing by, three offers he made me. The pink, the violet, and red rose, which I refused all three. Which I refused all three The pink’s no flower at all, it fades away too soon. The violet is too pale a bloom, I think I’ll wait till June I think I’ll wait till June In June the red rose blooms, but it`s not the flower for me. It’s then I’ll uproot the red, red rose, and plant a willow tree. And plant a willow tree And the willow tree shall weep and the willow tree shall mourn. How I wish I were in my young man’s arms who stole the heart of mine. Who stole the heart of mine And if I’m spared young year more, and if God should grant me grace. I’ll weep a bowl of crystal tears, and wash his deceitful face. And wash his deceitful face.
I’m not looking for the rest of your life
I just want another chance to live
Happy New Year!I am one of those guys who can’t write unless he is unhappy. It’s a sweet little ache that I need to move these walls. I was trying to find ways to sustain this blog. It seems that inspiration has been going away from me these past few weeks. I remember the reason why I built this in the first place. The loneliness of being in a big city was getting too much. Music as well as connecting to people were the only things that mattered then…I think they still do.
But now I am feeling more and more alone in this. Call it blogger’s block or whatever colorful term you can find out there. Writing sincerely needs time, energy and deep thinking. I have not been thinking deep in the past few weeks while updating this blog. I was thinking of going into a hiatus…probably for a couple of months until I find the strength to write. What do you think? People take time off for a vacation leave right? I think I deserve one too.
I was feeling sad and then I remember a song. A friend sent this link. He told me the Celtic compilation CD was dropped into his bag as a Christmas gift from our friend. We talked about it and how sweet it is to get a surprise like that. There’s this song from the band Cara called Rain. It’s taken from their album Long Distance Love. It’s a beautiful track that made me smile and made me sad at the same time. How true the sentiments in this song are…all of a sudden I feel amazed and slightly embarrassed that a lady with a sweet sounding voice was singing what I was feeling. Have you ever experienced that feeling when someone is singing something you wanted to express in words but could find the right way to say it? Rain is originally done by Patty Griffin.
Note from the band: Jeana(vocals, fiddle, piano) first heard the song Rain while she was watching a TV drama series called ‘Bones’. After searching online for the lyrics she discovered that this great song was written by singer/songwriter Patty Griffin. It has remained one of her favourites ever since.
Well, Jeana isn’t the only one who watches Bones. Been a fan of the show since it’s first aired.
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Rain
(P. Griffin)
It’s hard to listen to a hard hard heart
Beating close to mine
Pounding up against the stone and steel
Walls that I won’t climb
Sometimes a hurt is so deep deep deep
You think that you’re gonna drown
Sometimes all I can do is weep weep weep
With all this rain falling down
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
Its hard to know when to give up the fight
Two things you want will just never be right
Its never rained like it has to night before
Now I don’t wanna beg you baby
For something maybe you could never give
I’m not looking for the rest of your life
I just want another chance to live
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m still alive underneath this shroud
Rain Rain Rain
I met Kjell through Paula O’Brien. Though his music is eclectic and gears towards ambient and electronica, his profile posts will reveal to you his enthusiasm for Celtic music. I planned to set up a little Q and A a long time ago but his wedding took place( my big congratulations to him for finding the ONE) and it’s only this month that he was able to do things on the side including this interview.
How do you celebrate Christmas in Norway? Are there common Celtic hints other than the predominant Viking influences?
No Celtic influences are common in Norway. Apart from the pan-european christian Christmas, we have a long tradition of Yule, and the name of the holiday here is Jul (not Christmas).
Most yule music is Christian, though, lots of common ground with the rest of Europe. A few yule songs focus on the folklore surrounding the “nisse” (more a house elf than the modern Santa).
Tell us about your type of music(Christmas) and artists you’d recommend to listeners?
For Norwegian Christmas music sung in Norwegian, I would recommend Sissel Kyrkjebø….
Although she sings in many languages, these two videos are in Irish Gaelic.
Who is your biggest influence that got you into music?
My personal biggest influences to create music are Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys.
Artists that occupy your collection now?
During Christmas I listen to a lot of Celtic inspired music such as Enya, Moya Brennan, Celtic Woman.
What are the things about these artists (Enya, Moya Brennan and Celtic Woman) that you think inspires the season?
I think Enya, Moya and Loreena (who I also love), combine ancient Celtic vibes with modern elements very well, and each in their own special way. Enya with her warm electronic soundscapes, Loreena with her combination of different world music elements, and Moya with her more minimalist approach.
All three have made very special and fantastic Christmas albums, which I play a lot during the season.
I heard your interesting work with Loreena McKennitt song She Moved Through The Fair. Can you explain this?
My mash up mix of Loreena singing and Mike Oldfield playing She Moved Through the Fair was a fun idea I had when I realised they had their respective versions on CD 🙂
A mix of Loreena McKennitt’s a capella version from her 1985 album Elemental and Mike Oldfield’s instrumental version from his 1996 album Voyager.
Are there Celtic sessions in Norway that you know?
I have no knowledge of specific Celtic music being made here in Norway.
What are the sites that you can recommend listeners regarding your works?
Music business is commercial and awful 🙂 True art and true music is not found in the “least common denominator” of the top 10 charts. The underground and independent music scene is where people with passion for music are.
Why do you think people get into music?
People should get into music to feel alive.
Updates for the coming months?
No concrete plans for the coming months. I’m going on paternity leave in the new year for 10 weeks to stay home with my son. Will upgrade my main music software and get into what is new there while home 🙂
More collaboration with Paula O’Brien are also in the works.
That sounds like a wonderful plan! What’s your message to our readers?
Expect the unexpected. That’s my line for this month while my hands are full due to the season’s madness. There’s no snow from where I am but friends are sending me the chill right now-in a good way. Exchanging gifts are really fun. I stumbled across this info about where exchanging gifts started:
We have many recorded events in history that show the giving and receiving of gifts dates back at least to the 4th century. St. Nicholas, a Christian Bishop, was known for his generosity in giving to those less fortunate than he, as well as giving to children of all backgrounds simply because he felt they needed to savor their childhood, and have joyous times to remember (contrary to the beliefs of that time, which would suggest that boys even as young as 8 be sent to work to help earn income for their families and girls as young as 5 to help their mothers with the housework and meal preparation). The most common gift given were homemade foods and sweets, oranges (this was a huge treat due to the fact they were very rare), handcrafted gifts such as socks, sweaters, dresses, nightgowns, blankets, tables, chairs, and other handmade useful items. This tradition began with St. Nicholas in Turkey. It moved throughout the world very quickly, and before the 10th century is is supposed that nearly every country was participating in this exchange. More here.
Slim sent a link to his new video and I love it. It’s the familiar Slim attitude with a great sense of humor and amazing arrangement. You can’t deny that this video can really make you smile.
“Just a little something I knocked out – thanks to Mel Torme and Bob Wells for penning the most beautiful Christmas song ever, my Canon camera for the ‘color swap’ feature, and French flatmate Alex for the Santa hat). Hope you enjoy the bizarre face-pulling – not sure what happened there….. Merry Christmas everyone. x :o)”-Slim
Taken from the Elysian Dreams album by Shishonnah. Produced by Shishonnah & Roland Labana. Shishonnah are Liz Madden & Jenne Lennon.
Fans of Shishonnah will have something to look forward to. Jenne and I talked over skype about her upcoming projects. This is what I got:
[12/23/2011 5:29:53 AM] Jenne Lennon: Hi there! And merry Christmas to you! Well, things are getting very exciting over at Glencoe/healing sun. Album sales are doing well and the response to the music has been overwhelmingly positive. We are blown away by the response. We are in the midst of the normal licensing and publishing negotiating stages of releasing an album and are working on our 2012 performance schedule which kicks off in Chicago in march. Summer dates will also be announced later, along with several other projects we are working on. So, right now we are preparing to celebrate the holidays. I’m off to Galicia in just a few days. January starts our rehearsals with the back up singers and players so, it looks to be a lovely finish to 2011 and great start of 2013 🙂 Sorry 2012….iPhones!
Celtic Music Fan 