The Session >> Discussions >> I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
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I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Usually the only tune I am requested by a punter to play at a session is The Lonesome Boatman. Invariably this request is made by someone well under the influence of alcohol and not a bit familiar with Irish Sessions. In fact I find the request is a fair indication how much this person does not know about ITM. Fellow musicians present throw their collective eyes to heaven in exasperation or maybe pity for this uneducated punter. I cannot play this tune to a high standard though I have played it when requested. Finbar Furey playing the Lonesome Boatman is just brilliant IMO. I think it’s a total injustice to the tune to play it publicly to a lesser standard. Someday I’ll learn it properly.
If I so love The Lonesome Boatman am I really uneducated in ITM when all along I thought I may actually know something?
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Yes.
You have done "the thing that is not."
It is incorrect to enjoy playing anything that is enjoyed by drunk punters.
It is incorrect to play anything that is widely-recognised from a popular recording without rolling your eyes or making it clear that you are being ironic.
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
personally, i don't really like the tune because ity brings back terrible memories but, i don't mind if someone requests it! I think a session is made by the drunk requests :D
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Not if it floats your boat! And it can be a social asset in the situations you describe, like being able to sing "The Fields Of Athenry".
It's a bit of a one-off, in having no definite rhythm and at the same time not being one of those airs which sound as if they ought to have songs to them somewhere. Thereby it disconcerts. If you play something with a rhythm, people play along / tap feet / know, if they don't like it, roughly when it's going to finish. If you play something just a bit approximately like some Gaelic trad song, or for that matter a pastiche like "Women Of Ireland" (nice tune...), people who wouldn't understand a word of it even if it was ever, ever sung, which is probably never, will sink into reveries about the Goddess Fand or whatever and see your rendition as a gateway experience, if it's any good and your session's into airs - and even airs indicate by their structure they're going somewhere. But the "Boatman"'s an oddity. Those who know the Fureys' performances will be imagining the backing and volume you won't have. Those who don't will be wondering what to make of it and how long you'll take. It would be similar if you played, say, Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross" - which I certainly don't recommend, by the way. (It makes a duff track on one of Sharon Shannon's albums.)
But if oddities couldn't have their niche, where would some of us be? Don't be embarrassed to love and play the Boatman - the above are just some ramblings about how it might go down.
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
In my ignorance I'm ashamed to say that I only recently paid proper attention to this tune and that's because I discovered a friend of mine loves it. So it was then I also learnt that this tune has a pretty 'bad' name in 'respectable' session circles but the thing is that after having done a bit of research, I actually really enjoyed the melody - in fact so much so I was tempted to ask my teacher about it but the 'bad rep' of this tune prevented me from putting forward a request - but now after reading all the posts here, I think I might actually chance it and see what my teacher says.
Anyhow, does anyone know why this tune evokes such feelings of disdain amongst sessioneers? Is it just that it has been asked one to many times by a drunk punter which has turned it into an Irish 'cliche' tune?
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Nothing to be ashamed of. Just don't let the punters take over the whole session. But one or two old favorites in an evening can mix things up, and keep them fun.
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
I've had the ........... of actually playing it with the Fureys for a few gigs.
At this stage,to me it's like music for a scabetti westurdn.
Still,Finbar's no joke on the pipes.
Check out the music for a fist full of dollars.....
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Does anyone know where the tune comes from? Did Finbar Furey compose it? Was it learned from a Rumanian sheperd (as I once heard somebody say)? Was Finbar just noodling, trying to remember the opening phrase of The Bucks?
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
When I first heard it as a youngster, I used to love it. Problem is, you might spend the whole night playing traditional music that takes a bit more skill than "Loan us some blow, man" (as we call it) and then someone utters the dreaded words - CYPTLB?
Slightly exasperating.
I think everyone in Ireland has a copy of that song and when you're drunk it's great 'cause you can interject with "ooh, hah" at crucial points in the melody! Everyone remembers it 'cause it's not a bad tune, sounds commercial, sounds a bit like "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and because it's probably wedged between "Willie McBride" and "Sweet Sixteen" on whatever Furey's LP you've got. You can't blame the Fureys but it's ok to be annoyed at a general public who really should know a bit more about their national music when they're down the pub claiming "I ******* love Ireland!!"
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Never be embarrassed about liking a song. As a musician, you are perfectly entitled to like any selection, no matter how often it's done, be it the Kesh Jig or Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog.
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
a musician once replied to 'the' question (do you guys know the lonesome boatman'), "sure, if we knew him, he wouldn't be lonesome!!"....speaking of the unspeakable, has anyone ever seen that (terrible) film, my stepmother's an alien?? It was so bad they thought it would be a good idea to flesh it out by having a homeless person give a FULL rendition of danny boy...cringe..
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
I play this, on a whistle naturally, as it is the most requested whistle tune in Norn Ireland. Just as well, as it is the only thing I play on the whistle. Mind you, that's why I learnt it, no-one asks for anything else.
Re: 'The Lonesome Boatman.’ and spaghetti westerns
I used to know a couple of guys who did a great version of the "Loathsome Goatman" as they called it on sopranino recorder and guitar - it did indeed morph into the Good the Bad and the ugly for a couple of bars .
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Now and again a guy turns up at our session and plays it on the tin sandwich.I don't mind,but I always have this feeling that Clint Eastwood is going to ride into the bar on his mule.
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Thank for your replies. I think the Spaghetti Western comparison is spot on. I'm still none the wiser though, be embarrassed, don't be embarrassed??
I seems to me generally speaking this tune is taboo.
I must invest in a low g whistle, copy Furey's version, get myself an aggressive guitar player and annoy the local musicians just for the heck of it : ) At least the punters will love me.
I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Usually the only tune I am requested by a punter to play at a session is The Lonesome Boatman. Invariably this request is made by someone well under the influence of alcohol and not a bit familiar with Irish Sessions. In fact I find the request is a fair indication how much this person does not know about ITM. Fellow musicians present throw their collective eyes to heaven in exasperation or maybe pity for this uneducated punter. I cannot play this tune to a high standard though I have played it when requested. Finbar Furey playing the Lonesome Boatman is just brilliant IMO. I think it’s a total injustice to the tune to play it publicly to a lesser standard. Someday I’ll learn it properly.
If I so love The Lonesome Boatman am I really uneducated in ITM when all along I thought I may actually know something?
# Posted on September 23rd 2006 by gtag
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Yes.
You have done "the thing that is not."
It is incorrect to enjoy playing anything that is enjoyed by drunk punters.
It is incorrect to play anything that is widely-recognised from a popular recording without rolling your eyes or making it clear that you are being ironic.
# Posted on September 23rd 2006 by Bren
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Well, yes; but you can still post here.
# Posted on September 23rd 2006 by cathrynb
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Well, I like it.
Trouble is, no-one else I know will admit to either liking it, or knowing it.
C'ést la vie...
# Posted on September 23rd 2006 by Wurzel
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
personally, i don't really like the tune because ity brings back terrible memories but, i don't mind if someone requests it! I think a session is made by the drunk requests :D
# Posted on September 23rd 2006 by fluter
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Not if it floats your boat! And it can be a social asset in the situations you describe, like being able to sing "The Fields Of Athenry".
It's a bit of a one-off, in having no definite rhythm and at the same time not being one of those airs which sound as if they ought to have songs to them somewhere. Thereby it disconcerts. If you play something with a rhythm, people play along / tap feet / know, if they don't like it, roughly when it's going to finish. If you play something just a bit approximately like some Gaelic trad song, or for that matter a pastiche like "Women Of Ireland" (nice tune...), people who wouldn't understand a word of it even if it was ever, ever sung, which is probably never, will sink into reveries about the Goddess Fand or whatever and see your rendition as a gateway experience, if it's any good and your session's into airs - and even airs indicate by their structure they're going somewhere. But the "Boatman"'s an oddity. Those who know the Fureys' performances will be imagining the backing and volume you won't have. Those who don't will be wondering what to make of it and how long you'll take. It would be similar if you played, say, Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross" - which I certainly don't recommend, by the way. (It makes a duff track on one of Sharon Shannon's albums.)
But if oddities couldn't have their niche, where would some of us be? Don't be embarrassed to love and play the Boatman - the above are just some ramblings about how it might go down.
# Posted on September 23rd 2006 by nicholas
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
In my ignorance I'm ashamed to say that I only recently paid proper attention to this tune and that's because I discovered a friend of mine loves it. So it was then I also learnt that this tune has a pretty 'bad' name in 'respectable' session circles but the thing is that after having done a bit of research, I actually really enjoyed the melody - in fact so much so I was tempted to ask my teacher about it but the 'bad rep' of this tune prevented me from putting forward a request - but now after reading all the posts here, I think I might actually chance it and see what my teacher says
.
Anyhow, does anyone know why this tune evokes such feelings of disdain amongst sessioneers? Is it just that it has been asked one to many times by a drunk punter which has turned it into an Irish 'cliche' tune?
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by vanessa
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Nothing to be ashamed of. Just don't let the punters take over the whole session. But one or two old favorites in an evening can mix things up, and keep them fun.
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by AlBrown
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
I've had the ........... of actually playing it with the Fureys for a few gigs.
At this stage,to me it's like music for a scabetti westurdn.
Still,Finbar's no joke on the pipes.
Check out the music for a fist full of dollars.....
P
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by P.browne
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Yes, it really is like one of those Spaghetti Western tunes, come to think of it!
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by nicholas
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Does anyone know where the tune comes from? Did Finbar Furey compose it? Was it learned from a Rumanian sheperd (as I once heard somebody say)? Was Finbar just noodling, trying to remember the opening phrase of The Bucks?
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by ragaman
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
...shepHerd. Aitch dropping is a common haffliction around these parts.
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by ragaman
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
When I first heard it as a youngster, I used to love it. Problem is, you might spend the whole night playing traditional music that takes a bit more skill than "Loan us some blow, man" (as we call it) and then someone utters the dreaded words - CYPTLB?
Slightly exasperating.
I think everyone in Ireland has a copy of that song and when you're drunk it's great 'cause you can interject with "ooh, hah" at crucial points in the melody! Everyone remembers it 'cause it's not a bad tune, sounds commercial, sounds a bit like "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and because it's probably wedged between "Willie McBride" and "Sweet Sixteen" on whatever Furey's LP you've got. You can't blame the Fureys but it's ok to be annoyed at a general public who really should know a bit more about their national music when they're down the pub claiming "I ******* love Ireland!!"
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by Conán McDonnell
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
NO ,Play what you like , If other people don't like it they don.t have to listen, That kind of musical snobbery has ruined many a good session
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by blueveetwo
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Never be embarrassed about liking a song. As a musician, you are perfectly entitled to like any selection, no matter how often it's done, be it the Kesh Jig or Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog.
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by Greg the Piano Tuner
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
a musician once replied to 'the' question (do you guys know the lonesome boatman'), "sure, if we knew him, he wouldn't be lonesome!!"....speaking of the unspeakable, has anyone ever seen that (terrible) film, my stepmother's an alien?? It was so bad they thought it would be a good idea to flesh it out by having a homeless person give a FULL rendition of danny boy...cringe..
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by maryp
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
I play this, on a whistle naturally, as it is the most requested whistle tune in Norn Ireland. Just as well, as it is the only thing I play on the whistle. Mind you, that's why I learnt it, no-one asks for anything else.
I can see Leugim calling me lazy again.
# Posted on September 24th 2006 by bodhran bliss
Re: 'The Lonesome Boatman.’ and spaghetti westerns
I used to know a couple of guys who did a great version of the "Loathsome Goatman" as they called it on sopranino recorder and guitar - it did indeed morph into the Good the Bad and the ugly for a couple of bars .
# Posted on September 26th 2006 by RockyRoader
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Now and again a guy turns up at our session and plays it on the tin sandwich.I don't mind,but I always have this feeling that Clint Eastwood is going to ride into the bar on his mule.
# Posted on September 26th 2006 by dafydd
Re: I love the tune ‘The Lonesome Boatman.’ Should I be embarrassed?
Thank for your replies. I think the Spaghetti Western comparison is spot on. I'm still none the wiser though, be embarrassed, don't be embarrassed??
I seems to me generally speaking this tune is taboo.
I must invest in a low g whistle, copy Furey's version, get myself an aggressive guitar player and annoy the local musicians just for the heck of it : ) At least the punters will love me.
# Posted on September 29th 2006 by gtag