''Sweeney's Men'' is an album by

Sweeney's Men Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish roots revival, along with groups such as The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway J ...

,''Sweeney's Men'' LP, Transatlantic Records Ltd, TRA SAM 37, 1968. recorded in early 1968 after 'Galway Joe' Dolan had left the band and been replaced by

Terry Woods Terence Woods (born 4 December 1947 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish folk musician, songwriter/singer and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his membership in such folk and folk- rock groups as The Pogues, Steeleye Span, Sweeney's Men, ...

Johnny Moynihan John Moynihan (born 29 October 1946, Phibsboro) is an Irish folk singer, based in Dublin. He is often credited with introducing the bouzouki into Irish music in the mid-1960s. Music career Sweeney's Men Known as "The Bard of Dalymount", he w ...

contributed "Rattlin' Roarin' Willy"—a song written by

Robbie Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

and set to the slip jig rhythm (9/8)—and also

Pecker Dunne Patrick "Pecker" Dunne (1 April 1933 – 19 December 2012) was an Irish musician and seanchaí. Dunne was born in Castlebar, County Mayo, "in the old county home". His family were Irish Travellers Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil ...

's "Sullivan John", which had previously been sung by Dolan before he left the band. Moynihan also sang "Dicey Riley" and "The Handsome Cabin Boy", which he learnt from the singing of

A.L. Lloyd Albert Lancaster Lloyd (29 February 1908 – 29 September 1982),Eder, Bruce. (29 September 1982A. L. Lloyd - Music Biography, Credits and Discography AllMusic. Retrieved on 2013-02-24. usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English fo ...

.Sleeve notes from ''Sweeney's Men'' LP, Transatlantic Records Ltd, TRA SAM 37, 1968. "Johnston" is Moynihan's version of the tale of sinister murder also known as "Three Huntsmen", listed as entry H185 in Sam Henry's collection, ''Song the People''Sleeve notes from ''Andy Irvine - Abocurragh'', Andy Irvine AK-3, 2010. Andy Irvine contributed the sea shanty "Sally Brown", which he learnt from a

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

recording of an old sailor in a Seamen's Home in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He also recorded the ballad " Willy O' Winsbury", the lyrics of which he learned from

Child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

's '' English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', and which he set to a different air. Irvine also covered the English folk song " Dance to Your Daddy", along with the Irish traditional song "

Reynard The Fox Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, as ...

", which celebrates a fox chase that took place in 1793.

brought the well-known American ballad " Tom Dooley" and also the southern ballad "

The House Carpenter "The Daemon Lover" (Roud 14, Child 243) – also known as "James Harris", "A Warning for Married Women", "The Distressed Ship Carpenter", "James Herries", "The Carpenter’s Wife", "The Banks of Italy", or "The House-Carpenter" – is a popular bal ...

", based on a recording by

Clarence Ashley Clarence "Tom" Ashley (September 29, 1895 – June 2, 1967) was an American musician and singer, who played the clawhammer banjo and the guitar. He began performing at medicine shows in the Appalachia, Southern Appalachian region as early as 1911 ...

. Woods also composed new music for "My Dearest Dear", a song by

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years, and was married to the singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. First American period Seeg ...

. Moynihan and Irvine learnt the slip jig "The Exile's Jig" from a group of traditional musicians based in Dublin called

Ceoltóirí Chualann Ceoltóirí Chualann (pronounced ) was an Irish traditional band, led by Seán Ó Riada, which included many of the founding members of The Chieftains. Ceoltóirí is the Irish word for musicians, and Cualann is the name of an area just outsid ...

, led by

Seán Ó Riada Seán Ó Riada (; born John Reidy; 1 August 1931 – 3 October 1971), was an Irish composer and arranger of Irish traditional music. Through his incorporation of modern and traditional techniques he became the single most influential figur ...

. The album was re-released on CD in 1996, packaged together with Sweeney's Men second album, ''

The Tracks of Sweeney ''The Tracks of Sweeney'' is an album by Sweeney's Men. It was first released in 1969 and re-released on CD in 1996, packaged together with ''Sweeney's Men''. One track on this album is frequently anthologised: "Hall of Mirrors". Track listin ...

''.''Sweeney's Men'' CD, Castle Communications Plc, ESM CD 435, 1996.

Track listing

#"Rattlin' Roarin' Willy" (Trad., Arr. Woods/Irvine/Moynihan) – 2:25 #"Sullivan's John" (

) – 3:15 #"Sally Brown" (Trad., Arr. Woods/Irvine/Moynihan) – 2:20 #"My Dearest Dear" (P. Seeger/T. Woods) – 3:53 #"The Exile's Jig" (instr) (Trad., Arr. Woods/Irvine/Moynihan) – 1:39 #"The Handsome Cabin Boy" (Trad., Arr. Woods/Irvine/Moynihan) – 4:45 #"Dicey Riley" (

Dominic Behan Dominic Behan ( ; ga, Doiminic Ó Beacháin; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish songwriter, singer, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in Irish and English. He was also a socialist and an Irish republican. Born i ...

) – 1:41 #" Tom Dooley" (F. Warner) – 2:32 #" Willy O'Winsbury"" (Trad., Arr. Irvine) – 4:57 #"Dance To Your Daddy" (Trad., Arr. Woods/Irvine/Moynihan) – 2:14 #"

" (Trad., Arr. Woods/Irvine/Moynihan) – 3:57 #"Johnston" (Trad., Arr. Woods/Irvine/Moynihan) – 3:40 #"Reynard The Fox" (Trad., Arr. Woods/Irvine/Moynihan) – 3:26 #"Old Woman In Cotton" (Carrol, Irvine) – 2:45 (*) (*) Additional track on the 1996 CD.

Personnel

* Andy Irvine - vocals,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

- vocals,

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

- vocals, 6-string guitar, 12-string guitar, banjo,

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

References

External links

Andy Irvine – Official website

{{Authority control 1968 debut albums Transatlantic Records albums Sweeney's Men albums