In 1997, Gaelic Storm appeared in the film Titanic as the steerage band. This catapulted them into touring, where they were met with extreme success and popularity. They have toured throughout the United States and Canada, in the United Kingdom, France, and Japan.
To this date, Gaelic Storm tours aggressively, and plays over 125 dates a year. It has also put out six albums since its inception, including the compilation album Special Reserve. The band is notable for its energetic rendering of traditional Irish music and Scottish traditional music, and for its albums which repeatedly top the Billboard world music charts.[citation needed]
Gaelic Storm's album Bring Yer Wellies was released on July 25, 2006 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard World Chart, #16 on the Internet Sales Chart and #31 on the Independent Album Chart. Their fifth album, How Are We Getting Home?, was released in August 2004 and debuted at #3 on the Billboard World Music Charts, #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and re-entered the September 2005 World Albums Chart at #3. "Gaelic Storm". Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
Over its history, the band has replaced its fiddle player a few times, its drummer once, and added Highland, Uilleann, and Deger (electronic) bagpipes to its instrumentation.
In January 2006 the band released its first DVD titled "Gaelic Storm: Live In Chicago". The show was filmed live at the House of Blues in Chicago.
A Simlish version of the song, Scalliwag, from the band's latest album, Bring Yer Wellies, was recorded and featured on the World music channel in the expansion pack, The Sims 2: Bon Voyage, for the popular PC Game, The Sims 2.
Now the next album of Gaelic Storm was released in July 8, 2008, titled "What's the Rumpus?" released by their own label, Lost Again Records. Taken from the Amazon.com Editorial Review of the album, "Inspired by the music that drives their loyal fan base, Whats the Rumpus is a wild party of an album, full of colorful characters and outrageous stories, flavored with Gaelic Storm's signature acoustic sound that gets you dancing and never lets you go. I think this is some of the best writing we have ever done, everything seemed to come together perfectly for this CD, says Steve Twigger, This is the culmination of a great deal of hard work and a barrel of good times. From the upbeat opening title track to the final cut, The Night I Punched Russell Crowe; (a true story involving singer Patrick Murphy), the music captures the contagious energy of the bands carefree attitude and infectious live performances. With instruments ranging from African drums, Irish bagpipes and Celtic fiddle to trombones and Cajun-style accordions, WTR is a three-ring circus of acrobatic songs, swirling tunes and galloping rhythms. Steve Twigger produced the project with co-production by drummer Ryan Lacey and Pat Manske, and additional production by Patrick Murphy. Returning to The Zone studio in Austin TX where the band recorded their previous release Bring Yer Wellies, Gaelic Storm also enlisted the help of a few select Austin locals including Lloyd Maines and 1960's psychedelic performer, Arthur Brown, to round out their eclectic Celtic sound. To quote Patrick Murphy, We have so much fun together as a band, we managed to capture some of the good times we have together on this recording.
Gaelic Storm also includes: Ryan Lacey on drums and world percussion (graduated twice from the Los Angeles Music Academy, once for hands and once for sticks), Pete Purvis of Merrickville, Ontario on uilleann pipes, tin whistle, deger pipes and highland pipes (a Grade 1 piper who toured with award winning pipe bands including the Braemar Pipe Band and played at 2000 Sydney Olympics) and the newest member of the band Jessie Burns on fiddle (originally from Suffolk, England, now living in Colorado)." and Celtic rock genres.
The Devil Down Below
Gaelic Storm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a banshee on the wind, we'd sail the ocean wide.
From the shoals of Yarmouth Bay to Newfoundland we'd go...
Chorus:
and we'd shout! Shout! Shout! Shout at the Devil down below
Out to the snows of Greenland, into the screaming gale
When the harpoon struck, the mighty fish would blow...
and we'd shout! Shout! Shout! Shout at the Devil down below
In our bunks we'd find no solace, no comfort just remorse
We'd curse at the bad fortune that had set us on this course
Gathered 'round the lamplight we'd sing both high and low...
and we'd shout! Shout! Shout! Shout at the Devil down below
From the rocks of Lizard Reef to Plymouth we are bound
The skipper's yelling blood as the jagged cliffs we round
Jack Duggan in the foresail, Billy Reilly in the crow...
and we'd shout! Shout! Shout! Shout at the Devil down below
Only when we'd quenched this mighty vessel's appetite
Would the captain tell us "Lads, we'll be going home tonight!"
We'd turn to the raging sea and we'd raise our fists and yell,
"You won't be seeing us today, you won't be seeing us in Hell!"
Once ashore we'd head into the pub for a tankard full of ale
One day would turn into a week and the time would come to sail
We'd say goodbye to the girls we love, then off from the shore we'd row...
and we'd shout! Shout! Shout! Shout at the Devil down below
and we'd shout! Shout! Shout! Shout! Shout at the Devil down below
Gaelic Storm’s “The Devil Down Below” tells the story of an old-time fisherman and how his crew would brave the seas and outwit the devil as they searched for catch. The opening lines of the song detail the conditions in which the fishermen worked, enduring the harshness of icy crests ridden by banshees on the wind. The verse then launches into the men’s journeys, from Yarmouth Bay to Newfoundland, Greenland and all the way to the shoals of Lizard Reef, before returning back to Plymouth.
Throughout their travels, the fishermen shouted at the devil down below, celebrating their own strength and perseverance against the odds. In the chorus, the listeners can hear the thrill of their victories as they shout with power at the devil. But, the reality of their work was not always pleasant. In the second verse, it is revealed that solace was difficult to come by on board, with no comfort and just remorse. The sailors would sing for each other around the lamplight, but the hard work and difficult conditions weighed heavy on their ship.
In the final verse, the fishermen return home from their work and celebrate their survival and success. They gather in the pub, providing glimpses of the joy they feel, while also acknowledging their hard-won victories against the elements, the devil and their own fears.
Line by Line Meaning
I used to be a fisherman, on the icy crests we'd ride
I used to be a fisherman who would sail the rough and cold sea.
Like a banshee on the wind, we'd sail the ocean wide.
We would sail the vast ocean with swiftness and fearlessness.
From the shoals of Yarmouth Bay to Newfoundland we'd go...
We would sail from Yarmouth Bay all the way to Newfoundland.
Chorus: and we'd shout! Shout! Shout! Shout at the Devil down below
We would shout at the Devil in defiance and triumph.
Out to the snows of Greenland, into the screaming gale
We would sail all the way to the icy Greenland and brave strong winds.
Out into the storm, chasing down the whale
We would sail into the stormy sea to catch whales.
When the harpoon struck, the mighty fish would blow...
When we strike the whale with the harpoon, it will struggle and blow water out of its blowhole.
In our bunks we'd find no solace, no comfort just remorse
We would find no comfort in our beds, only regret and sorrow for our actions.
We'd curse at the bad fortune that had set us on this course
We would curse our unfortunate fate that led us to this dangerous job.
Gathered 'round the lamplight we'd sing both high and low...
We would gather around the light of the lamp and sing together.
From the rocks of Lizard Reef to Plymouth we are bound
We are sailing from Lizard Reef to Plymouth.
The skipper's yelling blood as the jagged cliffs we round
The captain is shouting and urging us as we navigate the dangerous cliffs.
Jack Duggan in the foresail, Billy Reilly in the crow...
Jack Duggan is in charge of the foresail and Billy Reilly is at the crow's nest.
Only when we'd quenched this mighty vessel's appetite
Only when we caught enough whales to satisfy the ship's needs.
Would the captain tell us "Lads, we'll be going home tonight!"
The captain would only allow us to go home once we have enough for the ship.
We'd turn to the raging sea and we'd raise our fists and yell,"You won't be seeing us today, you won't be seeing us in Hell!"
We would challenge and defy the violent sea, refusing to be defeated by it.
Once ashore we'd head into the pub for a tankard full of ale
Once we return to the shore, we would go to the pub to drink ale.
One day would turn into a week and the time would come to sail
Our short stay on land would turn into a week, and we would have to start sailing again.
We'd say goodbye to the girls we love, then off from the shore we'd row...
We would bid farewell to our loved ones and row away from the shore.
and we'd shout! Shout! Shout! Shout at the Devil down below
We would continue to shout at the Devil as a symbol of our strength and bravery.
and we'd shout! Shout! Shout! Shout! Shout at the Devil down below
We would shout even more, with more intensity and passion, as we continued to brave the harsh sea.
Contributed by Camilla K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.