Formed while the members were working in America, the initial impetus was to record an album of Irish rebel songs (released as "The Rising of the Moon") as one of the first releases in 1956 of new folk label, Tradition Records. Paddy Clancy's harmonica provided the only musical accompaniment for this debut album.
Little thought was given at that point to continuing as a singing group. The four were all were busy establishing careers (in the theatre) for themselves, in addition to their work at Tradition Records. With the album being a local success, requests were often demanded for the brothers and Makem to sing some of their songs at parties and informal pub settings. Slowly, the singing gigs began to outweigh the acting gigs and by 1959, serious thought was given to a new album. Liam had developed some guitar skills, Tommy's hand, which hasd been injured, had healed enough that he was again able to play tin whistle and Uilleann pipes, and the times spent singing together had improved their style. No longer were they the rough, mostly unaccompanied group of actors singing for an album to jump-start a record label; they were becoming a professional singing group.
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music singing group. Most popular in the 1960s, they were famed for their woolly Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States. The brothers were Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, Tom Clancy, Bobby Clancy and Liam Clancy. Paddy, Tom, Bob, and Liam are best known for their work with Tommy Makem, recording dozens of albums together as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. They were a primary influence on a young Bob Dylan and on many other emerging artists.
The release of their second album, this one of Irish drinking songs called "Come Fill Your Glass with Us", solidified their new careers as singers. The album was a success, and they made many appearances on the pub circuit in New York, Chicago, and Boston. It was at their first official gig after "Come Fill Your Glass With Us" that the group finally found a name for themselves. The nightclub owner asked for a name to put on the marquee, but they had not decided on one yet. Unable to agree on a name (which included suggestions like "The Beggermen", "The Tinkers", and even "The Chieftains") the owner decided for them, simply billing them as "The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem". The name stuck. They decided to try singing full-time for six months. If their singing was successful, they would continue with it; if not, then they would return to acting. The Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem proved successful as a singing group and in early 1961, they attracted the attention of scouts from The Ed Sullivan Show.
The Clancy Brothers' mother read news of the terrible ice and snow storms in New York City so she sent Aran sweaters for her sons and Tommy Makem to keep them warm. Paddy and Liam Clancy stated they wore the sweaters for the first time in the Blue Angel club. When Marty Erlichman, their manager, saw the sweaters, he was beside himself! "That's it!" he exclaimed. I've been looking for a special costume for the group. It was also the night that Barbra Streisand sang in the Blue Angel for the first time. The sweaters became the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's trademark. When back in their hometown, the band purchased their Aran jumpers from Babington, on the main street. Babington had a local woman by the name of Betty McGillivray née Duggan knit the jumpers and supply the shop on regular occasions.
On 12 March 1961, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed for 16 minutes in front of a televised audience of 80 million people on The Ed Sullivan Show. As Pearl Bailey did not show that night, the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem were given her time. The televised performance instantly attracted the attention of John Hammond of Columbia Records. The group was offered a five-year contract with an advance of $100,000, a huge sum in 1961. For their first album with Columbia, they enlisted Pete Seeger as backup banjo player for the live album A Spontaneous Performance Recording It included songs that would soon become classics, such as "Brennan on the Moor," "Jug of Punch," "Reilly's Daughter," "Finnegan's Wake," "Haul Away Joe," "Roddy McCorley," "Portlairge" and "Moonshiner." The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1961.
By the end of 1961, they had released two more albums, one final one with Tradition Records, and another with Columbia, Hearty and Hellish: A Live Nightclub Performance, and they were playing Carnegie Hall. Additionally, they were making appearances on major radio and television talk-shows in America.
1962 proved to be an even better year. Ciarán MacMathuna, a popular radio personality in Ireland, was visiting America when he heard of the group. He collected the few albums they had out at the time, brought them back home to Ireland and played them on his radio show. The broadcasts skyrocketed the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem to fame in Ireland, where they were still unknown. In Ireland, songs like "Roddy McCorley," "Kevin Barry" and "Brennan on the Moor" were slow, depressing songs full of melancholy, but the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had transformed those songs (the disgruntled purists in Ireland said "commercialized") and made them lively. For generations the songs had been a reminder of the troubles in Ireland and therefore they weren't anything anybody sang proudly. The Clancy Brothers changed all that, and the transformed songs reinvigorated Ireland's pride in her music. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were brought over for a sold-out tour of Ireland in late 1962. Popularity in England and other parts of Europe soon followed, as well as Australia and Canada. By 1963, appearing on major talk-shows in America, Canada, England, Australia and Ireland, as well as their own TV specials, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were "the most famous four Irishmen in the world" as said by Ireland's Late Late Show host, Gay Byrne, in a retrospective interview in 1984. In 1964, one third of all the albums sold in Ireland were Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem records.
The 1960s continued to be a successful decade with the release of approximately two albums per year, all of which sold millions of copies. They continued to peak with television appearances in front of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
Their popularity is the result of several factors. There was already an American folk revival beginning in the United States, and men such as Ewan MacColl popularizing old songs on the other side of the Atlantic. But it was the Clancys' boisterous performances that set them apart, taking placid classics and giving them a boost of energy and spirit (not that they took this approach with all their songs; they would still sing the true mournful ballads with due reverence).
But by the late 1960s, rock music had taken full swing, and the ballad and folk boom was waning. To keep the band at the top, Teo Macero began producing their records for Columbia. Macero introduced new instrumentation to their music, including Louis Killen coming in to play concertina on backup, particularly on their 1968 album of sea songs, Sing of the Sea. But their last three albums for Columbia Record in 1969 and 1970 are considered by many to be overproduced, with a multitude of string instruments and synthesizers added to the simpler traditional Clancy mix of guitar, banjo, tin whistle and harmonica.
In 1969, the group recorded a song for a two-minute-long TV ad for Gulf Oil: "Bringin' Home the Oil". They adapted a traditional Scottish tune they had recorded, "The Gallant Forty Twa," with new words about large-capacity supertankers. The song and commercial featured the then-largest supertanker in the world, the Universe Ireland, which operated with sister ships Universe Kuwait, Universe Japan and Universe Portugal, all mentioned in the song and which operated from the seaport at Bantry Bay.
1969 marked the amicable departure of Tommy Makem from the group. Giving them a year's notice, Makem left in April 1969 to pursue a solo career armed with such recent compositions as "Four Green Fields", debuted on 1968's Clancy Brothers album, Home Boys Home.
The "other brother", Bobby Clancy, filled Tommy Makem's vacancy and the band became The Clancy Brothers.
Blood Red Roses
The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come over the hills to your darling
You choose the road love and I'll make a vow
That I'll be your true love forever
[Chorus]
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
Fair is the lily of the valley
But my love is fairer than any
It's down in Killarney's green woods that we strayed
When the moon and the stars, they were shining
For the moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair
And she said she'd be my love forever
[Chorus]
It's not for the parting with my sister Kate
It's not for the grief of my mother
It's all for the loss of my bonny Irish lass
That my heart is breaking forever
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's song "Blood Red Roses" is a beautiful and romantic ballad that tells the story of a man who is deeply in love with his Irish lass. The song's lyrics evoke a sense of longing as the man asks his lover to come over the hills to be with him forever. He promises to be her true love and shows his unwavering devotion to her throughout the verses.
The song's chorus, "Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows, fair is the lily of the valley, clear is the water that flows from the Boyne but my love is fairer than any," serves as a declaration of the man's love for his Irish lass. He compares her beauty to the most beautiful things in nature, suggesting that she surpasses them all.
In the final verse, the man expresses the depth of his despair at the loss of his Irish lass. He states that it's not the grief of his mother or the parting of his sister Kate that saddens him, but the loss of his beloved. The song ends on a poignant note, as the man's heartbreak is evident in his mournful words.
Overall, "Blood Red Roses" is a moving and emotive song that captures the essence of true love and the pain of loss. Its haunting melody and plaintive lyrics make it a timeless classic.
Line by Line Meaning
Come over the hills my bonny Irish lass
I am inviting my beautiful Irish girl to come over the hills and be with me
Come over the hills to your darling
I want my sweetheart to come over the hills and be with me, her beloved
You choose the road love and I'll make a vow
You can choose the path of life you want, and I will always be there with you and make a promise to love you forever
That I'll be your true love forever
I promise to be your faithful lover until the end of time
[Chorus]
This is the chorus of the song and it repeats throughout
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
There is a beautiful red rose growing in the garden
Fair is the lily of the valley
The lily of the valley is a beautiful flower that is also fair
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne
There is a river called the Boyne and the water that flows from it is very clear
But my love is fairer than any
Despite the beauty of the rose, the lily, and the river, my love is the fairest of them all
It's down in Killarney's green woods that we strayed
We wandered around in the green woods of Killarney
When the moon and the stars, they were shining
It was a beautiful night with the moon and stars shining brightly
For the moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair
The moonlight illuminated her beautiful golden hair
And she said she'd be my love forever
She promised to be my love forever
[Chorus]
This is the chorus of the song and it repeats throughout
It's not for the parting with my sister Kate
I am not sad about parting with my sister Kate
It's not for the grief of my mother
I am not grieving for my mother
It's all for the loss of my bonny Irish lass
The reason for my heartbreak is the loss of my beautiful Irish girl
That my heart is breaking forever
My heart is forever shattered because of the loss of her love
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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