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.
Mrs McGrath
The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Would you like to make a soldier out of your son Ted
With a scarlett coat and a big cocked hat
Oh, Mrs. McGrath, wouldn't you like that?"
[Chorus]
With your too-ri-a, fol-di-diddle-da, too-ri, oor-ri, oor-ri-a
With your too-ri-a, fol-di-diddle-da, too-ri, oor-ri, oor-ri-a
Now, Mrs. McGrath lived on the sea shore
For the space of seven long years or more
She spied a ship coming into the bay
"Here's my son Teddy, wisha clear the way"
[Chorus]
"Oh captain dear, where have you been
Or have you been sailing on the Mediterranean
Have you any tidings of my son Ted
Is the poor boy living or is he dead?"
[Chorus]
Then up came Ted without any legs
And in their place, he had two wooden pegs
She kissed him a dozen times or two
"Holy Moses, it isn't you"
[Chorus]
"Now were you drunk or were you blind
When you left your two fine legs behind
Or was it walking upon the say
Wore your two fine legs from the knees away?"
[Chorus]
"No, I wasn't drunk and I wasn't blind
When I left my two fine legs behind
A big cannon ball on the fifth of May
Tore my two fine legs from the knees away"
[Chorus]
"Oh, Teddy my boy," the widow cried
"Your two fine legs were your mammy's pride
Stumps of a tree wouldn't do at all
Why didn't you run from the big cannon ball?"
[Chorus]
"All foreign wars I do proclaim
Between Don John and the King of Spain
I'd rather have my Teddy as he used to be
Than the King of France and his whole navy"
[Chorus]
The song "Mrs McGrath" by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem is a haunting tale of war and its devastating effects on families. The story is about a mother, Mrs. McGrath, who is visited by a sergeant who wants to recruit her son Ted to join the army. The song is filled with irony as the mother, who initially agrees to have her son join the army, later finds out that her son has been maimed in battle and now has two wooden legs. The lyrics suggest that war is not glorious and does not bring any honour to families or individuals.
In the first verse, the sergeant visits Mrs McGrath and tries to convince her to let her son join the army. He flatters her by suggesting that her son would look great in a "scarlett coat and big cocked hat." The chorus intersperses the sung lyrics with an instrumental tune that creates a rhythm and pace to the song.
In the second verse, the song describes how Mrs McGrath waited for seven long years for her son to return, and when she finally saw a ship coming into the bay, she believed it was her son returning home. The chorus is repeated here with the same upbeat tune and melody.
In the third verse, the song describes how the mother eagerly awaited news of her son's fate from the captain of the ship only to learn that her son has been maimed in battle and now has two wooden legs. The chorus is repeated here but with a slower and more somber melody.
The fourth verse has Mrs McGrath asking why her son left his two fine legs behind, was he drunk, was he blind or did he lose them in battle? Ted reveals that a big cannon ball tore his two fine legs away from the knees, leaving him with two wooden stumps. The chorus is repeated a final time.
The song concludes with Mrs McGrath lamenting that she wants her son back as he was before the war rather than having him fight for foreign wars. The song underlines the futility and tragedy of war and how it destroys families, hopes and dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, Mrs. McGrath," the sergeant said
The sergeant asked Mrs. McGrath if she wanted her son Ted to become a soldier.
"Would you like to make a soldier out of your son Ted
The sergeant asked Mrs. McGrath if she wanted her son Ted to join the army.
With a scarlett coat and a big cocked hat
The sergeant described the uniform that Ted would wear as a soldier.
Oh, Mrs. McGrath, wouldn't you like that?"
The sergeant asked Mrs. McGrath if she would like her son Ted to become a soldier.
With your too-ri-a, fol-di-diddle-da, too-ri, oor-ri, oor-ri-a
This is the chorus of the song which is repeated after every verse.
Now, Mrs. McGrath lived on the sea shore
Mrs. McGrath lived near the sea.
For the space of seven long years or more
It had been seven or more years since Ted left.
She spied a ship coming into the bay
Mrs. McGrath saw a ship coming into the bay.
"Here's my son Teddy, wisha clear the way"
She told the captain to clear the way for her son Ted.
Oh captain dear, where have you been
Mrs. McGrath asked the captain where he had been.
Or have you been sailing on the Mediterranean
Mrs. McGrath asked if the captain had been to the Mediterranean.
Have you any tidings of my son Ted
Mrs. McGrath asked if the captain had any news about her son Ted.
Is the poor boy living or is he dead?"
Mrs. McGrath asked the captain if her son Ted was alive or dead.
Then up came Ted without any legs
Ted appeared, but he had lost his legs.
And in their place, he had two wooden pegs
Ted had replaced his legs with wooden pegs.
She kissed him a dozen times or two
Mrs. McGrath kissed her son many times.
"Holy Moses, it isn't you"
Mrs. McGrath was surprised to see her son with wooden legs.
"Now were you drunk or were you blind
Mrs. McGrath asked her son if he was drunk or blind when he lost his legs.
When you left your two fine legs behind
Mrs. McGrath asked her son why he left his legs behind.
Or was it walking upon the say
Mrs. McGrath asked if walking on the sea caused her son to lose his legs.
Wore your two fine legs from the knees away?"
Mrs. McGrath asked if her son lost his legs from knee injuries.
"No, I wasn't drunk and I wasn't blind
Ted replied that he wasn't drunk or blind when he lost his legs.
When I left my two fine legs behind
Ted left his legs behind when he was injured.
A big cannon ball on the fifth of May
Ted was injured by a cannon ball on May 5th.
Tore my two fine legs from the knees away"
Ted's legs were torn off by a cannon ball.
"Oh, Teddy my boy," the widow cried
Mrs. McGrath called out to her son with affection.
"Your two fine legs were your mammy's pride
Mrs. McGrath was proud of her son's legs.
Stumps of a tree wouldn't do at all
Mrs. McGrath did not approve of her son's wooden legs.
Why didn't you run from the big cannon ball?"
Mrs. McGrath asked her son why he didn't avoid the cannon ball.
"All foreign wars I do proclaim
Ted said that he was against all wars.
Between Don John and the King of Spain
Ted mentioned a specific war between Don John and the King of Spain.
I'd rather have my Teddy as he used to be
Ted would prefer to have his original legs.
Than the King of France and his whole navy"
Ted would rather have his legs than the King of France's navy.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: J BAIRD, TRADITIONAL, PD TRADITIONAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@petternilsson4393
Its a pleasure to see legends sing together..
@dogman8436
Fabulous version. Clear words which make the history and point of the song clear. This and the burl version are the best.
@KittyStarlight
This is certainly one of the best. They make it sound really pretty. I had previously not exactly thought of this as a pretty song.
Obviously related storywise to "Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye."
Pretty tune, slightly creepy story. Like a lot of war songs are of course.
Or anti-war really.
("For I'd rather have my Teddy as he used to be
Than the King of France and his whole navy.")
@KittyStarlight
The accompaniment is very nice too. Words and music together are beautiful but the point of the song comes through loud and clear too at the same time.
Wow. Very, very good. ^___^
@RUTIGKILLE
What a wonderful piece. Have never seen Pete and Tommy together before.
@dogman8436
One of the best anti-war songs sung perfectly. Burl Ives also sang it well.
@PhilipSalen
Great song beautifully sung
@liammcgovern5243
Love this version
@tonycarton8054
the song writtten from a mothers viewpoint in a peripheral matter of fact way ,which makes the writing so potent
@dominicjackson3769
Who gives a damn grandson or not, what a lovely rendition of a great song ........ Dominic