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.
Whisky You're the Devil
The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Off to Portugal and Spain
Drums are beating, banners flying
The Devil at home will come tonight
So it's go, fare thee well
With a too da loo ra loo ra doo de da
A too ra loo ra loo ra doo de da
Me rikes fall too ra laddie-o
Oh, whisky you're the devil
You're leading me astray
Over hills and mountains
And to Amerikay
You're sweetness from the Bleachner
And spunkier than tea
Oh whisky you're my darling drunk or sober
The French are fighting boldly
Men are dying hot and coldly
Give every man his flask of powder
His firelock on his shoulder
So its go, fare thee well
With a too da loo ra loo ra doo de da
A too ra loo ra loo ra doo de da
Me rikes fall too ra laddie-o
There's whisky in the jar
Oh, whisky you're the devil
You're leading me astray
Over hills and mountains
And to Amerikay
You're sweetness from the Bleachner
And spunkier than tea
Oh whisky you're my darling drunk or sober
Says the old wan do not wrong me
Don't take me daughter from me
For if you do I will torment you
When I'm dead my ghost will haunt you
So its go, fare thee well
With a too da loo ra loo ra doo de da
A too ra loo ra loo ra doo de da
Me rikes fall too ra laddie-o
There's whisky in the jar
Oh, whisky you're the devil
You're leading me astray
Over hills and mountains
And to Amerikay
You're sweetness from the Bleachner
And spunkier than tea
Oh whisky you're my darling drunk or sober
Oh, whisky you're the devil
You're leading me astray
Over hills and mountains
And to Amerikay
You're sweetness from the Bleachner
And spunkier than tea
Oh whisky you're my darling drunk or sober
The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem's song Whiskey You're The Devil is a traditional Irish folk song that talks about the love and addiction to whiskey. The first verse talks about being on the march to Portugal and Spain, with banners flying and the drum beating. The line "The devil at home will come tonight" refers to the temptation that whiskey can bring in one's life. The chorus repeats the line "Whiskey you're the devil, you're leading me astray" which suggests how addictive whiskey can be, leading one to go over hills and mountains and even across the sea to Amerikay. The reference to Bleachner and tea refers to the bitterness and harshness of whiskey in contrast to the sweetness of tea.
The second verse talks about French soldiers fighting boldly in war, with every man carrying his flask of powder and firelock on his shoulder. They are excited to go to battle, with whiskey being the fuel that keeps them going. The third verse describes an old woman who warns not to take her daughter, as she would haunt whoever did so even after her death. The love and addiction to whiskey is a parallel between the old woman's warning and the singer's love for whiskey.
In essence, the song is a celebration of the pleasures and dangers of drinking whiskey. It speaks to the pain and pleasures of alcohol consumption and the fatal attraction that it can have for some people. It is a cautionary tale about the intoxicating powers of whiskey that can lead one to do things they may regret later.
Line by Line Meaning
Now brave boys, we're on the march
We are embarking on a journey with courage
Off to Portugal and Spain
Our destination is Portugal and Spain
Drums are beating, banners flying
We are being rallied by the sound of drums and banners
The Devil at home will come tonight
While we're away, the Devil will visit and tempt us
So it's go, fare thee well
We will depart, wishing each other goodbye
With a too da loo ra loo ra doo de da
A farewell chant to add to the cheerfulness
A too ra loo ra loo ra doo de da
A concluding chant of the farewell
Me rikes fall too ra laddie-o
Everyone's possessions will be left behind
There's whisky in the jar
We have alcohol with us for the journey
Oh, whisky you're the devil
The artist is addressing alcohol as a devilish companion
You're leading me astray
Alcohol is causing the singer to lose focus and become careless
Over hills and mountains
The artist is being taken on a winding path
And to Amerikay
The journey leads to America
You're sweetness from the Bleachner
The sweetness of alcohol is referred to as coming from the River Blackwater
And spunkier than tea
Alcohol is livelier than tea
Oh whisky you're my darling drunk or sober
The artist loves alcohol whether drunk or sober
The French are fighting boldly
The French army is fighting bravely
Men are dying hot and coldly
The soldiers are losing their lives in various ways
Give every man his flask of powder
Each man should be equipped with gunpowder
His firelock on his shoulder
A gun should be carried over the shoulder
Says the old wan do not wrong me
The old woman warns others not to harm her
Don't take me daughter from me
She is pleading for her daughter not to be taken away
For if you do I will torment you
If she is harmed, she will make sure to cause trouble
When I'm dead my ghost will haunt you
She also warns that her ghost will seek revenge if she dies
Lyrics © DistroKid, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDREW DAVID RANKEN, CAIT O'RIORDAN, JAMES THIRKHILL FEARNLEY, JEREMY MAX FINER, PETER SPIDER STACEY, SHANE PATRICK LYSAGHT MACGOWAN, Andrew Ranken, James Fearnley, Jeremy Finer, Peter Stacey, Shane Mac-Gowan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
danoverboard
I couldn't tell you how excited I was once I found out my bar had this in their jukebox. I'm slowly turning it into my bars songs.
David Issel
50 years ago, when I was a young child, my father used to play this record at home. He even took me to a Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem concert when they came through California. Neither of us is Irish... or drink... but, how can you not love this music?!
wesley de lucca Lucca
I love your culture, Irish culture. And I come from south Brazil kkkk.
Celtic Craps
One of my favorites. I absolutely LOVE this song and it's spirit. You can't help but to tap your foot and find a lightened heart.
Pie CatLady
I don't drink whiskey any more, but oh can those Clancy boys make it sound like fun!
David Freeman
Because it is then you start to get really sick
J Cappello
David Freeman Hah! Never gotten sick from Whiskey..however, I have gotten sick from Whiskey AND beer
Pat1974
infectious little tune! gets stuck in my head at work all the time.
TheOneLovin
Forget conflict, violence and hate for just 2 minutes and 16 seconds. Enjoy the fair tales and wonderful spirit of this song and band of brothers!
Gaming Collection
Hell yea brotha