Formed by Leo Moran and Davy Carton, members have included singer, guitarist, and mandolin player John "Turps" Burke; bass player Pearse Doherty; keyboard and accordion player Tony Lambert; keyboard player and guitarist Derek Murray; and drummers Padraig Stevens, John Donnelly, Jimi Higgins, and Fran Breen. The current line-up is Leo Moran (vocals, guitar), Davy Carton (vocals, guitar), Kevin Duffy (keyboards), Anthony Thistlethwaite (bass guitar, saxphone), and Eímhín Craddock (drums).
There is a special place in rock 'n' roll mythology reserved for that rare phenomenon, the people's band. The Grateful Dead, The Faces, Status Quo and Bruce Springsteen during his years as leader of the E Street Band are examples which define the breed: performers who have established a special relationship with their audience irrespective of marketing budgets and media approval, and for whom the dictates of fashion are broadly meaningless. The Saw Doctors are the latest in this strangely noble line" - The Times
"One of the Great Live Bands"
Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2
"The Saw Doctors are the very definition of the people's band." - Q Magazine
"The band's formula can best be described as one part Creedence, one part Hootie, and one part Irish Historical Society" - Rolling Stone Magazine
"One of the world's most appealing roots rock outfits." - Washington Post
During 2010 the band played a number of music festival appearances, including playing at the 40th anniversary of the Glastonbury Festival. September 2010 saw the release of their seventh album, The Further Adventures of... The Saw Doctors.
In 2013 the band decided to quit touring .Three members (Moran, Thistlethwaite and O'Neill) have formed a band with fellow Galway musicians called The Cabin Collective. It is currently unknown whether the Saw Doctors will be returning from their break.
Howya Julia
The Saw Doctors Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Moran/Carton)
How ya Julia, how ya Julia
How ya Julia, did ya hear about yer one
How ya Julia, how ya Julia
How ya Julia, did ya hear about yer one
She was tellin' us about the things that happened long ago
How she loved the bishop and he loved her just as well
Only God knows will he go to Heaven or to Hell
He helped the starvin' millions and he got them food to eat
And the homeless Irish immigrants are livin' on the street
And when it came to singin' his repertoire was vast
He swore that he'd be celibate he slipped and broke his fast
Mighty, mighty, Lord almighty, off with the collar, off with the nightie
Jesus, Mary and Holy Saint Joseph, the beads are rattlin' now
Mighty, mighty, Lord almighty, off with the collar, off with the nightie
Jesus, Mary and Holy Saint Joseph, the beads are rattlin' now
Now when he was up in Galway takin' in the church collection
His lover must be busy writing down her recollections
Like was the poodle black or white and did the moon come out
I'll have to read this thing meself and find this matter out
When you think about his logic sure its cars that come to mind
Like the way he drove his Lancia to get to church on time
A twenty four hour ****** job I did one down in Tuam
He wasn't such a slow coach when he got her in the room
Mighty, mighty, Lord almighty, off with the collar, off with the nightie
Jesus, Mary and Holy Saint Joseph, the beads are rattlin' now
Mighty, mighty, Lord almighty, off with the collar, off with the nightie
Jesus, Mary and Holy Saint Joseph, the beads are rattlin' now
Oh the blind and faithful followers are worried and distraught
And the only thing that's botherin' them is that the poor man he got caught
Must be funny in the morning he'd be doin' the consecration
After nights of long and passionate, unbridled fornication
Sittin' in the chapel attendin' exposition
Dreaming Karma Sutra and his favorite position
How ya Julia, how ya Julia
How ya Julia, did ya hear about yer one
How ya Julia, how ya Julia
How ya Julia, did ya hear about yer one
The Saw Doctors' song Howya Julia is a humorous take on scandalous news that has reached Julia. Julia is asked how she is repeatedly before the lyrics delve into a story of a woman who went on television to talk about her past with the bishop. The song talks about how the bishop helped the poor and the homeless but had a secret love affair with a woman. The lyrics describe the woman's recollections of their relationship, including the bishop's logic and how he was good at driving. The song uses sarcasm and humor to convey the story of the bishop and his scandalous affair. The last lines suggest that the bishop's followers are worried, but the only thing distracting them is the news of his affair.
Line by Line Meaning
How ya Julia, how ya Julia
Greeting Julia and asking how she is doing
Did you see yer one with Gay-bo, talkin' on the Late, Late Show
Asking if Julia had seen her acquaintance on a TV show called Late, Late Show
She was tellin' us about the things that happened long ago
Her acquaintance was sharing about past events
How she loved the bishop and he loved her just as well
Her acquaintance was in a romantic relationship with a bishop
Only God knows will he go to Heaven or to Hell
Uncertainty about what will happen to the bishop after he passes away
He helped the starvin' millions and he got them food to eat
The bishop helped to feed millions of people who were starving
And the homeless Irish immigrants are livin' on the street
Irish immigrants are homeless and living on the streets
And when it came to singin' his repertoire was vast
The bishop had an extensive collection of songs he could sing
He swore that he'd be celibate he slipped and broke his fast
The bishop promised to remain celibate, but he had broken that promise
Mighty, mighty, Lord almighty, off with the collar, off with the nightie
Expressing shock and disbelief at the bishop's actions
Now when he was up in Galway takin' in the church collection
Recalling when the bishop was in Galway collecting money for the church
His lover must be busy writing down her recollections
The bishop's lover is possibly writing down memories of their relationship
When you think about his logic sure its cars that come to mind
The bishop's logical thinking is often associated with cars
Like the way he drove his Lancia to get to church on time
The bishop would drive his Lancia to attend church on time
A twenty four hour ****** job I did one down in Tuam
The singer did a 24-hour job in Tuam, possibly with sexual undertones
He wasn't such a slow coach when he got her in the room
The bishop was not slow when it came to engaging in sexual activity with his lover
Oh the blind and faithful followers are worried and distraught
The bishop's followers are deeply concerned about his actions
And the only thing that's botherin' them is that the poor man he got caught
The bishop's followers are troubled that the bishop was caught in his inappropriate actions
Must be funny in the morning he'd be doin' the consecration
The singer muses about how amusing it must be for the bishop to conduct a religious ceremony in the morning after engaging in sexual activity
After nights of long and passionate, unbridled fornication
The bishop and his lover engaged in passionate and uncontrolled sexual activity
Sittin' in the chapel attendin' exposition
The singer imagines the bishop sitting in a chapel attending a religious gathering
Dreaming Karma Sutra and his favorite position
The bishop may be daydreaming about the Karma Sutra, a text about human sexuality, and his preferred sexual position
Contributed by Jacob W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jim
This song is about a famous interview done by venerable talk show host Gay (Gay-bo) Byrne on he weekly talk show "The Late Late Show". The Late Late was broadcast live on one of Ireland's two TV channels and was a major cultural touchstone for Irish people. When the narrator in the song asks "Did you hear about yer one" it demonstrates how reasonable it would be to assume any random "Julia" in Ireland would have seen the interview.
The interview is of the lover of a famous Irish bishop named Eamon Casey. Widely regarded as an incredible man. Casey was known for a series of well thought out initiatives that helped the most vulnerable Irish people in the world.
When he "slipped and broke his fast" they're referring to how he fell in love with a woman and fathered a child with her whom he provided for. The chorus is a ribald distillation of all the jokes going around Ireland about the bishop having sex.
"Oh the blind and faithful followers are worried and distraught
And the only thing that's botherin' them is that the poor man he got caught"
refers to the fact that the people of Ireland could care less about him having sex with a woman. They're just sad that because he got caught that he was exiled to Brazil and he wouldn't be around to do his good works in Ireland any more.
The song finishes by bringing you back to the start and reminding you this is a conversation about the interview on The Late Late Show. The repetition of How ya Julia is to show that this conversation was repeated around Ireland by everyone and how it was the main topic of conversation for some time.