Makem was born and raised in Keady, County Armagh (the "Hub of the Universe" as Makem always said), in Northern Ireland. His mother, Sarah Makem, was an important source of traditional Irish music, who was visited and recorded by, among others, Diane Guggenheim Hamilton, Jean Ritchie, Peter Kennedy and Sean O'Boyle. His father, Peter Makem, was a fiddler who also played the bass drum in a local pipe band named "Oliver Plunkett", after a martyr of the Cromwell age. His brother and sister were folk musicians also. Young Tommy Makem, from the age of 8, was member of the St. Patrick's church choir for 15 years where he sang Gregorian chant and motets. He didn't learn to read music but he made it in his "own way".
He started to work at 14 as a clerk in a garage and later he worked for a while as a barman at Mone's Bar, a local pub and as a local correspondent for The Armagh Observer.
He emigrated to the United States in 1955, carrying his few possessions and a set of bagpipes (from his time in a pipe band). Arriving in Dover, New Hampshire, he worked at Kidder Press, where in 1956 his hand was accidentally crushed by a press.[4] With his arm in a sling, he left Dover for New York to pursue an acting career.
The Clancys and Makem were signed to Columbia Records in 1961. The same year, at the Newport Folk Festival, Makem and Joan Baez were named the most promising newcomers on the American folk scene. During the 1960s, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed sellout concerts at such venues as Carnegie Hall, and made television appearances on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show. The group performed for President Kennedy. They also played in smaller venues such as the Gate of Horn in Chicago. They appeared jointly in the UK Albums Chart in April 1966, when Isn't It Grand Boys reached number 22.
Makem left the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career. In 1975, he and Liam Clancy were both booked to play a folk festival in Cleveland, Ohio, and were persuaded to do a set together. Thereafter they often performed as Makem and Clancy, recording several albums together. At a concert in 1977, Tommy noticed an audience member having a good time and exclaimed, "What have you been smoking? Good whatever you have, pass it around to the rest of them we'll all get goin'!" He once again went solo in 1988. Throughout the 70's and 80's Makem performed both solo and with Liam Clancy on The Irish Rovers various television shows, which were filming both in Canada and Ireland.
In the 1980-90s, Makem was a principal in a well-known Irish music venue in New York City, "Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion." This East 57th Street club was a prominent and well-loved performance spot for a wide range of musicians. Among the performers and visitors were Paddy Reilly, Joe Burke, and Ronnie Gilbert. Makem was a regular performer, often solo and often as part of Makem & Clancy, particularly in the late fall and holiday season. The club was also used for warm-up performances in the weeks before the 1984 reunion concert of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem at Lincoln Center. In addition, the after-party for Bob Dylan's legendary 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden in 1992 was held at the Irish Pavilion.
In 1997 he wrote a book, Tommy Makem's Secret Ireland, and in 1999 premiered his own one-man theatre show, Invasions and Legacies, in New York. His career includes various other acting, video, composition, and writing credits. He also established the Tommy Makem International Festival of Song in South Armagh in 2000.
Makem was married to Mary Shanahan, a native of Chicago, for 37 years, and had four children - daughter Katie Makem-Boucher, and sons Shane, Conor and Rory. They also had two grandchildren, Molly (Dickerman) Makem and Robert Boucher. Mary died in 2001.
Makem's three sons (who perform as "The Makem Brothers") and nephews Tom & Jimmy Sweeney continue the family folk music tradition.
Makem died in Dover, New Hampshire on August 1, 2007, following a lengthy battle with lung cancer. He continued to record and perform until very close to the end. Paying tribute to him after his death, Liam Clancy said, "He was my brother in every way" He is buried next to his wife at New Saint Mary Cemetery in Dover.
Makem was a prolific composer/songwriter. His performances were always full of his compositions, many of which became standards in the repertoire. Some, notably "Four Green Fields", became so well known that they were sometimes described as anonymous folk songs. During the fall of the Iron Curtain, Makem often proudly told the story that his song "The Winds Are Singing Freedom" had become a sort of folk anthem among Eastern Europeans seeing a new future opening before them.
Makem's best-known songs include "Four Green Fields", "Gentle Annie", "The Rambles of Spring", "The Winds Are Singing Freedom", "The Town of Ballybay", "Winds of the Morning", "Mary Mack", and "Farewell to Carlingford". Even though many people mistakenly believe that Makem wrote "Red is the Rose", it is a traditional Irish folk song.
Makem had a gripping stage presence β the result of years of public performance, a charismatic personality, and a bard's voice. An army of friends and fans attended his frequent concerts, many recognizing each other at far-flung venues. Performances frequently included the following familiar elements:
Original Makem compositions; the first set often began with "The Rambles of Spring"
The standard repertoire of folk and Irish music, both well-known and little-known (but never "Danny Boy", "When Irish Eyes are Smiling", "Toorah Loorah Looral", or other forbidden requests)
Oddball songs, such as "Bridie Murphy and the Kamikaze Pilot" (Colm Gallagher) or "William Bloat" (Raymond Calvert)
Poetic recitations, often as introductions to songs; a frequent source was William Butler Yeats. (Thus "Gentle Annie" usually began with "When You Are Old and Grey", and Four Green Fields usually began with Seamus Heaney's "Requiem for the Croppies".)
Jokes, often silly, made funnier through repetition:
"If your nose is running and your feet smell, you're upside down."
Rarely: monologues, such as Marriott Edgar's "The Lion and Albert"
Exhortations, nearly always successful, for the audience to join in the singing
He received many awards and honours, including three honorary doctorates: one from the University of New Hampshire in 1998, one from the University of Limerick in 2001, and one from the University of Ulster in 2007; as well as the World Folk Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. With the Clancy Brothers he was listed among the top 100 Irish-Americans of the 20th century in 1999.[10]
A bridge over the Cocheco River on Washington Street in Makem's long-time home of Dover, New Hampshire, was named the Tommy and Mary Makem Memorial Bridge in 2010.
Apples In The Basket
Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shines on the fields I've got to till
My bones are weary, but I know I will
And not just because you ask it
Rake and hoe are hung on nails
Hay piled up in tidy bales
Milk lies sweet in a hundred pails
And apples in the basket
[Chorus]
Right-fol-de-diddle-o, right-fol-de-day
Right-fol-de-diddle-o, right-fol-de-day
Right-fol-de-diddle-o, right-fol-de-day
There's apples in the basket
A house that's tight to the wind and snow
A barn that's full of what we grow
Empty purse, but I don't owe
A thing to any man living
A woman warm, a woman kind
A woman that knows her own sweet mind
A woman that knows just what's behind
The sins that she's forgiven
[Chorus]
There's branches on the family tree
A boy, a girl and the baby's three
They look like her, they look like me
Like folks that's dead and gone now
But I don't care, we're all the same
None to bless and none to blame
Doing in our Father's name
The work we carry on now
[Chorus]
The old white goose is on the wing
But he'll come back again in spring
Each year we do the same old thing
And the same old wheel goes spinning
When the air is warm and the earth is sweet
And the Lord's clean dirt is on our feet
The circle comes around complete
The end is the beginning
[Chorus]
The song βApples in the Basketβ by Tommy Makem is a tribute to the simple, yet fulfilling life of an Irish farmer. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the singer, waking up early in the morning to till the fields under the warm sun, despite feeling weary. He has no debts and is content with the house and barn he owns, where he stores the hay and milk he has produced. The chorus of βRight-fol-de-diddle-o, right-fol-de-dayβ is a traditional Irish folk refrain that accentuates the overall upbeat mood of the song.
The singer is also blessed with a loving wife who is confident and assertive. She is forgiving and does not hold grudges against others. The farmer believes that they are doing Godβs work and are honored to pass on the family legacy to their three children, even if they do not have much to leave behind. The farmer acknowledges the cyclical nature of life and the farm, where even though the old goose flies away, it will come back in spring, and the same old wheel of life and farming will keep on spinning.
Overall, the song celebrates the joy and contentment that can be found in the simple life of farming and hard work, highlighting the deep-rooted traditions of Irish culture.
Line by Line Meaning
The sun comes over the top of the hill
The day starts with a bright sun shining, revealing the beauty of the landscape
Shines on the fields I've got to till
The sun illuminates the fields that need to be worked on
My bones are weary, but I know I will
Despite the tiredness in his bones, he knows he will complete the work
And not just because you ask it
The motivation to work comes from within, not from external demands
Rake and hoe are hung on nails
The tools required for work are in their place, ready to be used
Hay piled up in tidy bales
The hay has been collected and organized into neat bundles
Milk lies sweet in a hundred pails
The milk has been collected and is ready to be consumed or sold
And apples in the basket
The fruit has been harvested and collected for storage or sale
Right-fol-de-diddle-o, right-fol-de-day
This is a cheerful refrain used to express joy
There's apples in the basket
The artist is proud of the harvest and the hard work that led to the successful collection of apples
A house that's tight to the wind and snow
The singer has a sturdy and reliable home that can withstand the harsh winter weather
A barn that's full of what we grow
The barn is filled with the fruits of their labor, ready for use or sale
Empty purse, but I don't owe
The singer may not have much money, but they don't have any debts either
A thing to any man living
The singer is beholden to no one, and is free to live their own life
A woman warm, a woman kind
The singer has a loving and caring partner
A woman that knows her own sweet mind
The partner is strong and independent, with her own ideas and opinions
A woman that knows just what's behind
The partner is insightful and can see beyond surface appearances or illusions
The sins that she's forgiven
The partner is forgiving and understanding, and doesn't hold grudges
There's branches on the family tree
The singer has a family history and lineage
A boy, a girl and the baby's three
The artist has children, as well as grandchildren
They look like her, they look like me
The children resemble their parents and grandparents
Like folks that's dead and gone now
The children resemble the artist's ancestors who have passed away
But I don't care, we're all the same
Despite the differences in appearance, the family is united by their shared blood and history
None to bless and none to blame
No one deserves credit or blame for the family's lineage
Doing in our Father's name
The family is following in the footsteps of their ancestors, and honoring their legacy
The work we carry on now
The work of the family is ongoing, and will continue into the future
The old white goose is on the wing
The singer is observing the changing seasons, as the goose flies away for the winter
But he'll come back again in spring
The artist knows that the goose will return when the weather is warm again
Each year we do the same old thing
The family continues the same traditions and routines year after year
And the same old wheel goes spinning
The singer acknowledges the cyclical nature of life and of time
When the air is warm and the earth is sweet
The singer enjoys the beauty and comfort of the world during the warm season
And the Lord's clean dirt is on our feet
The artist appreciates the purity and natural goodness of the earth
The circle comes around complete
The artist acknowledges the cyclical and continuous nature of life, which has no true beginning or end
The end is the beginning
The artist sees life as a continuous cycle, where every end is a new beginning
Right-fol-de-diddle-o, right-fol-de-day
This is a cheerful refrain used to express joy
There's apples in the basket
The artist is proud of the harvest and the hard work that led to the successful collection of apples
Lyrics Β© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind