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 – 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.
Henry Joy
Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the Antrim glens I come
And though I've laboured by the sea
I have followed fife and drum
I have heard the martial tramp of men
I've seen them fight and die
Ah! Lads it's well I remember when
I followed Henry Joy
I dragged my boat in from the shore
And I hid my sails away
I hung my nets upon a tree
And I scanned the moonlit bay
The boys were out, the red coats too
I kissed my love good-bye
And in the shade of the greenwood glade
I followed Henry Joy
It was for Ireland's cause we fought
For home and sire, we bled
'Though our numbers were few, our hearts were true
And five to one lay dead
And many a lassie mourned her lad
And mother mourned her boy
For youth was strong in the daring throng
That followed Henry Joy
In Belfast town, they built a tree
And the redcoats mustered there
I saw him come as the beat of a drum
Rolled out in the barrack square
He kissed his sister, went aloft
And waved a last good-bye
My God he died, I turned and I cried
They have murdered Henry Joy
The song "Henry Joy" by Tommy Makem is a tribute to the eponymous Irish patriot who fought for Irish independence against the British. The song follows the singer, an Ulster man from Antrim who has "laboured by the sea," and his memories of following Henry Joy in battle. The singer tells of hearing the "martial tramp of men" and seeing them "fight and die" while following Joy.
In the second verse, the singer prepares for battle himself. He hides his sails and hangs his nets on a tree before kissing his love goodbye and following Henry Joy once again. In the final verse, the singer witnesses the execution of Henry Joy in the barrack square of Belfast. He sees Joy kiss his sister and wave goodbye before being killed, causing the singer to cry out in anguish.
The song "Henry Joy," like many Irish rebel songs, glorifies the struggles for Irish independence and calls for remembrance of those who fought for it. It speaks to a sense of pride in being Irish and the willingness to follow leaders such as Henry Joy into battle for the greater good.
Line by Line Meaning
An Ulster man I am proud to be
I am proud to be from Ulster
From the Antrim glens I come
I come from the glens of Antrim
And though I've laboured by the sea
Despite working by the sea
I have followed fife and drum
I have followed the sound of military music
I have heard the martial tramp of men
I have heard the marching of soldiers
I've seen them fight and die
I have witnessed soldiers fighting and dying
Ah! Lads it's well I remember when
I remember it well
I followed Henry Joy
I followed Henry Joy, a revolutionary and military leader
I dragged my boat in from the shore
I brought my boat to shore
And I hid my sails away
I concealed my sails
I hung my nets upon a tree
I hung my nets on a tree to dry
And I scanned the moonlit bay
I looked across the bay in the moonlight
The boys were out, the red coats too
Both my comrades and the enemy soldiers were also present
I kissed my love good-bye
I said goodbye to my lover
And in the shade of the greenwood glade
I followed Henry Joy into the forest's shade
It was for Ireland's cause we fought
We fought for Ireland's cause
For home and sire, we bled
We fought and bled for our homes and families
'Though our numbers were few, our hearts were true
We may have been few in number but our hearts were loyal
And five to one lay dead
Many of us died in battle
And many a lassie mourned her lad
Many young women mourned their lost lovers
And mother mourned her boy
Many mothers mourned their lost sons
For youth was strong in the daring throng
The young soldiers were brave and courageous
That followed Henry Joy
Those of us who followed Henry Joy
In Belfast town, they built a tree
A tree was built in Belfast town
And the redcoats mustered there
The enemy soldiers gathered there
I saw him come as the beat of a drum
I saw Henry Joy arrive accompanied by the sound of the drum
Rolled out in the barrack square
The sound of the drum filled the barrack square
He kissed his sister, went aloft
Henry Joy said goodbye to his sister and climbed the hanging scaffold
And waved a last good-bye
He waved a goodbye one last time
My God he died, I turned and I cried
I was devastated when Henry Joy was executed and I cried
They have murdered Henry Joy
Henry Joy was murdered, being a revolutionary and military leader who fought for Ireland's cause.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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