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.
Kitty Bawn O'Brien
Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Line by Line Meaning ↴
A I O I A I O I O I O I Wow
YEAH
Niga namgigo gan shigane
Cheoreopteon sarangeun jangnani dwego
Meonghani mashineun geusseun kkeopiga
Ijen ilsangi dwaennabwa OH baby
Naega baradeon geon
Na neoege baradeon gen geujeo jageun yaegi OH
Naega baradeon geon
Geujeo neowaeui gateun shiseon
Na neoege baradeon geon hamkke igil
Julia Julia iyudo moreuneun chae
Mame dama dueotteon neoeui shigan
Eojeeui gieogi beolsseo gaseum shirige
Hanaeui chueogi dwae OH
A I O I A I O I O I O I Wow
YEAH
Niga tteonagan dwi shiganeun
Gireotteon banghwangeui yaegireul sseugo
Yeongweonhal geot gatteon geukkeun apeumi
Seulpeun misoga dwaennabwa OH baby
Naega baraneun geon geujeo neoraneun jaggeun ieok
Na neoege baraneun geon haengbokhagil
Julia Julia iyudo moreuneun chae
Mame dama dueotteon neoeui shigan
Eojeeui gieogi beolsseo gaseum shirige
Hanaeui chueogi dwae OH
Julia Julia neoege mot dahaetteon
Mameul heullyeo bonaedeon naeui shigan
Eojeeui sarangi jinan geuri umeuro
Hanaeui chueogi dwae OH
A I O I A I O I O I O I Wow
A I O I A I O I O I O I Wow
YEAH
A I O I A I O I A A I O Wow
Expressing excitement and enthusiasm
A I O I A I O I O I O I Wow
Further expressing excitement and enthusiasm
YEAH
Agreeing or affirming something
Niga namgigo gan shigane
Time passes quickly when you're with the one you love
Cheoreopteon sarangeun jangnani dwego
The start of love is uncertain
Meonghani mashineun geusseun kkeopiga
Loneliness is like a wound that hurts quietly
Ijen ilsangi dwaennabwa OH baby
Realize now that time has passed
Naega baradeon geon
What I said / What I promised
Geujeo neowaeui jageun hoheum
Is just a small joke for you
Na neoege baradeon gen geujeo jageun yaegi OH
What I said to you was just a little story
Geujeo neowaeui gateun shiseon
But the same thought towards you
Na neoege baradeon geon hamkke igil
I hope to be with you
Julia Julia iyudo moreuneun chae
The sound of my heart that only you can hear
Mame dama dueotteon neoeui shigan
The time when your heart matched mine
Eojeeui gieogi beolsseo gaseum shirige
The memory of that day still touches my heart
Hanaeui chueogi dwae OH
The scent of that day still lingers
Niga tteonagan dwi shiganeun
The time after you left
Gireotteon banghwangeui yaegireul sseugo
I tell myself stories of past memories
Yeongweonhal geot gatteon geukkeun apeumi
The eternal wound of the things that couldn't happen
Seulpeun misoga dwaennabwa OH baby
I feel sad
Naega baraneun geon geujeo neoraneun jaggeun ieok
What I ask of you is just a small favor
Na neoege baraneun geon haengbokhagil
I hope it makes you happy
Julia Julia neoege mot dahaetteon
The time I couldn't give you
Mameul heullyeo bonaedeon naeui shigan
The time when I poured out my heart to you
Eojeeui sarangi jinan geuri umeuro
The love that ended like that
Hanaeui chueogi dwae OH
The scent of that day still lingers
A I O I A I O I O I O I Wow
Expressing excitement and enthusiasm
A I O I A I O I O I O I Wow
Further expressing excitement and enthusiasm
YEAH
Agreeing or affirming something
Contributed by Lillian O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.