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.
Red Is the Rose
Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come over the hills to your darling
You choose the road love and I'll make a vow
That I'll be your true love forever
[Chorus]
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
Fair is the lily of the valley
But my love is fairer than any
It's down in Killarney's green woods that we strayed
When the moon and the stars, they were shining
For the moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair
And she said she'd be my love forever
[Chorus]
It's not for the parting with my sister Kate
It's not for the grief of my mother
It's all for the loss of my bonny Irish lass
That my heart is breaking forever
Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy's song "Red Is The Rose" is a romantic and sentimental song that expresses a deep love and longing for an Irish girl. The song starts with an invitation to the girl to come over the hills to meet her lover. He promises to be her true love forever if she chooses to do so. The chorus of the song compares the beauty of nature around them to the beauty of the girl. Red is the rose that grows in the garden, fair is the lily of the valley, clear is the water that flows from the Boyne, but the girl is fairer than any of these. The lyrics celebrate the beauty of Ireland's nature and culture, but make it clear that it is the girl who truly captures the heart of the singer.
The second verse of the song recalls a romantic walk they took together in Killarney's green woods, under the shining moon and stars. The girl's golden hair shone in the moonlight, and she promised to be his love forever. The song paints a picture of a beautiful, romantic and nostalgic moment, although we don't know why they are separated or if they have the chance to reunite again.
In the last verse, the singer reveals that he is heartbroken, but his sadness is not because of the loss of a family member, but of the girl he loved. The song clearly conveys the deep affection and longing that he feels for her, and how much he is suffering from her absence.
Line by Line Meaning
Come over the hills my bonny Irish lass
I urge you to traverse these hills and come to me, my sweet Irish lady
Come over the hills to your darling
Journey towards your beloved; I am eagerly waiting for you to arrive
You choose the road love and I'll make a vow
You can choose any path you wish, my love; I promise to always be true to you
That I'll be your true love forever
I pledge to love you faithfully for eternity
[Chorus] Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
The rose in that distant garden is crimson in hue
Fair is the lily of the valley
The delicate flower known as the lily of the valley is beautiful
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne
The river Boyne possesses crystal clear water
But my love is fairer than any
However, you, my beloved, surpass all of these other beauties in grace and charm
It's down in Killarney's green woods that we strayed
We once promenaded through the lush forests of Killarney
When the moon and the stars, they were shining
It was during a night when the skies were illuminated by celestial bodies
For the moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair
The moon's light illuminated the soft golden locks of her hair
And she said she'd be my love forever
My darling promised to love me eternally
[Chorus] Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
The rose in that distant garden is crimson in hue
It's not for the parting with my sister Kate
The reason for my sorrow is not due to parting from my sister Kate
It's not for the grief of my mother
Nor is it because of the pain caused by my mother's suffering
It's all for the loss of my bonny Irish lass
The devastation in my heart is solely due to losing my lovely Irish lady
That my heart is breaking forever
My heart is shattered and will never fully heal
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@j.s.connolly8579
WOW! YOU Sound like You are from Milwaukee or something? I've not only seen them MANY MANY Times at our Milwaukee Irish Fest, but My parents and I got to meet them at Irish Fest of 1983. I had JUST Graduated High School that year and Things were SO GOOD back then!
Over the years I got to be friends with them and was ALWAYS Greeted with a Hug and Kiss and Smiles!
The Year my Mom passed away... The Clancy Brothers and Tommy came to Irish Fest. My dad didn't want to go because he was in SO MUCH PAIN!
But I said, "Dad... Mom would want us to go and have fun and remember her. SO this weekend is on ME! ALL OF IT! Food, Drinks EVERYTHING!"
We also called my brother Kevin up and asked him to join us and to OUR Surprise he did!
My brother is kind of "Stiff" when it comes to family stuff!
Well when I said that he broke down and cried... but agreed. So we went. And as Always I had my Bodhran in hand and My Dad had a few of his FAV Harmonicas with him! My second oldest sister had died in August of 1985. So it was doubly painful that year!
On the Saturday Night of Irish Fest, We ran into Liam and Tommy and they as I said greeted us with Hugs and Kisses and smiles. But then asked were mom was and we told them what happened with both her AND my sister, and both got very choked up! So They said, "Well then Lads... PLEASE Come and Join us and my brothers at the Park East Hotel tonight and we will Raise our Glasses and Voices to the their memory!"
Well we couldn't refuse THAT Invitation! So we went... And JUST LIKE On an Album cover... THERE THEY WERE! In a Snug in the corner of the "Piano Bar Floor" and when Liam saw us he Invited us over and Introduced us to Pat and Big Tom Clancy! And in no time at all... it was like being with family!
We were Singing and Playing and drinking and laughing and crying and doing it over and over again! It was an AMAZING NIGHT!
We Sang and Drank and Played until about... 2 or 3 in the morning. When the glasses were almost empty and everyone was tired... I had my glass still half full of Guinness and I stood up on a chair and said a toast to my Mom and my two sisters who were gone. Then I started to sing "Will Ye Go Lassie Go" and then Finished with "The Parting Glass"! It was the PERFECT ENDING to a PERFECT NIGHT!
So we said our good byes and looked forward to seeing them the next day at their shows and for the "Scattering"!
Well... seeing as I drank MUCH Less then my Dad or brother did, I drove us home, and the entire way home they BOTH couldn't stop thanking me for the "good idea of going".
That was a BEYOND INCREDIBLE Night as I had grown up with The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem and My Dad and I would play their albums Not JUST On St. Patrick's Day but other times too. And until My Dad discovered The Chieftains and other Great Traditional Celtic Music THAT WAS "IRISH MUSIC" in our house! It was ONLY JUST Before "Irish Fest" started in 1981 that we had our "Irish Music" culture expanded and thankfully it has continued since!
But THESE LADS... Will NEVER EVER BE FORGOTTEN!!!
EVER!!!
UP THE REPUBLIC!!!
Slante.
Joe Connolly
Jefferson, Wisconsin
@cliffbortmes4573
Love this song, I’m 67 years old and have been listening to the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem since I was about 12 years old.
@theinfinit1529
I'm 14, but have been listening to their music my whole life. It's beautiful.
@MRMK24
We miss you boys, we miss you always, your music flows though every inch of our green land💔🇮🇪
@garryflanagan5809
Respect
@garryflanagan5809
The Green Heart Will Never Be Broken
@cathgee704
@@garryflanagan5809 of
@Fpstup
I miss my home and my late mother 😢
@MRMK24
@@Fpstup you should come back to visit, for old times sake 😌 it'll always be your home, no matter where in the world you go.
@VictoriaBlogger
So beautiful and peaceful ... I really like the way Liam draws out the words in the phrase "Come over the hill, my bonnie Irish lass", rather than chopping off the word "lass" the way the High Kings do. It feels much more tender, more gentle. I love all the rowdy songs, but when Makem and Clancy start singing these sweet love songs, I just get all mushy inside!
@jamesdolan4042
Bob Dylan held Liam Clancy in high regard as a singer of ballads, and as a nine string guitar player, so you are in good company and your views are entirely valid.