In March 2006, fifty years after the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem recorded their debut album, The Rising of the Moon in March 1956, the first full-length biography on the Clancy Brothers was written and published by Conor Murray. The book, titled The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem & Robbie O'Connell: The Men Behind the Sweaters chronicles the Clancy Brothers from the birth of Paddy Clancy in 1922 to early 2006. Simultaneously a two hour documentary on Liam Clancy was aired on Irish television, The Legend of Liam Clancy, as was a new TV concert special from Tommy Makem and his sons, the five-piece Irish folk song group The Makem & Spain Brothers.
Through 2005 to the present Liam has been joined once again by Kevin Evans of Evans and Doherty, both onstage and in the studio. Paul Grant and Kevin play nightly with Liam who continues to record, write and perform worldwide. His latest CD, "Yes, Those Were the Days," was a top selling record in late 2006. A full length feature film of his life is slated to begin filming this year culminating with a filmed concert in New York City. Liam will be appearing with Paul, Kevin, Danú and Karan Casey at the Tonder Festival in Denmark in August 2007.
In August 2007 Tommy Makem died after an extended fight with cancer, leaving Liam the only surviving member of the original group.
Liam Clancy died from pulmonary fibrosis on 4 December 2009, in Bon Secours Hospital in Cork, Ireland. Bobby Clancy died of the same disease seven years previously and is buried in the new cemetery in Ring, Co. Waterford, where he spent the last number of years of his life, owning a successful recording studio. Clancy was survived by his wife, Kim, and their four children, Eben, Siobhán, Fiona and Donal, as well three previous children Sean, Andrew and Anya. His son Eben was in the process of coming over from the United Kingdom and he had had a chat with his son Donal who was in the middle of a tour of California. The other three sat beside him as he died. Liam had intended to give another interview at the time but succumbed to the disease before this was possible.
The American city of Boston was said to be in shock at the news as his influence there is "inescapable". Radio disc jockeys in New York paid tribute to the man who, according to the New York Daily News, "played a major role in defining how Americans heard Irish popular music over the last half century", with one DJ saying The Clancy Brothers had "broke down a wall that was long overdue". Christy Moore, on a prescheduled appearance on The Late Late Show aired live on the night of Liam's death, said, "I would have been listening to Radio Luxembourg and rock 'n' roll as a young fellow and then I got to hear of the Clancy brothers, when I was 16 I came to Dublin to hear them in a concert. It was about 1962, I think it was the Olympia, it was the most exciting concert I had ever attended. It was Irish, it was rock 'n' roll, it was funky and it was even sexy".
Clancy's lunchtime funeral at St Mary's Church in Dungarvan on 7 December was attended by hundreds of mourners, including both the Aides de Camp of the Taoiseach and President of Ireland, Minister Cullen and various musicians and artists. He was later buried in Ring.
Morning Glory
Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I like a little drink
To raise up me voice and sing
And an hour or two with a fine,
Brown brew and I'm ready for anything
At the Cross Keys Inn
There were sisters four,
The landlord's daughters fair
They'd turn out the light
I would tiptoe up the stair...singin'
[Chorus:]
One for the morning glory,
Two for the early dew
Three for the man who will stand his round
And four for the love of you, me girl,
Four for the love of you
I got the call from a foreign shore
To go and fight the foe
And I thought no more
Of the sisters four,
But still I was sad to go
I sailed away on a ship,
The Morning Glory was her name
And we'd all fall down
When the rum went 'round,
Then get up and start again
[Chorus]
I bore once more for
My native shore,
Farewell to the raging seas
And the Cross Keys Inn,
It was beckonin',
And me heart was filled with glee
For there on the shore
Were the sisters four
With a bundle upon each knee
There were three little girls
And a bouncing boy,
And they all looked just like me...
[Chorus]
The song "Morning Glory" by Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy is an ode to the joy that comes from a night of drinking and singing with friends. The song is divided into three stanzas, each of which describes a different stage in the life of the singer. In the first stanza, the singer talks about his love of singing and drinking, and how it prepares him for anything that might come his way. He sings about his favorite pub, the Cross Keys Inn, and the landlord's daughters who would turn out the lights every night. He would tiptoe up the stairs and sing to them.
In the second stanza, the singer receives a call to go to war on a foreign shore. He is sad to leave the pub and the sisters four, but he sets sail, and the ship he is on is named "Morning Glory." He and his fellow soldiers drink rum and fall down, but they get up again and keep going. The final stanza sees the singer return home to his native shore. He is excited to be back at the Cross Keys Inn, and to see the sisters four. He is surprised to find that they have all had children, including a bouncing boy who looks just like him. The song expresses the simple joys of life: singing, drinking, and family.
Line by Line Meaning
At the end of the day,
After a long day, when everything's done,
I like a little drink
Drinking some alcohol makes me happy,
To raise up me voice and sing
It helps me sing better,
And an hour or two with a fine,
Drinking for an hour or two with good company,
Brown brew and I'm ready for anything
Gives me all the energy I need,
At the Cross Keys Inn
At the Inn named Cross Keys,
There were sisters four,
Four sisters, all present,
The landlord's daughters fair
The lovely daughters of the landlord,
And every night when
Every single night when
They'd turn out the light
They switch off the light,
I would tiptoe up the stair...singin'
I'll sneak upstairs and sing,
One for the morning glory,
One drink for morning glory,
Two for the early dew
Two drinks for the early dew,
Three for the man who will stand his round
Three drinks for the man who buys the next round,
And four for the love of you, me girl,
Four drinks for the one I love,
Four for the love of you
Four drinks for the one I adore,
I got the call from a foreign shore
I received a call from a distant land,
To go and fight the foe
To battle against the enemy,
And I thought no more
I didn't think about anything else
Of the sisters four,
I didn't think of the four sisters,
But still I was sad to go
But, nonetheless, I was sad to leave,
I sailed away on a ship,
I left on a ship,
The Morning Glory was her name
That ship's name was Morning Glory,
And we'd all fall down
And then we'd all fall down,
When the rum went 'round,
When the rum was passed around,
Then get up and start again
Then we got up and started again,
I bore once more for
Once more, I yearned for
My native shore,
My homeland,
Farewell to the raging seas
Said goodbye to the rough seas,
And the Cross Keys Inn,
And to the Inn named Cross Keys,
It was beckonin',
It was calling,
And me heart was filled with glee
Filling my heart with joy,
For there on the shore
On the shore over there
Were the sisters four
Stood the four sisters,
With a bundle upon each knee
Holding bundles on their lap,
There were three little girls
They had three young daughters,
And a bouncing boy,
And a lively little boy,
And they all looked just like me...
And they all looked like me...
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ROGER WATERS, DAVID JON GILMOUR, NICK MASON, RICK WRIGHT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dalton9493
God Dammit I keep coming back to this song every time I'm wasted. best song ever
@codyconnor123
This song is forever a part of my drinking playlist. Love it ❤☘
@dalton9493
who doesn't like this song? best song to wake up to in the morning
@HighballHenry
Heard it on the radio and instantly knew I had to find the recording so I could listen to it over and over!!
@arielafina
Man I keep looking for the sped up version of this ever since I heard it at the renissance festival. Not many singers sing this apparently. I'll just put this to 1.25x to dance to it lol. Great song!
@GoldenOldies60and70s
Always loved this ballad!!!
@BarbaricGoose
One o' my favorites. Thanks for the upload.
@yuvide
Listening to this after reading the first part of John Barnes' book that I'm deeply enjoying. "Then he wept, passionately and deeply, the way that men weep because they are men."
@Alverrow
good song
@ann-mariegreensmith2218
This song has been going round in my head all morning, unbidden and without apparent triggers. I have know idea where I know it from, but I knew the tune well, plus all the chorus lyrics. Having just heard the verses properly for the first time, it's in fact a very cheeky little number!! I love cheeky folk like this.
For a more-recent(?) little gem of a similar nature, try 'An Irishman in ChinaTown', by the delightful Luca Bloom (Barry Moore's youngest brother and a quiet star in his own right on the acoustic folk scene)