I never talk about cultural or artistic much these days, probably because I have been dwelling on politics and corruption. I have a great affection for Irish music, I used to play it in bars in Cork, but have since gotten very rusty. One of the people I used to play in sessions with was the legendary (in Cork at least) Jimmy Crowley. His most recent album was Uncorked.
One of my favourite songs will be known to some, but may be obscure the others. ‘Johnny Jump Up’ is a song about the name given to a drink that is alleged to have been sold in Cork during the Emergency (or so the story goes). Cider was put into wooden whiskey barrels, leading to a potent mixture. Jimmy’s version is one of the most famous, though he did not write it. A sample set of lyrics are here.
Have a listen (Windows Audio, couldn’t be arsed converting), I hope you like it.
Says I, I’ll try cider, I’ve heard it was good.
Oh never, Oh never, Oh never again
If I live to be a hundred or a hundred and ten
I fell to the ground and I couldn’t get up
After drinking a jar of the Johnny Jump Up
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One response to “Some music”
I remember him and Stokers Lodge. I was quite young at the time and I couldn’t believe that someone would dare to sing in a Cork accent. I never saw him in a pub but I saw them in a fete in Musgrave Park, Cork in 1979. That was around the time of “Do you want your old lobby washed down.” I think he had a bit of a dispute with Brendan Shine who had a more successful version than Stoker’s Lodge.
It was a great show and I even taped it but it’s probably long lost now. Last time I saw him live was in an outdoor gig in the NIHE (now University of Limerick) in 1985 – I was a student in Thomond College at the time. And I think he had a song for the Tall Ships race in 1991.
My favorite was a song warning about drink driving – can’t remember what it was but it had the lines:
“I don’t want to sound corny
I just want to warn ye”
Must check him out again.