1. COME IN (Traditional):
I learned this years ago from Mike Barrett. We used to open our shows with this song when we were in the band "Tullamore Do."
2. DANNY BOY (Traditional):
Say what you will, it's a great song.
3. MOONSHINER/WILD ROVER (Traditional):
Pat Folan & Bruce Foley were nice enough to join me
for these two selections. Guaranteed to be Irish.
4. BRENDAN'S SONG (Mike Gallagher):
I wrote this shortly after my first child was born.
Marlea and I have since been blessed with three more.
5. DEAR BOSS (Excuse Note) (Pat Cooksey):
One of the more requested tunes over the years. A clever one.
6. GYPSY ROVER (Traditional):
Growing up in Pittsburgh, this was a family favorite. At parties,
everybody joined in the chorus. Feel free to do the same.
7. MAID OF THE WEST (Music: Denny Driscoll. Lyrics: Mike Gallagher):
When I first visited County Clare, Denny's haunting tin whistle
composition came to Iife for me. Justin Brown added the harp like sounds
on the DX7~ I hope the lyncs do the melody justice.
8. THE LITTLE BEGGARMAN (Traditional):
Barney McElhone of the Bards did an all-nighter driving from Philly
to New Brighton, Pa. to play fiddle and mandolin on this track. He's
one of the true class acts of lrlsh music.
9. OH LORDIE (Denny Drlscoll):
From Allegheny...Home, this song was a lot of fun with Banjo Bill
Bryant and Matt Barrant adding a neat country riff on the guitar.
10. IN THE BEGINNING (Mike Gallagher):
This song was written for Denny and Beth DrlscolI on their wedding day.
The lyrics try to convey the eternal, divine aspects of human love
when two people seem to be made for each other.
11. WISH THAT I COULD HEAR HIM SINGING (Mike Gallagher):
I wrote this song a month before my father passed away. My dad
had a great singing voice and was truly a gentle man.
12. SHAKIN' THE SNAKE (Back to Philly Town) (Denny Drlscoll):
I think Gary Hohman did a great job with the arrangement Inspired by a
Larry Kirchner poem with the same title, Denny wrote about a trucker's perils
driving the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Some things never change.
13.0H PEGGY GORDON (Traditional):
A beautiful Scottish love song.
14. STAR OF THE COUNTY DOWN (Traditional):
Pat Folan does some great work with his accordion and concertina
on this one.. not at the same time, of course.
15. HOLY FOOL (Mike Gallagher):
This one's about St. Francis of Assisi, God's "futile, poor man."
I dedicate this to all my Franciscan friends.
16. QUEEN OF ARGYLE (Andy M. Stewart):
"All the roses in the garden, they bow and ask her pardon. For not one
could match the beauty of the Queen of 'ol Argyle." I love Andy M's music.
17. LAKES OF PONCHETRAIN (Traditional):
During the famine, many lrlsh immigrants landed in New Orleans and had a rougher go of it than back home. I can imagine this young newcomer finally meeting some hospitality in the eyes of a lovely Creole girl. My sister Mary adds a beautiful harmony.
18. ONLY LOVER LEFT IN TOWN (Denny Drlscoll):
One of the finest songs anywhere in my opinion. Denny let me add two or three words, but it's his composition. This is from the award-winning but unfortunately not rnoney-making album Tomorrow Is A Road, which will soon be released on CD. One track is actually a recording of street sounds outside the studio.
19. DANCIN' ON THE EARTH (Mike Gallagher):
Al Snyder added some weird sounds from his "Albey Road Studio."
Al's always fun to work with.
20. I HAD A DREAM (Dan & Mike Gallagher):
Lenny Woods helps me out with the vocals. This song was written a couple of
years ago right before the peace process started in Ireland. Keep praying.
21. GOIN' HOME (Dan & Mike Gallagher):
My brother Dan and I wrote this, and we closed my first album,
Allegheny.. Home, with all my brothers and sisters - Johnny, Pat, Mary,
Katie, Danny, Molly and Betsy -- joining in.
