Everyone's favorite excuse for wearing green gets its time to shine this weekend: it's almost time for St. Patrick's Day 2024! This playlist is always a blast to revisit each year, with this one of course being no exception. As always, you can find the full Master Playlist by following me @audioaesthetics on Apple Music.
Danny Boy by Celtic Woman (written by F. Weatherly)
Featured on Celtic Woman's 2005 self-titled album, these ladies knock it out of the park vocally on this Irish folk classic. I know I'm probably not alone in thinking the incomparable Moira Rose takes the cake for greatest rendition of this song ever (IYKYK), but really not matter who performs this song it tends to be hauntingly beautiful no matter what. I got to perform an arrangement of Danny Boy myself with my college choir years ago, and it's still one of my favorite pieces we ever did over four years.
Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling/From glen to glen and down the mountain side/The summer's gone and all the roses falling/It's you, it's you must go and I must bide/But come ye back when summer's in the meadow/Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow/It's I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow/Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so
Going Out In Style by Dropkick Murphys (written by A. Barr, T. Brennan, K. Casey, J. DaRosa, M. Kelly, J. Lynch)
Featured on Dropkick Murphys' 2011 album Going Out In Style, it really doesn't feel like St. Patrick's Day in this house without at least one chaotically fun song from this band. Blending traditional Irish sounding instruments with alternative rock really works for these guys, and it's always so fun to listen to this time of year to get pumped up and distract ourselves from the allergies that are settling in. You can easily see this song fitting in on a playlist at a local Irish pub selling green beer to celebrate the occasion.
I've seen a lot of sights and traveled many miles/Shook a thousand hands and seen my share of smiles/I’ve caused some great concern and told one too many lies/And now I see the world through these sad old jaded eyes/So what if I threw a party and all my friends were there/Acquaintances, relatives, the girls who never cared/You'll have a host of rowdy hooligans in a big line out the door/Side by side with Sister Barbara, Chief Wells and Bobby Orr/I’d invite the Flannigans, replace the window you smashed out/I’d apologize the Sluggo for pissing on his couch/I’ll see Mrs. McAuliffe and so many others soon/Then I'll say I'm sorry for what I did sleepwalking in her room/So what if I threw a party and invited Mayor Menino/He'd tell you to get a permit, well this time, Tom, I don't think so/It's a neighborhood reunion, but now we'd get along/Van Morrison would be there and he'd sing me one last song/With a backup band of bass players to keep us up all night/Three handsome four string troubadours and Newton's own Fat Mike/I’ll be in the can having a smoke with Garv and Johnny Fitz/But there's a back up in the bathroom 'cause the Badger's got the shits/You may bury me with an enemy in Mount Calvary/You can stack me on a pyre and soak me down with whiskey/Roast me to a blackened crisp and throw me in a pile/I could really give a shit, I'm going out in style
Nancy Mulligan by Ed Sheeran (written by E. Sheeran, A. Wadge, B. Levin, F. Vance, M. Cummings, J. McDaid)
Featured on Sheeran's 2017 album ÷, I absolutely adore this song and listen to it year round. Telling the story of Sheeran's Irish grandparents William and Nancy, this song is equal parts fun and romantic as you go on this musical journey with them. It's a celebratory song of life, love, and legacy, and fits right in at a lively party.
I was twenty-four years old when I met the woman I would call my own/Twenty-two grand kids now, growing old in that house that your brother bought ya/On the summer day when I proposed, I made that wedding ring from dentist gold/And I asked her father, but her daddy said, "No, you can't marry my daughter"/She and I went on the run, don't care about religion/I’m gonna marry the woman I love down by the Wexford border/She was Nancy Mulligan and I was William Sheeran/She took my name and then we were one down by the Wexford border
Rocky Road To Dublin by Paddy Reilly (written by P. Reilly, A. Campbell)
Featured on Reilly's 1983 album Paddy Reilly Live, this is another fun, folksy number to add to your St. Pat's playlist. I personally really enjoy the drums on this one, feeling like it adds character to the song that could potentially be missing otherwise. It's a fun listen, and should put you in the mindset of imagining yourself traveling to the city of Dublin.
In the month of June, from my home, I started/Left the girls of Tuam nearly broken-hearted/Saluted father dear, kissed my darling mother/Drank a pint of beer, my grief and tears to smother/Then off to reap the corn, and leave where I was born/I cut a stout blackthorn to banish ghost and goblin/In a brand new pair of brogues, I rattled o'er the bogs/And frightened all the dogs on the rocky road to Dublin/One, two, three, four, five, hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road/And all the ways to Dublin, whack-fol-lol-de-ra
The Parting Glass by Peter Hollens ft. The Hound + The Fox (written by Celtic Woman, S. Davey, L. Clancy)
Featured on Hollens's 2018 album Legendary Folk Songs, this traditional tune is shared by Scotland and Ireland both. A beautiful song of farewell to friends, Hollens's lovely vocals blend stunningly with husband and wife duo The Hound + The Fox, creating a hauntingly gorgeous melodic experience. It's easy to get emotional during this one, but the overall message of the lyrics is so hopeful: it's over now, but we'll see you next time.
Of all the money that e'er I had/I spent it in good company/And all the harm that e'er I've done/Alas, it was to none but me/And all I've done for want of wit/To memory now I can't recall/So fill to me the parting glass/Good night and joy be with you all
Arrive on St. Patrick's Day by SIR REG (written by B. Sheehy)
Featured on Sir Reg's 2009 self-titled album, this song gives similar vibes to Going Out In Style. Once again mixing in that Irish sound with alt rock, it's another fun party song for the year's greenest weekend. It's fast paced and energetic, perfect for boosting the party mood.
Shake the dust from your eyes and wake up from your sadness/Lock it up and throw away the key/Leave the long years behind and wake up from your madness/Give it up, we're shipping out today/Now the captain roars when we drop our oars and we're living in a puddle of decay/But now we have no fear for the dock is near and we long for Dublin bay/Cheers to you and the rest of the world/Ah, we're dying to see yiz again/Cheers to you, we're the best of the worst/We'll arrive on St. Patrick's day
I Don't Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats (written by R. Geldof, J. Moylett)
Featured on The Boomtown Rats' 1979 album The Fine Art of Resurfacing, this song by this Irish band is probably best known for being based on a true story. Written about the 1979 Grover Cleveland Elementary School s******g, the eerie lyrics set over the pleasant piano line is both tonally beautiful and deeply unsettling. It's a dark song to be sure, but one written so the tragedy wasn't forgotten.
The silicon chip inside her head gets switched to overload/And nobody's gonna go to school today, she's going to make them stay at home/And Daddy doesn't understand it, he always said she was as good as gold/And he can see no reasons 'cause there are no reasons, what reason do you need to be shown/Tell me why, I don't like Mondays/Tell me why, I don't like Mondays/Tell me why, I don't like Mondays/I want to s***t the whole day down
For those planning on celebrating, I wish you a safe and happy St. Patrick's Day this Sunday. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!
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