audio samples
Banish Misfortune
Double Jig
Traditional, arr. Shelow
1978 Guild D212, DADGad tuning
O’Neill printed this tune under the title “Banish Misfortune” and two other titles. It is associated with the poem “Máire Ni Éidhin” by Raftery, the blind poet of Connacht, which he wrote in honor of one considered the loveliest girl in Ireland, and which is still sung to this tune. Played with the capo at the fifth fret, the tune gains a lightness, as if played on a harp. I am joined on djembe by Tom Irvine of Buffalo, New York.
Blarney Pilgrim
Double Jig
Traditional, arr. Shelow
2002 Guild D55, open G tuning (DGDGbd)
There are several places in Ireland all claiming to have the original Blarney Stone. The town of Blarney, County Cork, is the location of Blarney Castle, which as legend has it, was to have been the seat of the McCarthy’s, the great kings of Munster. A pilgrimage to kiss the blarney stone, which is embedded in the wall of a castle and can only be reached by being dangled out of a window, is believed to bestow the gift of eloquence. An old tune, and a session favorite; arranged for solo guitar, however, the beauty of the melody, with it's many twists and turns, makes a deeper impression with a more thoughtful interpretation.
King of the Pipers
Double Jig
Traditional, arr. Shelow
1978 Guild D212, DADGad tuning
There are a number of versions of this popular jig. O’Neill thought it “quite probable” that the melody had originally been a clan march. It is a common tune in County Donegal. Taken at a relatively brisk march tempo, this tune takes on a regal, monumental quality. Tom Irvine on djembe.
Ships are Sailing
Reel
Traditional, arr. Shelow
2002 Guild D55, DADGad tuning
Another session favorite, in Ireland and in the US. I prefer a very slow interpretation, allowing the melody to find fuller expression. As such, it takes on a very moving quality, perhaps bespeaking the longing of separation in the immigrant experience, a theme borne out in countless ballads.
Dan O’Keefe’s
Slide
1920's Vega Style N Tenor Banjo
From the Sliabh Luachra region of the Cork-Kerry border, the tune was first recorded by Seamus Ennis in 1952, based on the playing of Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford. Here is a good example of another tune, when taken slowly, that acquires a very wistful, perhaps mysterious air. Open-back banjo lends a particularly American tone, conjuring images from the Appalachians.
SCOTTISH
The Braes of Balquhidder
Tannahill, arr. Shelow
2002 Guild D-55, open G tuning (DGDGbd)
My interpretation of a song written by Robert Tannahill (1774-1810), on which the ever-popular “Wild Mountain Thyme” is based. The song sings the glories of the braes (hills) around the historic village of Balquhidder in central Scotland.
The Cattlefold of Kintail
Traditional, arr. Shelow
1978 Guild D-212, DADGad tuning
An old song of unknown origin, presumably written by a soldier pining for his homeland. Kintail is a mountainous area in northwest Scotland where cattle has been a chief source of sustenance from time immemorial.
I ho ro ’s na hug oro eile
Traditional, arr. Shelow
Guild D-55, open G tuning (DGDGbd)
A haunting traditional love song, the title is best translated as, “I shall always be your true love.”
AMERICANA
Green Valley Rag
Fahey, arr. Shelow
1993 Guild JF4
A John Fahey tune, “How Green Was My Valley,” played on slide in open G (DGDGbd). I have arranged it to have a B part and removed some of the modality, making it a bit more light-hearted.
Poor Boy Blues
Hicks, arr. Shelow
1993 Guild JF4, drop D tuning
An American classic and one of my most requested tunes. This is one of many arrangements of Robert “Barbecue Bob” Hicks’ “Poor Boy,” also related to the family of tunes known as the “Railroad Blues.” Listen for that lonesome train whistle in the distance. It has always conjured for me Romare Bearden’s depiction of the train in the lives of African-Americans of the 1930s.
Blind Arthur’s Medley
Blake, arr. Shelow
1993 Guild JF4, open G (DGDGbd)
A fun medley of tunes from the repertoire of ragtime-blues guitar genius Blind (Arthur) Blake.
photo by John Kitchen