Monday, April 20, 2009

Sing Me That Story

Last October I had the pleasure of attending a storytelling in remote West Cork. The hostess, an accomplished storyteller, has an outbuilding on her property dedicated to these magical gatherings. As I entered the big sturdy shed, I easily imagined being in Ireland centuries ago. No electricity lit the room. Candlelight set the mood. A semicircle of chairs quickly filled with guests not only from the local area, but from France, Germany, and Australia. The rules were simple: whoever held the chunk of amethyst ore the hostess passed around had the floor. He or she could tell a story, sing a song, play a tune, or pass the stone and simply listen. The mystical atmosphere captivated everyone, and all participated.

This Boston native held her own. With that purple rock securely in my hands, I sang about a young man from County Clare who wooed and won the girl he loved. The song was a story, as were all the tunes performed that night, and I realized how much those old songs have inspired my own writing. Many ideas from the Irish lyrics I learned growing up have found their way into A Band of Roses.

Isn’t every song a story? Especially in the Celtic countries. Words spring from the Celtic soul like sparks from a roaring peat fire. Whoever first put those words to the tunes drawn from the bottomless well of traditional music spawned a wealth of musical tales that spans generations. Romance, rebellion, ghosts and magic, drinking, death and emigration are only the beginning.

The old troubadours who carried news far and wide used rhymes in their story/songs to help keep their facts straight. Little good that did. In the late nineteenth century, Harvard Professor Francis James Child toured the British Isles and collected 305 distinct ballads, each with so many variations, his collection filled ten volumes. Modern fiction has nothing on the Child Ballads. We find Scottish lords disguised as beggars, and abandoned ladies going to sea dressed as cabin boys. Stalwart patriots, lovesick soldiers, outlaws and enchanted animals abound in these sometimes gruesome but always entertaining narrative songs.

Periodically, new generations “discover” old folk songs. Modern folk singers like Jean Redpath and Andy M. Stewart have recorded many Child Ballads as well as the romantic and political poem/songs of Robert Burns. These talented Scottish singers are among many who round out the Irish "trad" repertoire of performers like the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Planxty, Dervish, and Altan, to name a very few. Do you have a favorite?

Any writer experiencing “writer’s block” would surely find a cure in the venerable musical tales so lovingly presented by these artists. Of course, you don’t have to be a writer to enjoy them. Whether you read them, hear them, or perform them, they’re sure to fire your imagination.

17 comments:

  1. I once told a friend I had to be a writer; making up stories (lying) is socially unacceptable. LOL It is part and parcel of lineage, however, as is music. I can't imagine life without either.

    So, now that you have me humming "In Dublin's fair city, where girls are so pretty..." I have writing to do!

    Great post--and true.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Music is such an inspiration to me when writing. It provokes thoughts and feelings, and I do believe it could be of great help to anyone suffering from writer's block. And I also believe that Celtic music is hauntingly beautiful and romantic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like an amazing night!

    I am hugely inspired by music as well. Most of my favorites amongst my own writing have started in a song.

    Now you've given me a whole new world of music to explore and I'm looking forward to it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Alive Alive-O, Gwynlyn! Thank you for visiting today.

    Betty Ann, I agree about music's ability to inspire. I've envisioned entire scenes without even trying from listening to certain pieces. Thank you for commenting.

    Hi Shirin! We'll keep those songs coming, yes? Enjoy your musical exploration, and thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good post, Pat. I grew up on Peter, Paul, and Mary. So while I like rock, country songs have the appeal of a story line. Rock songs tend to focus on how emotion, while country focuses on what happened. Music is very inspirational and motivational for me in influencing my thoughts and emotions.
    Juleie

    ReplyDelete
  6. Speaking of Celtic songs telling a story, nothing is more heart wrenching to me than that song, "you take the high road and I'll take the low road.' Cant' think of the title right now. Julie

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey Julie. Thanks for dropping in! Many country songs are descendants of the Scottish and Irish music that came over with the immigrants. I was floored to hear Ricky Scaggs singing a country version of an Irish song I'd heard as a kid about an old woman rocking alone in an old rocking chair! BTW, the High Road/Low Road song escaping you is Loch Lomond. Thanks again for visiting!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's right! Thanks.
    Also, a lot of blue grass songs have a slight Celtic sound, At least to me.
    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hmm...how 'bout my old favorite about love and stone death, Anneke Gordon? It's enough to make a woman live alone forever with no man to comfort her...and 75 cats.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Pat, As a fellow Celt (Irish and Welsh) the ballad holds a special place in my heart too. My whole family is musical or was in one way or another and my late hubby though adopted as an infant supposedly shared a version of your sirname as his birth name. Catch the Shamrock and Thistle program on PBS radio for some great old and new Celtic music!
    Slainte,
    Gwynn Morgan

    ReplyDelete
  11. I remember that one, Bevin. Poor Jeannie died of a broken heart. I often wonder why sad songs appeal to us so much. Thanks for your comment!

    Gwynn, so nice of you to stop by. I know the Shamrock & Thistle well. I also listen to Celtic Sojourn on PBS, and Ireland's RTE has a great trad program called Grace Notes that you can listen to online. Slainte to you, too!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I really enjoy this blog, Pat, and I do enjoy Celtic music too, and the tales they often speak of. I'd write more, but I need to go and fetch a piece of Amethyst so I can hear those golden pipes of yours! :)

    -Dave

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Dave! Great to see you here. Glad you enjoy the blog. I seem to recall you're in granite, not amethyst, though . . . :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Pat, I trully enjoyed this post, felt as if I was there with you. I got the chills at the mention of the amethyst. It's my mom's favorite. She wears it all the time for luck. Maybe a chunk on my desk would bring inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Dawn! A visit from you is always a welcome treat. I'm not sure what the significance of the amethyst is for storytelling, but I don't doubt that it had some effect on the gathering, even if only psychological. Interesting that your mother feels a bond with this stone. Hopefully it will bring her good luck for many years to come. A chunk of it on your desk might not affect your already fine writing, but it would look lovely and remind you of your mother. And of storytelling :-) Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I surfed over to find you after you posted on my blog, and viola! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your site!! Keep posting about Ireland! I dearly long to travel there one day :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Kim! I'm so glad you surfed on over. Thanks so much! I plan to keep Ireland in my posts for some time :-)

    ReplyDelete