Today’s post for National Poetry Month got me
thinking about the Behan boys again.
I mentioned before that Dominic
has written songs, including the widely-known “Patriot Game”. But thinking
about that college paper I wrote on Brendan (and Dylan Thomas) reminded me of his
play, The Quare Fellow, set in Dublin’s
Montjoy Prison. It’s not a completely uplifting work, but Behan certainly knew
prisons, having served time in a British borstal for his IRA activities.
The thing I really recall from the play is the song “The
Auld Triangle”, which Dominic wrote; I’m sure that the first version I heard of
it was by the Clancy Brothers.
It had been a long time since I’d heard it by the
time I got to Dublin, but when I found myself walking beside the Royal Canal, I
went ahead and sang what I remembered of it anyhow. It’s not meant for a solo soprano voice, but what the hell; it seemed like a good idea at the
time.
Here’s a version that’s spot on. I love the
harmonies hit on the words, “Royal Canal”.
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