Hello there
My name is Micheál Ó'Conaill from Ballinahaunigh
Some of you might know me
But I imagine a lot of you never heard of me
but you may have heard of my songs
Because I have written for some of the biggest pop stars in the world
Years and years of writing for these folks
and I thought now within this period of isolation that I could share
some of them songs which you hear, my original versions
So the first one I wanted to kick off with
is a song that I wrote
When I was in a very dark place, I thought I was going to lose the farm
Look, it wasn't profitable for the third harvest in a row and I didn't know what to do.
So I wrote this song
I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to save me
This crop rotations really got a way of driving me crazy.
I need somebody to
Harvest
Somebody to sow
somebody to plow
Somebody to hoe.
It's easy to say
but it's never the same
Please God keep these EU
subsidies from going away
And the day creeps into nightfall
I lie awake waiting for the cockrill to call
So I hope you enjoyed that one
I sold it to a fella there a few years ago
Leonard Capaldi,
and apparently according to my son he's done very well out of it
Which I'm I'm happy to say, I like that one.
Wrote this one in the summer of 82
This next song. We were working hard in the fields.
Tilling the soil
And I had a friend Massey who needed a bit of a Gee-Up so used to say to him
Rake that thing
Mossey Mossey rake that thing
We'll get the harvest done at the break of dawn
Fill the kettle Seán, turn it on
We'll have a cuppa tea when the work is done
Fill the kettle, turn it on
And it used to work
I don't know who I sold it to in the end
But they managed to make more out of it more of a song, if you like.
I only had a few lines.
Oh this other one I wanted to share with you
What's it? Now, yes it was late September 1994 it was
We had the mother of all harvests
and I couldn't handle it all by myself
So I had to bring in some help
but I tell you the lads we brought into the farm
were next to useless
So I wrote this song
slow slow
hands
No, sweat dripping off they're barely working.
No, no chance.
I'm leaving here with half a harvest.
I, I know yeah, I already know there ain't no hurry and
birthing lambs and those
slow hands
you know, I gave that song to a friend of mine.
Bobby Horan
Who gave it to his son
who apparently again did very well out of it
And fair play to him I gave him 40 quid for his is confirmation there
He was a nice lad
but I didn't see a penny of that - come back my way in Ballinahaunigh now
But sure listen
we'll leave off
Well it wasn't the first time that Bobby Horan asked me for a tune
his young lad was doing some show
A factor of something, factor 50, I think it was called
He was singing on it with a bunch of other lads.
They asked me for a song so I gave them one
this is one that I wrote
A serious issue that was happening at the time 15 years ago.
We had three break-ins on the farm
The lads they cut the gate
They broke in and they stole 45 Jersey cows from me
and they kept coming back the bastards
So I wrote this song
Everybody wanna steal my cattle
Everybody wanna rustle my herd away
couple billion in the whole of Ireland
Find another cow
Because she belongs to me
Bastards
This next one. I wasn't sure now eh...
What I was doing on the farm at the time
I was a dairy farmer and I wasn't sure whether I'd go into crops as well
but I was lying on me back on the fallow fields
And I thought feck it i will.
I want to make
bales of hay
Tell me why
Ain't nothing for the cows to eat
Tell me why
Doing nothing for the price of meat
Tell me why...
Wrapped in nothing but a black plastic sheet
I'm making bales of hay
I'm going to finish with one now
It makes me a little emotional singing this one now
1974 and we were in the dance hall and
And didn't I look across, we were doing the Walls of Limerick
And there was this girl and I'll never forget her
I'll never forget her.
They say oh my God I like the way you shine
Take your hand my dear and place it in mine
You know you shtopped me dead while I was passing by
And now I beg to see you céilí one more time.
They say
Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me oh oh oh
I've never seen anybody do those things you do before
Go on out of that.
They say, jig for me jig for me jig for me oh oh oh
And when you're done I'll make you do it all again
Change your partners. Anyway...
Sure it was a bit of craic.
Go on there Michael.
I haven't seen her since
But I tell ya if she remembers me tell her I still have a glint in my eye and a place in my heart for her.
Listen I hope you enjoyed my stream here
And I'll catch you again on the flip side as they say.
Good man. Good man. Take care. All right.
Right
Am I off?
Doomdah!