Fare Thee Well “King of Ireland”

Ronnie Drew, the legendary Irish folk singer and founder of the Dubliners, passed away last week at the age of 73. If you know any Irish music (or any Irish people for that matter), then you probably have some sense of just how important this man and his music have been to the people of Ireland. But it's not just the fans who knew and loved Ronnie Drew. He was also highly revered by his fellow musicians and many considered him to be the best of the best. U2’s Bono, who's own musical career has been profoundly influenced by Drew, has referred to him as “The King of Ireland” and “the last of the Irish rovers.”  Drew's booming, gravelly voice was once described as the sound of “coal being crushed under a door,” but Bono put it best when he said "You can take the hardest rock band on the earth and they sound like a bunch of girls next to The Dubliners." 

Ronnie Drew had been battling cancer for over a year and in January an all-star cast of Irish musicians, including surviving members of the Dubliners, members of U2, Sinead O’Connor, Oscar winner Glen Hansard, Bob Geldof, Christy Moore, Shane MacGowan, and a handful of others, wrote and recorded “The Ballad of Ronnie Drew.” The song, which paid tribute to Drew’s influence on Irish music and culture, topped the Irish singles charts and proceeds benefited the Irish Cancer Society. There are a few too many sappy lyrics to call it a great piece of art, but the admiration and love for Ronnie Drew come across as clear as day.

An all-star cast performs “The Ballad of Ronnie Drew” on Ireland’s “Late Late Show”:

 

Throughout this last week, I've received multiple video links from Irish friends who want to help me “understand” what was so extraordinary about Ronnie Drew. I will admit that it’s challenging to fully get it if you were born and bred in the US, you didn't grow up with this music pouring out of your parent's record player, and it all sounds slightly reminiscent of the drunken bar band at your local Irish pub. But that said, I do feel like I “get it” in a sense. I get that Ronnie Drew wrote and sang the songs of his people, he inspired an entire generation of Irish musicians to do the same, and his legendary voice can send shivers down the spine of the least-cultured lads and lasses among us.

The Dubliners and the Pogues sing their joint hit "The Irish Rover":

The Dubliners sing "The Auld Triangle" with an all-male choir featuring a fidgety, young Bono in the back row:

 

-- Shelby Earl