Come Fill Up Your Glasses and Drink the Health of the Irish Rovers

Back in 2001, I saw the Irish Rovers in concert for the third and, thus far, final time, though I've come close to catching them again in the intervening years. They seem to be especially fond of the Erie area - and I am especially fond of them. That concert had a different flavor than the first two I attended, partly because it was in a smaller venue and partly because the line-up had changed. Will Millar, who acted as frontman at the previous concerts, was no longer with the group, and vocalist Jim Ferguson had died. Nonetheless, it was a most enjoyable concert, capped off with a meet and greet afterwards, where we bought their latest albums and had them signed by the whole band.

One of the albums we bought on that occasion was Come Fill Up Your Glasses, which has the feel of a transitional album. Will is nowhere to be found in this collection; Jim is present, but the album is dedicated to his memory, as he died shortly after the recording was completed. The most prominent member, or at least the one who most captures my attention, is John Reynolds, who in 1998, at the time this was released, was a fairly recent addition to the group.

The album consists of 14 tracks, many of which are traditional, with most featuring arrangements, if not words or music, by George Millar, brother to Will and cousin to Joe. Among the more familiar songs are Green Grows the Laurel and Little Brigid Flynn, both of which feature guys in love with unattainable women. The first has lost his love to a better man, while the second can't get the object of his affections to acknowledge his existence. Another two tracks have medleys of lively jigs and reels that give accomplished accordionist Wilcil McDowell the opportunity to shine.

Marriage is a popular subject with the Rovers and comes up in two of George's originals, Kitty the Rose of Kilrea and Will You Come and Marry Me. Both involve a poor young man marrying a beautiful woman. In the first, the speaker is a rambling rover willing to settle down for only one woman. In the second, a young woman refuses a series of earnest proposals, but in an ironic twist, she ultimately chooses a man who apparently isn't too thrilled with the honor. Bonnie Labouring Boy, meanwhile, is Joe's tender salute to all hard-working paupers who deserve to marry the women they love but don't necessarily get the opportunity.

George Millar's Ballintoy Farmer is a rather amusing and lengthy narrative ballad about a young man's all-time worst employment experience. While this is a fun song, I prefer the defiant The Shores of Botany Bay, in which a disgruntled worker tells off his boss and announces that he's headed for Australia; though most of his peers only get there as prisoners, this rough-and-tumble fellow sees freedom and opportunity in that far-off land. I like this one partly because Botany Bay always makes me think of The Wrath of Khan, and listening to it again recently, it reminds me of Yesterday's Men, a more modern but equally bitter song sung by George Donaldson of Celtic Thunder. It's one of the most rousing tunes on the album, and John and George harmonize wonderfully.

All of It and A Little Bit More are similar songs about getting as much as one can of something, whether that's alcohol or life. The first is a bit bawdy, while the second takes on a wistful tone because it's the one track on which Jim has lead vocals, and it follows a man through a life of asking for just a little bit more, including a prophetic plea for more time after a grim diagnosis from a doctor. The title track, Come Fill Up Your Glasses, is a lengthy, heartening toast wishing great things for a list of specific others and peace for all.

John has lead vocals on my two favorite tracks on this album. He wrote The Tinker, a gentle tune about a gypsy who wanders from place to place gratefully accepting the hospitality of those who take him in for the night. There's such warmth in his husky voice that listening to him sing "thank you for sharing the warmth of your fire" is like cozying up to the fireplace yourself.

Finally, Lincoln's Army, written by Johnny McEvoy, is one of the most stirring ballads I've ever heard. It's beautifully written, anchored by an AABCCB structure that charmed me so much I had to try my hand at it myself. With five stanzas of 92 syllables each, you can pack an awful lot of story into this beautiful mandolin-laced tune with the yearning flute strains that ripple through it like a plea for peace. Like many Rovers songs, it's about emigration, but it addresses a very specific experience, that of a young Irishman who leaves his family for the land of opportunity and, finding welcome only with the army, signs up to fight in the Civil War. It's a piece of history recounted in rich detail with McEvoy's accomplished lyrics, which carry a tone of perplexity for the cruelty of war, ending on this softly optimistic note: "And so, Mr. Lincoln, I find myself thinking / In spite of what's happened, I know what we'll do: / Pray God if he's willing there'll be no more killing / And we'll raise up the Stars, the Red. White and the Blue." It's one of the humblest pacifist songs I've encountered, and John's resonant voice is a perfect fit for it.

I'd recommend the album on the strength of Lincoln's Army alone, but Come Fill Up Your Glasses is packed with excellent material from beginning to end, so much so that although I considered Will my favorite member up until his split with the group, I can honestly say the album doesn't feel empty without him. Longtime fans who remember the Rovers from their heyday will be glad to see how they've weathered changes, remaining just as cohesive and entertaining as ever.