Join Me As I Celebrate 10 Years on Epinions With the Irish Rovers

When I realized that I was coming up fast on my tenth anniversary here at Epinions, I pondered how I wanted to recognize it. Almost at once, the words to one of my favorite Irish Rovers songs popped into my head. When I recalled that Years May Come, Years May Go was the title track to one of the Rovers’ albums, I decided that would be a fitting choice. The Irish Rovers claim a secure spot in my top five list of all-time favorite bands. They’re the reason I came to love Irish music from such a young age. I’ve seen them in concert three times and own most of their albums. This one is a compilation album that features Will, George and Joe Millar, Jimmy Ferguson and Wilcil McDowell, though Joe is missing from the cover shot. While my favorite of their albums is Tales to Warm Your Mind, with the latter-day Come Fill Up Your Glasses coming in a close second, this is still a great album that is representative of some of the Irish Rovers’ best work.

The Unicorn - Will, the loquacious tenor, takes the lead on this Shel Silverstein-penned ballad, arguably the most famous Irish Rovers song of all. The intricate finger-picking and wistful harmonica enhance the fairy-tale feel of this song. Will tenderly recounts this fictional account of Noah’s failed attempt to get a pair of unicorns on the ark, while the rest of the guys join in on the chorus, the point at which things tend to get a bit rowdy in concert. “There was green alligators and long-necked geese, / some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees, / some catsandratsandelephants, but sure as you’re born, / the loveliest of all was the unicorn...”

Lily the Pink - A wild and raucous tribute to Lily the Pink, a nickname for Lydia Pinkham, inventor of a concoction meant to relieve women of certain monthly ailments. (One of the original ingredients, appropriately enough, was unicorn root.) I never knew this until my mom discovered some of the stuff at a friend’s house and found out that our friend is actually a relative of this woman who peddled her wares in the late 1800s. There are many different versions of this song out there; the Rovers’ is one of the cleanest, and it makes her “medicinal compound” into a sort of all-purpose wonder drug. Nonetheless, the song is a riot, from the march-like percussion in the background to the specific instrumentation that accentuates the issue at hand in each of the verses. Each member of the group takes a verse or two, altering his voice accordingly, whether that involves stuttering or sounding like an opera singer. One of the busiest and just plain funniest songs in the Rovers catalog. “We’ll drink-a-drink-a-drink / to Lily the Pink-the-Pink-the-Pink / the savior of the human race. / She invented medicinal compounds, / most efficacious in every case.”

Whiskey on a Sunday - Will has the lead on this song again, a ballad about Seth Davy, a poor old man who entertains marvelously with a trio of puppets and pines away for his weekly indulgence. The group takes the chorus and enhances the verses with the occasional peppy “bop bop bop ba,” while the mandolin provides a hint of the song’s rather sad ending. The final verse takes it into Molly Malone territory, with Will asserting that “some stormy night when you're passing that way / And the wind's blowing up from the sea / You'll still hear the song of old Seth Davy / As he croons to his dancing dolls three.”

Fifi O’Toole - Most of the songs on this album are ones that appear on several other Rovers albums, but this particular song seems a bit more obscure. At any rate, when I pulled out this album for the first time in several years, I didn’t even recognize this one. But it’s a charming song that seems to be an appeal to an old pal to get together. Jimmy gets the verses to himself (at least I think it‘s Jimmy; much to my chagrin, I have trouble telling him and Joe apart sometimes, and there‘s nothing in the way of liner notes on this album to help me out). Melodically, they remind me of the Beatles‘ Lady Madonna, but backed primarily by guitars instead of piano. But it’s the repetitive, rather country-western-flavored chorus upon which they all sing, to the accompaniment of pounding percussion, guitar, mandolin and a couple of instruments I can’t quite identify, that really sticks out. “Fifi O’Toole, where are you? / It’s been so long since we met. / I really think that friends like us should get together more often. / Ah, Fifi O’Toole, / How are you? / How are you? / How are you?”

Goodnight Irene - The mandolin is the most prominent accompaniment on this gentle song with words that sometimes sting. The lads switch off for the verses, taking the lullaby-like chorus together. Again, this is a tamer version of a song whose lyrics have sometimes bordered on the controversial. “Irene, goodnight Irene, / Irene, goodnight. / Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene, / I’ll see you in my dreams.”

Sam Hall - This is the other song on the album I’m not too familiar with, though the tune bears a striking resemblance to the hymn What Wondrous Love Is This. There’s certainly nothing hymnlike about the lyrics, however. This guitar-driven, harmonica-heavy song is the tragic Tom Dooley-ish tale of a chimney sweep headed to the gallows for robbery. Johnny Cash recorded a much more vitriolic version in which the man’s crime is murder. Will Millar always sings with a smile in his voice, so even a morose ballad like this has a certain tenderness to it; instead of lashing out against his captors, he gives the speaker a gentle tone of acceptance. The backing vocals that come in on the last verse seem to lend a bit of last-minute support when the moment of execution arrives. “Oh my name it is Sam Hall and I've robbed both great and small / And my neck will pay for all when I die, when I die...”

Life of the Rover - I don’t know this roving song as well as most of the Rovers’ other songs on this topic, but it’s a nice song with a wistful flavor to it. The lads switch off on the verses that bemoan the changing of the times. The melancholy harmonica is prominent once again in this elegy for the wandering life. “The old ways are passing and soon they’ll be gone / For progress is always a factor. / It’s sent to afflict us and when they evict us / They tow us away wi’ a tractor.”

Bonnie Kellswater - The mandolin ripples through this tender ode to the little town of Kellswater and lovely Martha, who lives there. As tributes to hometowns go, I prefer The Isle of Innisfree, which the Rovers also cover, and I’ve lately come to adore The Village That They Call the Moy, written and performed by Ryan Kelly of Celtic Thunder. But this is one of the Rovers’ prettiest songs, and something of a rarity among the slower ballads in that there is no element of tragedy attached. It‘s also the only song on the album that is sung solo throughout, by Joe. “Here’s a health unto ye, bonnie Kellswater, / For it’s there you’ll find the pleasures of life / And it’s there you’ll find the fishin’ and the farmin’ / And a bonnie wee girl for your wife.”

Liverpool Lou - Another love song enhanced by guitar and mandolin, this is an ode to a woman who is not as faithful as Martha. Will has the lead here, with the rest chiming in on the chorus. I would’ve switched these last two tracks to end the album on a less plaintive note, but it’s a good song nonetheless. “Liverpool Lou, lovely Liverpool Lou. / Why don’t you behave, love, as the other girls do? / Why must my poor heart keep following you? / Stay home and love me, my Liverpool Lou.”

Years May Come, Years May Go - This is the fourth track on the album, but I’m saving it for last since it‘s the title song and the reason I picked this album to commemorate my tenth anniversary on Epinions. It’s a lively but reflective tune with the terrific combo of ragtime piano, guitar and, on the chorus, what sounds to me like a xylophone. It reminds me a bit of When I’m 64; I can imagine it serving as a bookend, with the speaker in this one, having reached 64, now looking back. Meanwhile, the chorus, with its alternating sets of lyrics, reminds me of Help!. Will has the lead on this irrepressibly cheerful ode to the ups and downs of life, singing with a clearly optimistic bent. A very happy song, and a great way to reflect upon the passage of time. “Years may come (Many years are still ahead) / Years may go (Many years have passed) / Some go fast (They belong to yesterday) / Some go slow (Still the memories last) / Some are good (Couldn’t stop the laughter flowin’) / Some are bad (Couldn’t stop the tears) / For each one (Thank the Lord that we have lived) / Just be glad (Together through the years).”

I’m glad to have spent the last ten years pouring my heart out on Epinions, chronicling some of the ups and down of my own life. Some years I had a lot to say; I’m thinking particularly of 2008, during which I posted more than 800 reviews. Some years, not so much; I must have been really preoccupied with college in 2002, since I only posted 15. Boy, was I a slacker! I’ve “met” all sorts of wonderful people here - and literally met Befus, my Best Good Epi-buddy, on two very enjoyable occasions. I’ve ruminated at length on some of my favorite subjects: the Irish Rovers (naturally), Simon and Garfunkel, John Denver, LOST, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Winnie the Pooh, Disney, VeggieTales... Not to mention my more than 200 Christmas-related reviews. And I’ve had a grand ol’ time festooning the Writer’s Corner with song parodies, of which I’ve also written upwards of 200. It’s been terrific, and I look forward to the next ten. To quote the title song once again, “Whenever I review my lovin’ times with you, / I wouldn’t change a single page we’ve been through.” Here’s to you, Epinions!