By the way I forgot to say when I was here before that my post from one month ago (now from *exactly* one month ago) was posted on the anniversary of his death. (JFK) I was here on November 22. I'm now here again on December 22. (Thank you for noticing.)
From the comments, I think that people don't understand the historical context and references and use of langauge as it was intended in the 60s. Liam Clancy who introduced the song simply made a play on the word 'black/Black,' to indicate that like black people, the Irish immigrants were discriminated against. Black has the second meaning of 'not welcomed.' So far from intending anything racist, he is simply stating the facts of history as they were. The early immigrants to USA and later Immigrants to England were faced with signs on shop windows posting job vacancies which stated - 'Neither Black nor Irish need apply.' That's a fact and that's the past - and no race on the planet has escaped some sort of discrimination at some point in history. Just put it in context.
Irishman here. Black, in Irish speech (especially of the time, less-so now because we have an immigrant population and it's probably killed the phrase a bit) means "bad" in the sense it probably did in medieval manuscripts. In the Irish language the literal translation of "black" man is The Devil (Fear Dubh). The Irish for an actual black man is "blue" man (fear gorm). The phrases: black welcome, black news or black day all come from this historical usage
You're a bit mistaken about "all us Irish Americans" booing Mexican immigrants. Some of us remember the San Patricio brigade that fought with the Mexicans to help them gain their independence, and we honor that bond to this day.
My uncle whose middle name was Shannon (after my grandmother's maiden name) married a lady from a Mexican family. I think some of the Irish and Irish Americans are very well able to recognize that we are all equal (and also that the Irish in America were once ignored and rejected and looked down on too, as the song reminds us).
I learned this tune first as "Are You There, Moriarity?" which is also on RU-vid. Beautiful tune for more than one Irish song. ☘️🎵🎶☘️ I like the ending of this one. "You'll find the Irish here." (Exactly. Love it. 💚💚☘️☘️)
Thomas,You feel as do I,that our heritage is not a thing of sorrow,but a heartfelt pride that swells in my chest,especially when I partake of the Ale.Then I sit in front of this confounded machine,& let the music that filled my ears as a child...wash over me! God bless America & God Bless Ireland!!
Very catchy tune. I found it hard to believe the Clancy's & Makem never recorded it. I've googled it every which way. This video clip is all you can find... It's a shame!
It's to the tune of "Are You There, Moriarity?", if you're wondering. But, at this point I should be asking 'are you here mrwolfhound' seeing as it's been 13 years.
Yes, I’m still around. 13 years since my comment ..wow.! Time goes by so fast… RU-vid had only been around a few years then. Still love this video. Too bad the entire show is not available. Folk music has kind of gone by the wayside. Back In the ‘60s ,protest songs were everywhere.
If you study American History you will find out that many races and religions have had to pay “their dues”. The Irish Catholics are still paying in fact. It is hard to believe that an Irish Catholic would forget his/her roots and heritage. We should be amongst the first to stand up for all and not be prejudice. Too many have forgotten our roots and what our ancestors endured so we could be here today.
I'm an Irish protestant and feel no less Irish. Living in Scotland being Irish is sufficient to be discriminated against. I don't think the bigots can negotiate the idea of an Irish protestant. Yet, our flag has orange in it to represent us.
A great performance by the Clancys' and Makem reflecting on a time in Irish American history that is long gone. As per previous comments there is documentary evidence that there were NINA signs/notices especially on the eastern seaboard of the USA in the 1840s' and 1850s' and there was discrimination towards the newly arrived poor/destitute Irish. But compared with some ethnic minorities - especially black Americans - I think our ancestors got off lightly.
That looks like Robert Preston doing the opening narration. That would square with his fame the previous year with "The Music Man" (1962). He also hosted the Tony Awards for several years running back then so this would fit, though his IMDB page does not include this particular televised event.
Great clip!..The Clancys and Makem... all so young! And JFK looking great... but never to finish the year. So sad for us. Please leave this video up .. thanks
@@zeldagamer7477 this is a 4 year old comment but I can assure you there were no Irish around Seattle in the 1860s. It may be tough for people to believe but white people were discriminated against in the mid 1900s.
As a few others have said, I wish they had made a studio version of this song but like a few others have ALSO said, I can't seem to find any version but this one by them. Its a great song with an even better meaning.
the song works 4 any nationatily if u think about it.just change the word irish 2 wherever ur from,and it means the same . its happened 2 us all at sometime. move on thats how we answer it ;we all sing together., u cant argue with someone if ur singing along with them and thats what matters.session and craic
This is true, the Irish were given an extremely hard time in America and the UK during and after the famine times which was caused by the English steel in the Irish food, stealing little farms and demolishing the homes of the people to create large estates for their privileged few. It took a very long time for the Irish to get back upon their feet this was greatly helped by the common member of the European market with a no longer had to depend solely on Britain to sell their goods. But sadly now we see many Irish people burning down buildings and demonstrating against immigrants coming into Ireland, those Irish people who were demonstrating and causing damages to hotels etc are the pampered ones, they have lived good lives most because many immigrant men and women sent their hard earned money back to Ireland to help keep their families fed and supported.
You never hear the same complaining from the Irish as others do. Ireland and it's descendents know all to well about prejudice, oppression, famine and slavery. It's still going on today but that doesn't bother the Fighting Irish 💚☘️💚☘️💪
can people not just enjoy the music without the fecking back biting. i am english born to irish parents and i love my heritage, and i love the rebel songs which i grew up on but it dont mean i want to go out and kill someone, it is better to sing them than to kill is it not. lets just enjoy the songs and thank god they are not lost forever.
true, i am American born from irish and asian parents. i love my heritage. all of it. i play the tin whistle at local pubs around town and i hate to see how much hate comes out when reminiscing about what our ancestors have gone through, yet they have not gone through themselves. i say enjoy the world for what it is now. all it brings is anger and anguish. i enjoy the fact that now a days. our heritage is welcomed with open arms. why can we not just enjoy it. im irish and cambodian so i know a thing or two about genocides and hate amongst our own people, not to mention growing up in a neighborhood in long beach over run by black and mexican gangs and being the only family that is different. yet i still have love for it all and wouldnt have my life any other way. all i can really do is hope and pray the future generations will see through petty bullshit and hope for a better future like i hope to have for them.
I think that's the point of the song -- they literally remind us of the bad things we did throughout history. If we remember, we might avoid making the same mistakes again.
JFK was the first Irish American/Catholic President in the USA. He certainly understood the comments regarding how Irish immigrants were cruelly treated upon arrival in America. Humanity must learn to love and receive everyone.
Irish people use the term Black sometimes as meaning bad, unwelcome or dirty nothing to do with race.. like if your clothes where dirty, you would say their black with dirt.
AmericanDefender... Educate yourself... Perform a simple search on the Know Nothing's Party and how they treated the Irish upon their arrival. While your particular ancestors may have been fortunate to not have suffered discrimination and hatred, the same was not true for countless others who arrived from Ireland. So pick up a book at your local library, make your ancestors proud!
There were 10 Irishmen at the Alamo, I bet the other defenders didn't say "We want no Irish here"..;) ALAMO DEFENDERS- 115 total all nationalities. 26 Brits- 12 english/ 10.irish/ 4 scot 2 ger/ 1 french en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Alamo_defenders
The IRA planted a bomb in Leicester (England) in 1990, it rattled our windows and woke up our cat but nobody was hurt... the Loyalists never planted bombs in England, and the English never planted bombs in Ireland, so no matter which way you cut it, the IRA were the bad guys..;)
Tungsten Kid The racist British Empire murdered, raped, mutilated, enslaved and starved millions of men, women and children all over the world for hundreds of years and still award their highest civic honour in its name and they still operate a shoot to kill policy. We know who the real bad guys are.
The IRA let off a bomb in Leicester, England in 1990, it rattled our windows and woke up our cat, what cheek! Luckily nobody was hurt, but people in other English cities weren't so lucky, so yeah I'm glad we're still shooting terroists..:)
Nonsense! They were greeted with signs: "No Irish need apply!" My people on both sides of the family were among those sent from their country. They arrived here as bond slaves aka bound servants who had to work off their passage. Families were split up, and brothers and sisters did not find each other till in their 60s. Some never saw relatives again. NO! They were NOT welcomed! If they were dying or even just ill, they would be thrown overboard! Why do you think they were called "coffin ships"?
The only Irish who we never wanted here in England were the IRA nutters who used to plant bombs over here that killed women and children. We always welcomed the other Irish, and we bought "Seven Drunken Nights" by the Dubliners which was a chart smash..:)
Danny Horgan -who me? I was born in Leicester England and grew up there in the 50's, and i never heard a bad word said about the Irish, everybody generally like them, and still do..:)
Sorry about the delay in replying, Leicester has a sizable Irish population who integrated well, the immigrants wern't so well received in other areas. I take your point about the terrorists. Sorry if I came across as being aggressive in my reply. Danny
Fifa Bhoy -a few starched-britches English guest house landladies might have turned paddies away but that's about all. The list is as long as your arm of Irish film and TV stars, singers and broadcasters who are household names on English screens, I've never heard anybody here say a bad word about 'em.
LOL, this is a Englishman, he no more Irish then the queen herself. Plus he used poor logic because his ancestors were not oppresses. Now lets be real that could be true. That does not mean that MOST Irish were not oppressed. But he is not Irish, No real Irishman would spell Irish with a small I.
the word black has been used throughout the centuries likely, to refer to bad, or evil. However, black Americans used the word black to refer to themselves and others of African descent no matter where in the world they came from. It meant something strong, positive and beautiful during the Civil Rights movement of the 50s & 60s. I hate the new term African-Americans & will never use it! I always say "black people" because African-American was coined by a White Professor probably in an Ivy League University, but at least on the East Coast I believe. In case you are wondering, I am Irish-Italian (Irish mother/Italian father) with a daughter who has a Chinese dad & married a black man. My other daughter has a black father & dates Irish lads. Viva Ireland and the wonderful people who came from the "Old Sod" to make our United States of America a better place. Anyone who has not been to Ireland should go there! I have been 7 times & plan to go again.
I know this was 7 years ago, but in Ireland, the term "black" is used to describe bad news, a bad day, or in this video, a bad welcome. It's genuinely nothing to do with race at all my friend and the phrase has slightly fallen out of usage here because of any possible misunderstandings it may cause.
