Love and Porter

It was about August,1961, when my best friend Seannie and I were camping in Galway.  We had a good drink every night and were having a merry old time.   One night, in one of the pubs, The Dubliners – (the original team), began to sing and play some wonderful tunes.  It was a great night.   They had not made a name for themselves at this time and were in fact collecting money in a glass after each song.   During a lull, they called for anyone to get up to sing.   Yours truly jumped at the chance and got up.

This is the bit that you may find interesting.   I sang a song which I called ‘Love and Porter’.   It was based on an old Irish song called ‘The Butcher’s Boy’, but I changed it around so that it referred to a man grieving about his lost love and the curse of drink.

When I finished, Ronnie Drew, the lead singer of the Dubliners, came over and said ‘Be Jazus, that’s a great song, can you give me the words’.   There and then I dictated them to him and he wrote them down.   A few years later, when they became ‘famous’ they recorded the song and it was a hit.

So there you have it.  My one and only attempt at song writing and as I got no acknowledgement from the Dubliners, I cannot complain.   You see, I more or less nicked it from someone else (The Butcher’s Boy)…………… Mike.

Love Is Pleasing

The Dubliners

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain

I wish I was a youth again
But a youth again I can never be
Till apples grow on an ivy tree

I left me father, I left me mother

I left all my sisters and brothers too
I left all my friends and me kind relations
I left them all for to follow you.

But the sweetest apple is the soonest rotten

And the hottest love is the soonest cold
And what cannot be cured love must be endured love
So now I am bound for Americay.

For love is pleasin' and love is teasin'

And love is a treasure when first got new
But as it grows older sure love grows colder
And it fades away like the morning dew.

For love and porter makes a young man older

And love and whiskey makes him old and grey
So what cannot be cured love must be endured love
And now I am bound for Americay.

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There is a Youtube video of Ronnie Drew

Singing it on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDKqdJy73_U&t=20s

---------Mike------