Little goes better with drink than song. Especially songs that you can sing along to! Drinking songs exist the world over (many made up right on the spot), and enhance any get-together, whether folks are drinking or not. Well, it is probably better if folks are drinking. Some genres of music specialize in the drinking song. Genres such as Irish ballads, Cowboy music, Country music, Old-tyme, and even Klezmer all have a great selection of drinking songs. The best drinking songs for each occasion are the ones that are familiar to the majority of the crowd, or, are easy to pick up – so you must judge each crowd differently, whether you are playing the music on an instrument or on the stereo.
The biggest variety of drinking songs and the most well-known come from the Irish and the Irish-Americans. From many types of beer to whiskey, grog, to Poteen (Irish moonshine), this genre covers a lot of the different drinks out there. Any one interested in drinking songs should pick up the album Irish Drinking Songs – a split album with Clancy Brothers and the Dubliners. It contains many of the Irish ballads that are the best known, such as Finnegan’s Wake, All for me Grog, the Jug of Punch, Whiskey You’re the Devil, and, of course, Whiskey in the Jar. I learned many songs from these recordings, and I recommend this album as a good listen, and as a good starting point for those musicians interested in building a repertoire of drinking songs. Most of the songs are 3 or 4 chords, making the easy to learn, and are traditional songs (no copyright issues). These songs are all popular examples of the tradition of the Irish drinking song, and there are many more of equal rousing quality, although lesser known, as I discovered on my travels through Ireland.
Here is a drinking song I learned from my friend Sean, whom I met in the town Ennis in County Claire. This song is a fine example of an Irish drinking song, sung at a medium-fast pace a cappella or with accompaniment. It is a song about Puchin, which is Irish moonshine:
The Hills of Connemara (traditional)
Gather up the pots and the old tin cans
the mash, the corn, the barley and the bran
run like the devil from the excise man
Keep the smoke from rising, Barney!
Turn to the left, and turn to the right
the tall, tall men are out tonight
Drinkin’ up the tay in the broad daylight
In the hills of Connemara!
Gather up the pots and the old tin cans….
A gallon for the butcher, a quart for Tom
A bottle for the poor old father John
to help his poor old soul along
in the hills of Connemara!
Stand your ground, it is too late
the tall tall men are at the gate
Glory be to paddy, but they’re drinking it, Nate
In the hills of Connemara!
Gather up the pots and the old tin cans….
From the realm of Irish music, we see some crossover into the genres of Bluegrass and Old-Tyme Music. Songs such as Whiskey for Breakfast, and Rye Whiskey are examples of drinking songs from these genres, both with and without words. With tunes like these under your belt, you can liven up almost any party. You may not recognize Rye Whiskey by it’s name, but it is a very common tune, and only one of a few songs that share similar lyrics:
Rye Whiskey, Rye Whiskey, Rye Whiskey I cry, If I don’t have Rye whiskey I surely shall die!
You might hear this verse in a different musical circle, played with the same melody:
Oh moonshine, oh moonshine, how I love thee, you killed my old father, but, ah, you try me!
This particular song also enters the genre of Cowboy music. By “Cowboy music”, I mean old trail songs – the songs actually sung by cowboys back when driving cattle across the wide-open range. These songs differ from country music because they are songs of the people, of the workers. Cowboy songs are a mixture of folk songs and early country, but lack the fundamental principles of popular music which are an essential part of country music. Which isn’t to say that country music doesn’t have its fair share of drinking songs – it certainly does.
If a country song isn’t about being broken hearted, or even if it is, it is probably about drinking. Early country music greats Jimmie Rogers, Hank Williams, and Ernest Tubb all have a good selection of drinking songs, a tradition which has extended to nearly every country music musician since. Some modern names in country music to look out for are Lucky Tubb, and Hank Williams III.
One genre that contains drinking songs that is often over looked is that of Klezmer, a folk music which comes from the Jews of Eastern Europe. Jewish culture has no problem with drinking. Especially on certain Holy Days, one is expected to drink as part of the ceremony. The song “L’chaim”, from Fiddler on the Roof, isn’t the only Klezmer drinking song. There are quite a few songs from the Chassidic culture and Shabbes tunes as well. One well known tune is called Ma Yofus, or "Der Rabi hot geheisen freilich sein" (Avrom Goldfaden copyright 1912), which translates from the Yiddish into “the Rabbi has been drinking liquor instead of wine”.
This quick overview of drinking songs from different genres of music barely skims the surface of the variety and flavor of the world of drinking songs. Visit your local library and search online to find many more of these interesting tunes, fun to learn and to simply enjoy hearing. Cheers!
