St Patrick's Day, Writing Drinking Songs #267

03/14/23 • 62 min

St Patrick’s Day isn’t just about drinking. But I will tell you the story of how I learned to write drinking songs so you can write your own... just sing along a little more easily. I share 17 amazing Celtic Bands you should check out for St Patrick’s Day. Learn a green idea for investing in our climate.

This is Sci Fi Pub Songs & Stories #267.

0:22 - Kilted Kings “Ride On” from Flower of Scotland

4:42 - WELCOME TO SCI FI PUB SONGS & STORIES

Happy St Patrick’s Day! I am Marc Gunn. I’m a rhythm and folk Celtic musician living in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the audio edition of my weekly newsletter.

I play traditional Irish and Scottish drinking songs. I also write songs inspired by pop culture, things like Lord of the Rings, Firefly, and Doctor Who. That’s why this is Sci Fi Pub Songs & Stories. But this week, I’m mostly focusing on St Patrick’s Day fun.

5:17 - UPCOMING SHOWS

MAR 17: Little Shop of Stories, Decatur, Ga @ 7:00-7:30 PM, St Patrick’s Day Show with my Family
MAR 18: Pontoon Brewing, Sandy Springs, GA @ 12-3 PM
MAR 18: Ironshield Brewing, Lawrenceville, GA @ 7-10 PM
APR 29: The Lost Druid, Avondale Estates, Ga
JUN 3-10: Celtic Invasion Vacations, County Mayo, Ireland

8:15 - WHAT’S NEW STORY

Studio Days
NPR Tiny Desk Concert performance of “Blink”

15:53 - Marc Gunn & Jamie Haeuser “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye” from How America Saved Irish Music

19:47 - FEEDBACK

Mitchell Petersen responded to my last newsletter about “Saying No Even If It’s Included”. I said “When I choose fruit and vegetables, I pick the ones that aren’t in plastic bags. I get a little grossed out by putting them on the scanner. But then I wash them when I get home.”

He responded: “FYI, we have these bags for fruits and veggies at the grocery store and they are awesome and you don't need to use the plastic bags OR have to put your stuff straight in the basket”

21:08 - One of the best things about Dragon Con...

21:55 - DOWNLOAD MY FREE EP

You can download all of my songs in this show. Just send me an email. pubsong@ celtfather

You will get an auto responder with a link to download this month’s album. You can also subscribe to the podcast if you’re not already subscribed. It’s quick and easy.

While you’re emailing me to get your free EP, let me know what you’re doing while listening to this episode.

24:08 - Jiggy “King of the Faeries” from Translate

New video: “Fiery Arrow”

27:21 - STORY OF THE CAT CAME BACK... THE CAT’S PERSPECTIVE

I learned how to write a drinking song thanks to “The Cat Came Back... The Cat’s POV”.

First, let me point out, a drinking song isn’t about alcohol. It’s a song with a fun, easy-to-sing chorus. Sometimes it’s interactive.

“Wild Rover” has claps in the chorus. “Rattlin’ Bog” and “The Unicorn Song” have a whole bunch of motions that act out the lyrics. “Seven Drunken Nights” and “Big Strong Man” have phrases that the audience shouts back at the singer. These were the songs I was thinking of when I wrote the cat’s perspective of a famous folk song.

I never liked “The Cat Came Back.” It was cruel and I love cats. So I decided to rewrite the song using the melody of “The Moonshiner”. But I wanted to make it a call-and-response song. So I added “Ka-Boom”, “Gurgle” and more to the end of the verses. But when I finally decided to play it live, I had NO idea how to get the audience to interact with the song.

Eventually, I taught the audience the 5 different responses (five, really? What was I thinking?). I introduce each exclamation before the verse. But it’s still difficult to get them involved.

If you want to write a drinking song, keep it simple. One call and response throughout is best. Teach it at the beginning of the song. “Slainte Mhaith” is a great drinking song. It has an easy-to-sing chorus. But it also has a super easy call-and-response.

“When I sing slainte mhaith, you shout it back to me. Slainte mhaith! [Slainte mhaith]”.

This is Sci Fi Pub Songs & Stories #267.

0:22 - Kilted Kings “Ride On” from Flower of Scotland

4:42 - WELCOME TO SCI FI PUB SONGS & STORIES

Happy St Patrick’s Day! I am Marc Gunn. I’m a rhythm and folk Celtic musician living in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the audio edition of my weekly newsletter.

5:17 - UPCOMING SHOWS

MAR 17: Little Shop of Stories, Decatur, Ga @ 7:00-7:30 PM, St Patrick’s Day Show with my Family
MAR 18: Pontoon Brewing, Sandy Springs, GA @ 12-3 PM
MAR 18: Ironshield Brewing, Lawrenceville, GA @ 7-10 PM
APR 29: The Lost Druid, Avondale Estates, Ga
JUN 3-10: Celtic Invasion Vacations, County Mayo, Ireland

8:15 - WHAT’S NEW STORY

Studio Days
NPR Tiny Desk Concert performance of “Blink”

15:53 - Marc Gunn & Jamie Haeuser “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye” from How America Saved Irish Music

19:47 - FEEDBACK

21:08 - One of the best things about Dragon Con...

21:55 - DOWNLOAD MY FREE EP

You can download all of my songs in this show. Just send me an email. pubsong@ celtfather

You will get an auto responder with a link to download this month’s album. You can also subscribe to the podcast if you’re not already subscribed. It’s quick and easy.

While you’re emailing me to get your free EP, let me know what you’re doing while listening to this episode.

24:08 - Jiggy “King of the Faeries” from Translate

New video: “Fiery Arrow”

27:21 - STORY OF THE CAT CAME BACK... THE CAT’S PERSPECTIVE

I learned how to write a drinking song thanks to “The Cat Came Back... The Cat’s POV”.

First, let me point out, a drinking song isn’t about alcohol. It’s a song with a fun, easy-to-sing chorus. Sometimes it’s interactive.

Eventually, I taught the audience the 5 different responses (five, really? What was I thinking?). I introduce each exclamation before the verse. But it’s still difficult to get them involved.

“When I sing slainte mhaith, you shout it back to me. Slainte mhaith! [Slainte mhaith]”.

Previous Episode

Irish Diaspora, Men of New Basin Canal #266

The departure of the Irish from Ireland in the 1800s had some tragic consequences. Jamie Haeuser’s songs “Men of New Basin Canal” and “Bridget’s Prayer” dig into that. So we’re gonna dig into the songs and the album How America Saved Irish Music. Great news about my next album, Come Adventure With Me. Bandcamp now playlists. And learning to say no.

This is Sci Fi Pub Songs & Stories #266.

0:30 - Marc Gunn “Old Dun Cow” from St Patrick’s Day

4:35 - WELCOME TO SCI FI PUB SONGS & STORIES

This is the audio edition of my newsletter as well as the liner notes for the songs I record so that you can enjoy my music even more! And who am I?

I am Marc Gunn. I’m a rhythm and folk Celtic musician living in Atlanta, Georgia. I play traditional Irish and Scottish drinking songs. But I’m also a songwriter. I write songs inspired by Celtic culture as well as songs inspired by pop culture, things like Lord of the Rings, Firefly, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who and more. That’s the reason one brewery I play called my music Sci F’Irish music. It’s also why this is Sci Fi Pub Songs & Stories.

WHAT’S NEW

St Patrick’s Day music on Irish & Celtic Music Podcast

6:08 - UPCOMING SHOWS

MAR 10: Tucker Brewing Company, Tucker, Ga @ 6:30-9:30 PM
MAR 11: Pontoon Brewing, Tucker, Ga @ 3-6 PM
MAR 15: St Patrick’s Day Concert on Bandcamp @ 7 PM EST
MAR 18: Pontoon Brewing, Sandy Springs, GA @ 12-3 PM
MAR 18: Ironshield Brewing, Lawrenceville, GA @ 7-10 PM
JUN 3-10: Celtic Invasion Vacations, County Mayo, Ireland

9:34 - Lauren Oxford “What Rings True” from Lauren Oxford

14:40 - IF YOU’RE WAITING TO COME ADVENTURE WITH ME...

Then you don’t have too much longer to wait. Well, assuming you were part of the Kickstarter.

My engineer, Mitchell, sent me three songs last week. I listened to each of them while I was getting my car emissions tested. We spent the rest of the morning emailing and forth with mixes and edits. I love the result, and those are the final tracks for the album.

I should have a track listing soon. I want to make sure we nail down the last of those songs. But I greenlighted Mitchell to start creating a song order so I could start listening.

The other thing I finally did was come up with a couple Album Pin designs thanks to Miranda. I ran a poll on Patreon between two different designs: one a dragon and one a compass. It was a tight poll. They both are pretty fantastic.

But as they say in Highlander: there can be only one!

That’s actually not at all true. I can do more. But for the Kickstarter, I went with the Compass design that reads: “Never Stop Adventuring”.

I’ll send that to the printers as soon as I have a track listing.

Finally, I’m still on target for sending out the digital album to everyone on Kickstarter on March 17. Here’s hoping!

21:10 - Marc Gunn “Whiskey in the Jar feat. Andrew McKee, The Irish Bard” from St Patrick’s Day

24:26 - DOWNLOAD MY FREE EP

You can download all of my songs in this show. Just send me an email. pubsong@celtfather

You will get an auto responder with a link to download this month’s album. You can also subscribe to the podcast if you’re not already subscribed. It’s quick and easy.

While you’re emailing me to get your free EP, let me know what you’re doing while listening to this episode.

25:00 - STORY OF MEN OF NEW BASIN CANAL

I was living in New Orleans in 2009 when I got a phone call from Jamie Haeuser. She was driving back from an Irish session in NOLA to her home in Robert, Louisiana across the causeway. She told me she had written lyrics for two songs. She asked if I’d set them to music.

Of course, without hesitation, I said, “Yes! What are they about?”

She then told me how the Causeway she was driving across had once been the New Basin Canal. It was a shipping canal from Lake Pontchartrain through swamp to booming uptown part of New Orleans.

Work on the canal began in 1832. Almost immediately, they ran to problems. Yellow fever ravaged the workers. It w...

Next Episode

Isn't it Grand to be Walking Undead #268

What happens when a traditional Irish song is rewritten about zombies? And I have CDs!!!! If you didn’t say, “You have Cds...”, you’ll find out why it’s important. It’s kind of funny.

This is Sci Fi Pub Songs & Stories #268.

0:16 - “Isn’t It Grand Boys” from Happy Songs of Death

4:09 - WELCOME TO SCI FI PUB SONGS & STORIES

This is the audio edition of my newsletter. I am Marc Gunn. I’m a rhythm and folk Celtic musician living in Atlanta, Georgia. I play traditional Irish and Scottish drinking songs. I’m also a songwriter. I write songs inspired by Celtic culture as well as pop culture, things like Lord of the Rings, Firefly, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who and more.

If you’re new to the show, please subscribe. You can do that PubSong.com/free or even better or you can subscribe and download all of my songs in this show. Just send me an email. pubsong@ celtfather

You will get an auto responder with a link to download this month’s songs. You will also get that subscribe link. It’s quick and easy.

While you’re emailing me to get your free EP, let me know what you’re doing while listening to this episode.

We kicked off the show...

5:04 - WHAT’S NEW STORY

I really should talk more about the stuff I sell in my store. But it feels uncomfortable to do so. That’s one of the reasons if you go to any of my live shows, and I say, “I have Cds”. Audience members will shout “you have Cdddsss?!”

It’s a little gimmick I use to draw attention to my merch. And it’s really catchy.

I was listening to the last episode of the podcast about writing drinking songs. While I talked about my song “The Cat Came Back... the Cat’s Perspective,”. It’s from my C-D... And then I paused, just like I do at live shows.

When I listened to the episode, I responded, “You have CDs...”

It got me thinking. Could we do that same thing through a podcast?

I don’t know. But we’re gonna try. We’re gonna make this podcast into a sort of an interactive drinking game.

Each time I mention CDs, your job is to audibly respond, “you have CDs...”

6:25 - UPCOMING SHOWS

APR 1-9: Sherwood Forest Faire, Paige, TX
APR 6: Dragon Con Filk Music Concert with Brobdingnagian Bards @ 7 PM CST
APR 20: Cat Drinking Songs on Bandcamp @ 7 PM EAST
APR 21-23: Jordan Con, Atlanta, GA
APR 29. The Lost Druid Earth Day Biking Concert, Avondale Estates, Ga @ 6:30-9:30 PM
JUN 3-10: Celtic Invasion Vacations, County Mayo, Ireland

9:24 - The Celtic Kitchen Party “Covid-19 Shanty” from Last Call

11:11 - COMMENTS

I don’t get a ton of feedback for this show. But if you send an email to pubsong@celtfather with a short comment about the show... or just mentioning CDs that you love, that’s a great way for us to interact and have more of a conversation.

In fact, if you need a starter, I’d love it if you would grab your phone. Go to your voice recorder app. Say, “You have Cds”. Then email it to me.

Marisa Halvorson emailed: "Hello Marc! I have been listening to your songs practically nonstop this St. Paddy's season (I'm in NOLA and work on Magazine street so season it is) I had to work on the day the Irish Channel parade rolled and definitely enjoyed it more with your songs keeping me company while locked in my building by parade goers. Thank you for always keeping me company and my spirits up with your music."

Kennedy Johnson emailed: "Happy St Patricks Day to you Marc. I hope you and your family are well on this day of Green & Orange 🇮🇪 I love your podcasts!! I have today’s show cued up and ready to play. Always a tradition foe me to list to your music podcast on this day!!"

13:50 - JOIN THE CLUB

As always, this show is brought to you by my Gunn Runners on Patreon. If you enjoy this podcast or my music, please join the Club. You get something new every week. It might be a podcast, a song, sheet music, a blog, or a photo. And of course you will get videos, including my weekly Coffee with The Celtfather video concert series. Sign up for as little as $5 per month and save 15% with an annual membership. Thanks to my newest Gunn Runners on Patreon: Alice M, Karla A, Triskele, Ayden B

14:34 - Marc Gunn “The Maid Went to the Mill” from