Just great to hear this old favorite of my Father - Tommy Makem, Tommy Makem & the Clancy Brothers .... filled our house all three floors with speakers on dad's day off ..... He loved these Irish Singers so ! God bless those that bring such joy in song. GBjj
Tommy was one of those few who started out with an amazing voice and then proceeded to just get better every year all the way up until the day he died. We miss you Tommy, and thanks for the music. Huzzah from Texas.
A true bard..I'm blessed to have seen him perform live. I last saw him a few months before his death. He coughed more than I remembered but the songs were as crisp and clear as ever just like his spirit and love for the music. I fear there won't be many more like him . He will always be missed .
When my Mom was really missing my great aunts and uncles who used to play together when I was little boy, I bought her the Clancy brothers Christmas album with Tommy Makem and I think she wore that CD out, playing it over and over. It was like hearing their Scots-Irish broughes again as they played mandolin, guitar and fiddle and mesmerized us for as long as they would play. They're all gone now. But what sweet memories.
He died 3 months before coming to Pittsburgh...would've been my chance to see him live. Now, he makes the heavenly choir a little sweeter. Rest in peace, my brother.
That just about say's it all, an Icon that will be forever missed, along with all the Clancy brothers, the Dubliners & others like Luke Kelly, Paddy Reilly, Liam Clancy & Ronnie Drew. May God bless them all for leting us have the pleasure to hear & enjoy them all.
May your performing bring you joy and success. Your comment is from 15 years ago! Hope "Four Green Fields" is still on your playlist. My favorite! A love song and a rebel song.
What an incredible rendition of this wonderful song. Tommy, so missed here, certainly makes heaven an even better place. And Cathy Ryan - just stunning. Can't help but smile to her as she looks at the camera at 2:10. Lovely.
I would really like to thank TommyPM for uploading this. I have come to this video so many times I couldn't count. Times when I am sad, lonely, happy, drunk, anything a person can be. You know how you get used to a song and it loses it's initial appeal after awhile. This performance, grows more potent with every listen.. Thank you so much
I have always understood this song to be of Scottish origin but whatever it's true origin it is still one of the most beautiful melodies ever written, right up there with Londonderry Aire/Danny Boy. A lot of well known folk songs whether Irish, Scottish, English or American have sketchy origins and many borrowed melodies but the main thing is we can enjoy them all sung by wonderful singers like Tommy, Clancy Brothers, Dubliners, etc. May they continue to be sung by succeeding generations.
I was written by one of the Belfast McPeake family, well-known folk group. Rod Stewart recorded it and named it, 'The Purple Heather.' The McPeake's sued him for copyright as it was cited as 'a traditional song on the CD..'
A beautiful song and a great loss to our music with the deaths of Tommy and the Clancy brothers. However we have people like Cherish the Ladies, Barley Bree and many others to carry on the tradition. Slan go foill agus go n'eiri an bothar leat Tommy.
They're all great here. Makem was a class act. I was in Killarney, not too from Scotland, can i say that, and an impassioned Kerryman sang this song like a man possessed as if his life depended on it playing an accordeon, his chest drawing and heaving like a bellows, beads of sweat on his brow, most likely from Sliabh Luachra he was and he mesmerized us all on that night in Danny Manns. Summer time early seventies and a sprig of purple bell heather from Howth hill there was on Charlie's cap. Will you go lassie go and we'll all go together.
I've asked that this recording of this song be played at my funeral. Followed by Sharon Shannon's The Blackbird. No hurry. For now, I'm going to visit Tommy's grave this week and lay some Tendercrop flowers. 🍀🍀🍀🍀 Update: Done. Irish and American flags wave over Tommy's grave (just look for them toward the back of the cemetery of you go). Plenty of stones, shells and coins left by visitors.
This is the first time to see this performance! I have loved Tommy Makem all my life and it's wonderful to see a new video of him performing. Thank you!
My favorite of ALL Irish songs...sung by my ALL-Time favorite Gaelic singer, the great Tommy Makem (may he rest in peace)"Will You Go Lassie, Go" (also known traditionally as "Wild Mountain Thyme") is very ancient and probably the most beautiful song ever written (but then, I'm bias because I'm Irish)
I have been searching for a certain version of this song for 10 years. The advent of the computer is helping, but I'm thinking this could possibly be the world's most famous song. I tried this video. I have hit replay 20 times, and will continue. It is HEAVEN! I don't need to look for that version anymore, this is the most beautiful 5 minutes of music I have ever heard. To my shame, I have never heard of this fellow, but I will be looking into it. Thanks for posting.
Lyrics written in 1953 by Francis McPeake of Belfast. Using the the old Scottish melody written by Tannahill in the 1800's. First I heard it played on the radio was in 1957....All that said, Rest ye gentle, Tommy. Armagh has given another voice to heaven's band.
Tommy would have been 78 last week (Nov 4th). He was an outstanding ambassador for Irish folk music. Tommy, thank you for leaving us a legacy of wonderful songs to continue the tradition! He and Mary were the salt of the earth - I miss them both.
My favorite concert of all time was Liam Clancy playing with the Spain brothers and the Clancy Brothers in Melrose, Massachusetts just a few years before he passed away
The master sings. "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity". No shame in his life. Wonderful, endearing, ethnic, proud, talented, one of a kind. You shall be missed.
I have this on an old lp of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem' I have listened to it since I was 8. I still completely lose it whenever I hear this song. Now that is immortality! For the Clancys on their own don't have the same effect on me!
This is a lovely version of a lovely tune. The discussion of whether the song is Scottish or Irish is a huge distraction. Songs like this are universal.
absolute rubbish ! Robert Tannahill (1774-1810) wrote the original . He was from Paisley (just west of Glasgow ) try finding Paisley in a map of the Highlands or Ireland ...colonized ? .. I give up
David Kidd, you misinterpret what I said.. Research history before you make erroneous comments.. You did good telling us the origin of the song, thank you for that.. Your attitude is what's rubbish.. When most people think of Scotland they think of the Highlands.. That is where the richest Scottish culture comes from..
The Picts,Strathclyde Britons and Angles were here prior to the Gaels , add the Vikings , Flemish,Normans etc etc all the way to the present day. The vast majority of Scots have always lived in the Lowlands . The border ballads and bothy ballads are a rich part of Scotland’s musical heritage.In more modern times the vast majority of music is still from the Lowlands.There are others of course some of whom sing in Gaelic. Capercaiilie (Argyll) Skerryvore (Tiree) RunRig (Skye) but what about Aly Bain ( from that hotbed of Gaelic culture (Lerwick in Shetland !!!!!!) his fiddling is more akin to the spirit of Norwegian culture. So the the richest Scottish culture comes from the Highlands eh ? No ,this aspect of my country’s culture is hugely valued and respected but is no richer than culture from our Lowlands and Islands .In literature (Burns , Tannahill,Scott , Grassic Gibbons etc) the lowlands again produces a huge amount of our cultural heritage . To say my attitude is rubbish when your opening gambit was “Scottish and Irish are often interchangeable” is laughable. Your statement of “colonized” is so far off the mark it is not even worth pursuing. None of what I have said in any way demeans the rich culture of all parts of my country (Scotland) and of our neighbours in Ireland. Perhaps you should research history yourself beyond watching Braveheart, the Quiet man or Whisky galore ….
I was was thinking at first it the North Texas Irish Festival, held in Dallas. We've had him there 5 or 6 times (and once or twice on stage with Cherish the Ladies). But upon reflection, that doesn't look like any of our stages. Tommy is not only a great entertainer, he is a true gentleman as well.
@TommyPM Tommy will always be with us...whether it be through song...through his children...or through his spirit. Although his body is laid to rest Tommy will never go away.....never. As long as I live and the people of Ireland live there will be no rest for Tommy Makem. Long Live Tommy.
I first heard this in London in a communal apartment...sung by my new friends Ruby and Tim..she was a girl from Belfast..Tim played guitar...I thought it was the most beautiful song I ever heard...excepting...maybe Danny Boy....
My copy of this had a glitch so I am so happy to see this in its entirety...if there s a more bittersweet song on Earth I don't know what it is...it could move a statue to tears.
I was raised listening to Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers. They are all sadly missed. But we still have there music.
RIP BOYS ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️
I was as well. ❤
Just great to hear this old favorite of my Father - Tommy Makem, Tommy Makem & the Clancy Brothers .... filled our house all three floors with speakers on dad's day off ..... He loved these Irish Singers so ! God bless those that bring such joy in song. GBjj
Am I in Heaven? For 5 minutes here, I feel I am. It just does not get any better than this. Thank you, thank you for posting.
Tommy was one of those few who started out with an amazing voice and then proceeded to just get better every year all the way up until the day he died. We miss you Tommy, and thanks for the music. Huzzah from Texas.
In these trying times of the novel Cornoavirus Pandemic, this song is so comforting. Thanks, Tommy for the memories.
A true bard..I'm blessed to have seen him perform live. I last saw him a few months before his death. He coughed more than I remembered but the songs were as crisp and clear as ever just like his spirit and love for the music. I fear there won't be many more like him . He will always be missed .
I missed knowing him. Yet I miss him now, as a dear friend. What a beautiful voice. Love you, Tommy
After the version the family did at Liam Clancey's graveside, this song will always move me to tears. Thank you Tommy, Liam, and all,
Rest in Peace, Tommy. You are sorely missed!
When my Mom was really missing my great aunts and uncles who used to play together when I was little boy, I bought her the Clancy brothers Christmas album with Tommy Makem and I think she wore that CD out, playing it over and over. It was like hearing their Scots-Irish broughes again as they played mandolin, guitar and fiddle and mesmerized us for as long as they would play. They're all gone now. But what sweet memories.
I miss Tommy and his beautiful voice so much! He added so much to my life.
me to
Cathy Ryan is the most beautiful female i have ever seen with a voice to match.
Thanks for singing this great song.
Cathy ryan
I thought it was
Mommy Take’em
I mean Tommy Makem
I am trying to be sure who Cathy is . The brunette who took verse and chorus after Tom Makem?
This is the first time I have seen Cathy Ryan.!! What a beautiful lass and a great singer.!!!???
How hauntingly beautiful the whistle can be in the right hands !
He died 3 months before coming to Pittsburgh...would've been my chance to see him live. Now, he makes the heavenly choir a little sweeter. Rest in peace, my brother.
That just about say's it all, an Icon that will be forever missed, along with all the Clancy brothers, the Dubliners & others like Luke Kelly, Paddy Reilly, Liam Clancy & Ronnie Drew. May God bless them all for leting us have the pleasure to hear & enjoy them all.
Paddy Reilly is about the only one still alive from your list
@@stevenburke1599 and Johnny Mac evoy still doing concerts,
I started performing the week after he passed; dedicated my first concert to him and sung "Four Green Fields" in his honor.
May your performing bring you joy and success. Your comment is from 15 years ago! Hope "Four Green Fields" is still on your playlist. My favorite! A love song and a rebel song.
What an incredible rendition of this wonderful song. Tommy, so missed here, certainly makes heaven an even better place.
And Cathy Ryan - just stunning. Can't help but smile to her as she looks at the camera at 2:10. Lovely.
She had a stunning voice ❤ I play this in the nursing home I work in.
when i was younger this was one of my favorite songs my parents played. I hoping Jesus returns before they go.......
You couldn't have said it better...I saw him play many times live...Class act...
Still as good as the first time I heard it---over 45 years ago.
Maith an fear a Thomáis.
What a treasure, tommypm. Makes me proud to be 1/2 Irish. Wish my Dad & Uncle Bob - full bloods - were still here so I could share this with them.
R.I.P tommy.. some of the best damn music I've ever heard.
I was so lucky to grow up listening to all of them. Rest in peace mom.
Scottish or Irish. That's for the musicologists and folklorists. For the rest of us--the most beautiful and greatest song ever.
Lets sat Celtic
@@65martyfarty scotish
@@mauricestewart6253 its Celtic
It is so nice. Almost as good as AC/DC's Sin City and Motorhead's Killed By Death.
U feel me?
I'm Irish. This song is Scottish. We're two sides of the one coin but still different.
So Beautiful. May You rest in peace Tommy. God Bless
Truly a gift. I don't think a person can practise enough to have that kind of charisamtic command....
Being an Irish-American, I've always loved Tommy...greatly missed
Erin Go Brach.
Is there no such thing as an American?
Makes me cry every time.
I would really like to thank TommyPM for uploading this. I have come to this video so many times I couldn't count. Times when I am sad, lonely, happy, drunk, anything a person can be. You know how you get used to a song and it loses it's initial appeal after awhile. This performance, grows more potent with every listen.. Thank you so much
RIP.Tommy, Thanks for the music. it was was wonderful and will last forever
Father Martin J.Kelly
Born.Belmulet.county
Mayo b.1926 died 2014
Beautiful!! This song will me immortalised forever
Memories of my Dad 😢🇮🇪☘️
Tommy had such a regal command of the stage, and of himself, the way only the very best, of the very, very best, are able to present.
So blessed to have seen this amazing man live.
I have always understood this song to be of Scottish origin but whatever it's true origin it is still one of the most beautiful melodies ever written, right up there with Londonderry Aire/Danny Boy. A lot of well known folk songs whether Irish, Scottish, English or American have sketchy origins and many borrowed melodies but the main thing is we can enjoy them all sung by wonderful singers like Tommy, Clancy Brothers, Dubliners, etc. May they continue to be sung by succeeding generations.
I was written by one of the Belfast McPeake family, well-known folk group. Rod Stewart recorded it and named it, 'The Purple Heather.' The McPeake's sued him for copyright as it was cited as 'a traditional song on the CD..'
Londonderry me hole
The words to Londonderry Aire were written by an English man. A lot of these songs have odd pasts.
A beautiful song and a great loss to our music with the deaths of Tommy and the Clancy brothers. However we have people like Cherish the Ladies, Barley Bree and many others to carry on the tradition. Slan go foill agus go n'eiri an bothar leat Tommy.
I could listen to this all day!
Lovely!
Nice to see Cathie Ryan with Cherish the Ladies.
God Bless you Tommy!
They're all great here. Makem was a class act. I was in Killarney, not too from Scotland, can i say that, and an impassioned Kerryman sang this song like a man possessed as if his life depended on it playing an accordeon, his chest drawing and heaving like a bellows, beads of sweat on his brow, most likely from Sliabh Luachra he was and he mesmerized us all on that night in Danny Manns. Summer time early seventies and a sprig of purple bell heather from Howth hill there was on Charlie's cap. Will you go lassie go and we'll all go together.
Beautiful song ❤️🖤👌💯
Thank you so much for posting this. A beautiful performance of a classic.
-jcr
Such a beautiful song and so well sung.
No one will ever compare with Mr. Makem...
They perform this song at the pub sing at the New York Renaissance Faire all the time! I finally learn how to sing it! Thank you, Tommy!
If this doesn't make you want to shed a tear I wonder if you even have a soul.
I love this concert! So glad to see the recordings on You Tube.
I've asked that this recording of this song be played at my funeral. Followed by Sharon Shannon's The Blackbird. No hurry. For now, I'm going to visit Tommy's grave this week and lay some Tendercrop flowers. 🍀🍀🍀🍀 Update: Done. Irish and American flags wave over Tommy's grave (just look for them toward the back of the cemetery of you go). Plenty of stones, shells and coins left by visitors.
This is the first time to see this performance! I have loved Tommy Makem all my life and it's wonderful to see a new video of him performing. Thank you!
Yes, that's the essence of all great music - and performances - like this; you never tire of it.
Saw him every year he appeared at Milwaukee Irishfest. Just a wonderful singer, storyteller, musician, bard.
Lovely song thanks for the video🇬🇧💙
My favorite of ALL Irish songs...sung by my ALL-Time favorite Gaelic singer, the great Tommy Makem (may he rest in peace)"Will You Go Lassie, Go" (also known traditionally as "Wild Mountain Thyme") is very ancient and probably the most beautiful song ever written (but then, I'm bias because I'm Irish)
A Scottish song
I am biased as well. It's Celt music. Irish-Scottish. Doesn't matter ❤
Farewell Tommy! Walk in the Summer Country and thanks for the great music--you made all our lives better.
The greatest folk song ever.
Then there's four green fields...
Its Scottish
just close your eyes. have you ever heard such beauty?
Nah & nevah will! The voice of an angel he did have!
never . Tommy was the best of the best . Wrote four green fields . metaphor for a dived Ireland . Its a heart breaker
A Great Keady, Co. Armagh, Ireland man. R.I.P. Tommy
I have been searching for a certain version of this song for 10 years. The advent of the computer is helping, but I'm thinking this could possibly be the world's most famous song. I tried this video. I have hit replay 20 times, and will continue. It is HEAVEN! I don't need to look for that version anymore, this is the most beautiful 5 minutes of music I have ever heard. To my shame, I have never heard of this fellow, but I will be looking into it. Thanks for posting.
They are magnificent. So many heartfelt songs.
what a great gentleman he was RIP
Lyrics written in 1953 by Francis McPeake of Belfast. Using the the old Scottish melody written by Tannahill in the 1800's. First I heard it played on the radio was in 1957....All that said, Rest ye gentle, Tommy. Armagh has given another voice to heaven's band.
They'll be others coming up... but none can take his place. He and the Clancy Bros. were true originals.
God rest his soul!
Happy birthday Tommy and RIP.
I miss you Tommy Makem,....you are in heaven, I know ...-:))))
Super! Thank you.
An amazing performance of an amazing song. It's like the sudden realisation about how you feel about someone put in to words and beautiful music.
Tommy would have been 78 last week (Nov 4th). He was an outstanding ambassador for Irish folk music. Tommy, thank you for leaving us a legacy of wonderful songs to continue the tradition! He and Mary were the salt of the earth - I miss them both.
Should be Cherish the Lassie - what a smile that keeps luring me back.
Yes, one of my Favorite renditions of this Beautiful Traditional song.
Goosebumps. Beautiful rendition.
My favorite concert of all time was Liam Clancy playing with the Spain brothers and the Clancy Brothers in Melrose, Massachusetts just a few years before he passed away
Absolutely brilliant, love the Clancy but my family won’t play them . Don’t know what they are missing.
OMG , I love this song , it makes me cry . Thank you ..........
Great was. Tommmy Make! I love this song!
A great song by one of the best singers from Ireland. My father really liked Tommy Makem may they both R.I P..
Aye. They're all gone now, but never forgotten.
SO BEAUTIFUL,,,
I just love this,
The master sings. "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity". No shame in his life. Wonderful, endearing, ethnic, proud, talented, one of a kind. You shall be missed.
Nice, so nice! Thanks
Beautiful xxx
excellent ! Love that girl's voice !
Cathie Ryan, She has lots of songs on Spotify & You Tube
Great music
Great old Scots song well rendered.
I have this on an old lp of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem' I have listened to it since I was 8. I still completely lose it whenever I hear this song. Now that is immortality! For the Clancys on their own don't have the same effect on me!
beautiful to see Cherish the Ladies again 😍😍😍
The Bard of Armagh ,a favourite song and performer of my late father
This is a lovely version of a lovely tune. The discussion of whether the song is Scottish or Irish is a huge distraction. Songs like this are universal.
Brian Hassett I always get a huge shiver when I hear it, it brings back so many memories memories of moments cherished
Scottish and Irish are often interchangeable..The Scottish Highlands were colonized by Irishmen who intermixed with the Picts..
absolute rubbish ! Robert Tannahill (1774-1810) wrote the original . He was from Paisley (just west of Glasgow ) try finding Paisley in a map of the Highlands or Ireland ...colonized ? .. I give up
David Kidd, you misinterpret what I said.. Research history before you make erroneous comments.. You did good telling us the origin of the song, thank you for that.. Your attitude is what's rubbish.. When most people think of Scotland they think of the Highlands.. That is where the richest Scottish culture comes from..
The Picts,Strathclyde Britons and Angles were here prior to the Gaels , add the Vikings , Flemish,Normans etc etc all the way to the present day. The vast majority of Scots have always lived in the Lowlands . The border ballads and bothy ballads are a rich part of Scotland’s musical heritage.In more modern times the vast majority of music is still from the Lowlands.There are others of course some of whom sing in Gaelic. Capercaiilie (Argyll) Skerryvore (Tiree) RunRig (Skye) but what about Aly Bain ( from that hotbed of Gaelic culture (Lerwick in Shetland !!!!!!) his fiddling is more akin to the spirit of Norwegian culture.
So the the richest Scottish culture comes from the Highlands eh ? No ,this aspect of my country’s culture is hugely valued and respected but is no richer than culture from our Lowlands and Islands .In literature (Burns , Tannahill,Scott , Grassic Gibbons etc) the lowlands again produces a huge amount of our cultural heritage . To say my attitude is rubbish when your opening gambit was “Scottish and Irish are often interchangeable” is laughable. Your statement of “colonized” is so far off the mark it is not even worth pursuing.
None of what I have said in any way demeans the rich culture of all parts of my country (Scotland) and of our neighbours in Ireland. Perhaps you should research history yourself beyond watching Braveheart, the Quiet man or Whisky galore ….
What can i say but i love it and without it the world would not be same
I was was thinking at first it the North Texas Irish Festival, held in Dallas. We've had him there 5 or 6 times (and once or twice on stage with Cherish the Ladies). But upon reflection, that doesn't look like any of our stages. Tommy is not only a great entertainer, he is a true gentleman as well.
@TommyPM Tommy will always be with us...whether it be through song...through his children...or through his spirit. Although his body is laid to rest Tommy will never go away.....never. As long as I live and the people of Ireland live there will be no rest for Tommy Makem. Long Live Tommy.
I first heard this in London in a communal apartment...sung by my new friends Ruby and Tim..she was a girl from Belfast..Tim played guitar...I thought it was the most beautiful song I ever heard...excepting...maybe Danny Boy....
I use to go to Makems irish pavalion in New York--What a place and a singer-Strange how time passes
Wonderful
My copy of this had a glitch so I am so happy to see this in its entirety...if there s a more bittersweet song on Earth I don't know what it is...it could move a statue to tears.
so beautiful :)
Nothing like it! Beautiful.
RIP Tommy, will be sorely missed
Legends
PURE CLASS
Tommy Lives in all hearts. We will all be judged and sorted out , i hope i am on Tommy's side!