Appalachian/Ireland Song Connections - ‘Pretty Saro’ and ‘The Streams of Bunclody’.

Appalachian/Ireland Song Connections
We were DELIGHTED to welcome young North Carolina singer Olivia Philips to Curragraigue for the past few days to share some traditional songs us.
Aileen is currently researching ballads common in both the Irish repertoire and the Appalachian Mountain region in the U.S. and this particular video clip looks at the similarities between the two songs ‘Pretty Saro’ and ‘The Streams of Bunclody’. We've been aware of this for many years and it was wonderful to hear Olivia sing it for us and then for Aileen to follow up and chat about the shared verses in both songs.
You’ll notice its not the ‘Luke Kelly’ air she sings, but an air which was most commonly used for the song around Bunclody until the Luke Kelly popularised it.
Anyway - if you have a few minutes PLEASE stick this on and Olivia's singing is unreal. The real deal.
Text: Michael Fortune