Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Sure’n Let’s All Ha’ A Good Cry!
Begorrah! St. Patty’s Day has come and gone, and I’m late with this post. O’Sorry!
As mentioned in a prior post, I used to draw a comic strip for a local paper back in the mid 90s. It was about a street musician named Busker.
Here’s a St. Patty’s strip from March 1997. I didn’t have a computer back then, but I’ve used Photoshop to reset the text here, to make it more readable. You can also view the hand-lettered original.
If you’re not familiar with Danny Boy, it’s one of the true weepers. I remember tears streaming down my face when I listened to a haunting version of it at a barbershop concert many years ago. Here’s a lovely arrangement by The King’s Singers:
May the blog posts rise up to meetcha! A belated Happy St. Pat’s to all!!
What do you think? Ever seen a street musician standing in a puddle of tears? Can you listen to Danny Boy without crying?? Hope you’ll leave a comment.
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Other Posts You Might Enjoy:
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AWWWWWW!! Poor little guy! It’s VERY hard to play a sax while you’re crying!! And some music….!!! Wow. Instant tears.
What a terrific strip you drew!!!!!!
And that’s a phenomenal video. Gorgeous! “Danny Boy” is lovely, but has never made me cry. Well….OK…it has. But not often. “Greenfields” has, though. EVERY TIME I hear/sing it. There’s a lot of music that makes me cry if I let it. Just the beauty of Fauré’s “Cantique de Jean Racine” is enough to turn me to moosh. EXQUISITE.
Thank you for sharing this St. Patrick’s Day post!!! It’s the pot of gold at the end of today’s rainbow!
🙂
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My dear Tuna!! You’re the sweetest in the tin, that’s for doggone sure!! Thanks for the lovely comment. Yes, it moved me to tears, but I was anticipating as much, that’s why I’m wearing a wet suit, so I’m OK… : P
Always loved Greenfields by The Brothers 4. I have one of their live recordings where they note that their other big date to date was The Green Leaves Of Summer, and “this leads us to believe, that if we’re to have any future success in the singles market, the word green must appear in the title…” Ha! They then launch into a parody of Greensleeves called Green Stamps!! Hmm… does anyone besides me remember collecting S&H Green Stamps and pasting them in the little booklets so they could be redeemed for electric toe clippers and other fine gifts??? : P
Sure’n I be thankin’ ye fer yer fine friendship!! : )
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O’Mark, why’d you have to leave me weeping. Love the cartoon – the punchline – perfect! And, that’s no blarney. I do love “Danny Boy” and this is a beautiful rendition of that sad tune.
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Ah! Sorry, Judy! Yes, I’m always making people cry. Sometimes all I hafta do is show up in their immediate vicinity… : P
Sure’n I’m glad you enjoyed the cartoon and the song. In fact, it’s quite easy for me to picture you singing Danny Boy in an Irish pub. They’d be reachin’ for the green kleenex left and right, they would! Hope yer St. Patty’s Day was grand!! : )
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If I sang “Danny Boy,” they’d be drying all right. They’d be begging me to stop.
We tried eating at an irish pub on St. Paddy’s Day, but it was packed. (So we ate at an Italian restaurant.) We’ll try again this weekend. Hope you had a great weekend.
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Funny cartoon and beautiful a cappella… Thanks for sharing Mark 🙂
I laughed and cried at the same time…
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I usually laugh and cry whenever I’m in that famous Irish pub, The Lemons R Us Café. I laugh with delight as I eat my way thru all the wonderful donuts, then I cry when they kick me out for not paying… : (
Let’s see: you were born in the Philippines, you live in France, and you work in Saudi Arabia. This leads me to conclude that you’re about as Irish as they come!! I hope your St. Patty’s Day was lovely, and that you remembered to clean everyone’s teeth with green floss!! : P
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Oh McMarky McArmstrong, my Dad also openly wept when he heard Danny Boy. I wanted to sing it at the St. Puppy’s Day parade but thought the baying of the beagles and Irish Wolf Hounds would drown us out:-) But it truly is a classic song and any real man will shed a wee tear when they hear it!
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Ha! O’Wow!– that conjures quite a cacophony: dozen of dogs cryin’ and howlin’ away, all no doubt thinking that Danny Boy is a dog, because their owners are always saying to them: “Here, boy!” and “Good boy!!” : )
I also cry at the end of It’s A Wonderful Life. Aye, sure’n tha’ Auld Lang Syne gets me ev’ry time… : )
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I love Busker! He’s a good man to feel his music so deeply. I know the song, but I fear I heard it in the context of too many SNL jokes or otherwise for it to invoke a tear. But music does make my cry, and I enjoy a good barbershop quartet, so I should get a few points. 🙂
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Thank you for supporting Busker! He does a little composing when he’s not decomposing, and he tells me he’s working on something called The Susan Hunter Theme. Will it be a hit? Well now, that’s a mystery, but I’m betting yes… : )
And I’m sending a bbshop quartet over to serenade you with My Wild Irish Bacon!! Thanks, Maddie! : )
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LOL! Love that parody! And “The Green Leaves of Summer.” ::sigh:: Such lovely music!!!
Oh! We had S&H Green stamps and some yellow ones from another store. I loved filling those books for my Mom when I was little! And when I graduated from high school I filled a book (or 2??), got 2 beautiful “Tole” lamps for my dorm room. It was a neat way for kids to learn about patience and saving money (well, money stand-ins).
Where do I pick up my blog stamps? Surely this post is worth a page or two!
::giggles and runs like the wind::
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O’funny!! Ha! I was taken by surprise on this one. 😀 I don’t blame him one bit for not being able to get through Danny Boy! It has to be one of the most beautiful songs ever written. What a beautiful rendition. Thanks giving me another bonus St. Paddy’s day, Mark! 😀
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O’Thanks! Danny Boy makes me cry hard because it conjures up a vision of my own future grave. Only instead of flowers and legions of tearful fans kneeling in reverent prayer and supplication, it’s a deserted patch of weeds, littered with empty Funyuns bags, Pottery Barn catalogues, and Gore 4 President bumper stickers…
Then I cry even harder!! : P
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Mark! hahahahahahahaha LOL!! Ahhh thanks for that laugh! 😀
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Gorgeous strip, Mark; what a sensitive song it is…!
Many, many, many years ago when I was just a slip of a girl I entered a talent quest. I sang the Petula Clark song ‘I Know a Place’, and was extremely happy with my performance. However, along came an Aboriginal chap who sang as beautifully as those on the video you showcased (which was an absolute delight). He, the Aboriginal chap came first, I came second. I doubt there was a dry eye in the whole room when he sang. What a wonderful melody it has….
We had a wonderful St. Pats Day dancing our little hearts out and dressed in green. One of our socials had a ‘St Pats dress up night’, which was such fun… Hope your day was just as good… 🙂
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I just spoke to the judges. There was a mistake. We’re awarding you first prize, and giving the Aboriginal chap a 99-cent gift certificate to McDonalds. Which proves there is justice after all… : )
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